ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For Mark Torres, the newest employee at Economy Products and Solutions, his job is more than all work and no play.

“Obviously we come in and we do work that needs to be done,” Torres said. “But its not just about coming in. You do your work for eight, nine hours at a time.”

Torres has only been with the company for almost six months. But the change he sees in the workplace is also new. And one business owner says the change was necessary.

“It seems that the workforce challenges are so very extreme right now that trying to hire people, they don’t show up for interviews,” said Denise Wesley, the owner and CEO of Economy Products and Solutions.

With some economists predicting labor shortages to continue well into 2023, the idea of attracting and keeping young talent drove Wesley to rethink the workspace the company had.

“And trying to put myself into my mid-20s, late 20s, to walk into a workspace that wasn’t really inviting, that was really out of date [and] not sure if it would’ve been a place I really wanted to plant my feet,” Wesley said. “I’ve pulled a dart board in; we have a little golfing mat; we have cornhole and do happy hours hopefully every Friday.”

But now for Torres, who began working for Economy Products and Solutions after leaving a more corporate structured enviornment, the question of whether or not he enjoys the new workplace culture was a no-brainer.

“You know if you’re comparing apples to apples and one’s fun and ones kind of the old school mentality of workplace, why would you not choose the new modern work culture?” Torres said. “I think it’s encouraging as the newest employee because I think it’s more than just a visual cosmetic upgrade. I think it’s really about building an engaging, modern, fun workplace.

It’s an upgrade even employees who have been with the company for more than two decades can feel.

“I’ve said in recent weeks that I wish I was 20 years younger, because it’s a lot of fun now but it’s going to be a lot of fun in the future,” said Brian Hanley, an employee who has been with Economy Products and Solutions for more than 20 years. “Our pace is much higher, our enthusiasm; just the overall attitude of everybody is much, much greater.”

“I think a lot of companies really need to start thinking about that going forward, that they really need to even in small ways, invest back in their people, show them how much they care, show them how valued they are,” Wesley said.

It’s giving employees like Torres more than just a place to call work. 

"A place where we can really take pride in and grow professionally, grow some roots be here for a long time and then obviously have some fun along the way,” said Torres.