Work with Work Styles Reprinted with permission from Floral Management Magazine November 2001 Are your employees yearners, seekers or loyalists? These are just a few of the work style categories defined by Randstad, a staffing company, in a comprehensive survey of the American workforce in 2000. Study subjects recorded their thoughts and perspectives in an online journal on their employers and careers. Based on what the journals revealed, researchers divided workers into work style categories. Here are keys to keeping each type of worker as a loyal employee. Yearners. Most yearners are young employees in their first job, but many are boomers. All share dissatisfaction with their job and feel a lack of control over many areas of work life. How to keep them: Match yearners with a job that fits their goals. These employees will stay if they "find the right job with the right employer." Seekers. While seekers want to work and have positive about working, they are unsure how to strike a balance in their careers. How to keep them: Offer benefits and policies that assist in work-life balance. Strivers. Nicknamed the "new yuppies," strivers focus on money and career advancement. They are driven by ambition and hunger for a better opportunity. How to keep them: Strivers have a strong sense of loyalty, they will stay with their current employer if work is satisfying and challenging and the pay is good. However, their loyalty is conditional and can easily be transferred to other employers. Autonomists. Autonomists thrive on change, learning new skills and being in charge of their own careers. They have a strong sense of self-reliance and less entitlement. How to keep them: Job variety is important. Assignments to special projects might work well for this group. Loyalists. Loyalists are the rare individuals who have found the right job, with the right employer, at the right time. They have a combination of loyalty, satisfaction and energy. How to keep them: Be loyal to these employees, recognize their contributions and give them career advancement opportunities.