March/April
2002
Seven
workplace trends to watch
THERE’S
A NEW PICKINESS WHEN IT COMES TO CHANGING JOBS.
THE WANING
RECESSION means that employers are starting to hire again,
but many will find the attitudes and value systems of eligible
job candidates profoundly changed by recent events –
from Enron to 9/11.
In virtually
all industrialized parts of the world, the economic downturn
has meant a rise in the unemployment statistics of only several
percentage points. While a single percentage point can add
a large number of workers to the unemployment rolls, the fact
remains that most people continue to hold jobs. Until a greater
sense of safety and stability returns, almost all of them
will look carefully before they leap into new employment.
Consequently,
hiring managers and human resource officers will want to examine
employment practices in light of the following trends.
No
one really wants to travel much
Security
check-in at virtually all airports has become a long, unpleasant
process. Many airline employees, both on and off the ground,
act as though they wished they had a different job. A number
of airline clubs have closed. And the skies feel a lot less
safe than they used to be, despite all the new procedures.
“I’d
just as soon stay home” is a growing refrain among business
travelers (whose employers still pay top ticket price), leading
progressive companies to give added thought to virtual meetings
and sales presentations. “Can you travel five days a
week?” is a dangerous question to ask anymore, as road-warriors
become a relic of the past.
Cocooning
affects work/life balance
Americans
in particular, processing the events of last September, want
to spend more time with their families in the safety of their
homes. Employers demanding excessive travel or work hours
will run afoul of this trend. Interestingly, a survey last
month found that 20 percent of all female employees wanting
flextime were childless; they simply didn’t want to
wait to raise a family in order to enjoy some daylight hours
at home. Likewise, the appeal of foreign postings has diminished,
especially among those raising families. Older workers with
grown children, failed marriages and the like may be better
prospects for jobs abroad.
Cash
is king
In the
last decade of the 20th century, when dot-coms ruled the world
and equity markets only went up, the upwardly mobile drove
Bimmers and bought lavish homes – but mostly wanted
stock. And lots of it – ideally in the form of warrants
for an initial public offering several months hence, whose
market value surely would quadruple or quintuple within a
matter of hours or days. Unfortunately, Newtonian physics
eventually caused what had gone up to come down. Paper fortunes
were lost, and people had to sell their luxury cars and fancy
houses.
Today,
prospective employees want old-fashioned cash in the forms
of base salary, hiring bonuses and incentive compensation.
That is good news for traditional employers who have well-established
businesses and strong working capital. It is bad news for
start-ups that are strapped for cash but can pass out shares
of stock at will, worrying about dilution at a later date.
Certainly, stock options continue to play a role in compensation
design at traditional companies, but essentially as a reward
for future market appreciation. In other words, they are a
genuine incentive as opposed to gift.
Nest
eggs belong in several baskets
More
than any other corporate failure, the Enron collapse has shown
how far the mighty can fall, dragging their stock along with
them. (It was just January a year ago when Enron made headline
news in Houston by becoming the first local company with $100
billion in revenues, and its stock approached $90 a share.)
When the same company requires employee retirement plans to
be heavily or completely invested in that stock, people’s
nest eggs can be ruined. Employers who make their stock the
principal or only retirement savings vehicle run the distinct
risk of frightening away all those who consider themselves
to be prudent – and diversified – investors. A
more balanced approach places matching contributions in company
stock, while permitting employee contributions to a wide range
of investment options.
Outward
focus replaces self-absorption
It may
be a passing fancy, but people seem less self-absorbed since
9/11. There is a greater interest in one’s fellow human
being, in volunteerism, in spending money on value as opposed
to fad. In general, people are more civil to one another and
less inclined toward air and road and other forms of rage.
If this
shift in public attitude continues, companies may benefit
from the work ethic of a more thoughtful, serious workforce.
At the same time, job candidates may be less inclined to inquire
about free snacks and bottled water in the employee lounge,
while more inclined to learn about corporate involvement in
civic affairs.
Internet
job boards disappoint
People
want real things these days; plastic is out and wood is in.
Silver is now the most popular car color because it looks
like “real” metal. People also want reality in
managing their own careers.
Before
the Information Superhighway became a term that is so ten
minutes ago, employers saw Internet job boards and in-house
applicant-tracking systems as the solution to their recruiting
needs. The reality has been far less exciting. According to
The Wall Street Journal, a recent study found that only six
percent of new hires for management-level positions came from
Internet job sites. A separate study of 62,000 new hires at
nine large companies found that only 2.5 percent came from
the four biggest job boards.
All of
which leaves the active job-seeker disappointed – and
yearning for human contact. Meanwhile, the so-called “passive”
candidate who is not actively looking remains overlooked.
That is why both groups welcome the presence in the search
process of a real-life search consultant who can help steer
the right employer to the right employee.
Demographics
don’t lie
Despite
the short-term spike in unemployment, the workforce under
50 years of age will continue to decline for most of this
decade. New job creation will increase at the same time. Types
of jobs will change – in a macro sense as many nations
move from manufacturing to service economies, and in a micro
sense as marketplace demand dictates. (Prior to 9/11, who
could have predicted the current demand for corporate and
airport security directors, the former at salaries of up to
$500,000?)
Once
economic recovery begins, if it has not already, such demographic
shifts mean that employers will find a shortage of the people
they need. Among the strategies many will employ: training
otherwise qualified workers to use new skills (“re-tooling”),
encouraging people to retire at later ages and hiring key
additions to staff before the competition does. Managers and
professionals in moribund industries will move to growth industries.
And cross-border employment will increase as well; one German
worker on her way to Ireland candidly explained to a Public
Radio International reporter that jobs would be more plentiful
and the people friendlier.
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