The Changing Workforce
Simply Hired Staff
Few people joining the workforce today expect to be “lifers.” Advances in technology, the demand for flexible work models and memories of recent layoffs have left fewer workers with the belief that one company can meet their career goals.
The workforce is changing. Are you ready?
With the unemployment rate holding at under 7 percent, and the “quit rate” increasing to pre-recession levels, employers have to think carefully about how to hold onto and attract quality talent. This means evaluating candidates’ transferable skills from current and dying career paths, hiring for emerging fields, creating flexible work models and hiring and managing contingent workers.
Millennials Are Leading the Way
Leading the charge in this new, flexible work environment is the Millennial generation, born between 1978 and 1992. This generation of 80 million individuals is expected to comprise close to 75 percent of the workforce by 2025. In addition, Baby Boomers are retiring in increasing numbers, but many of them seek to maintain part-time employment after retirement out of necessity or personal interest, making up a ready-and-able contingent workforce.
Growing up with computers and cell phones has given Millennials a benevolent view of technology. Texting, chat and live video are native means of communication. Older workers still remember being trained on how to use email and search the internet. Millennials know how to navigate technology and look for the most efficient means of communication for a given circumstance rather than following procedures.
The educational focus on self-esteem in recent decades, along with “hover-parenting” practices, has left Millennials with an expectation of frequent feedback, less willingness to participate in work that is not meaningful to them and a practical approach to work that is focused more on the results they achieve rather than where they are achieved. For knowledge workers, the factory-based paradigm of punching the clock by being in an office a given number of hours per day seems outdated.
Work and the Search for Meaning
The explosion in personal growth, happiness psychology and non-religious spiritual training practices such as mindfulness have imparted a new attitude for Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers alike. Increasingly, people of all ages seek out work that is meaningful to them. Yet a survey from Gallup shows that “70% of American workers are ‘not engaged’ or ‘actively disengaged’ and are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces.” It seems employers are still stuck inside the paradigm of “checking the box” by filling positions based on skills alone. They are not looking for or inspiring passion in their workers. At the same time an entire lifestyle of “finding your passion” is now embedded in the culture thanks to popular figures like Oprah and Tony Robbins.
The Real World Strikes Back
Any worker over the age of 35 has lived through multiple recessions and corporate restructuring projects that resulted in mass layoffs. These experiences have touched nearly everyone, whether it’s themselves or a close friend or family member. In light of these experiences, few people can believe their jobs are safe inside even the most paternalistic corporate culture. Convincing someone to love a company might be difficult when just a few years ago it laid off thousands of workers.
Now is not the time foster loyalty to only the company, but to the job itself and the people on the team. A survey from Kenexa reports:
Employees who do not feel they can achieve their career goals at their current organization are 12 times more likely to consider leaving than employees who do feel they can achieve their career goals. Even worse, this number skyrockets to about 30 times for new employees.
The less time a worker has been on the job, the more likely they are to leave if they’re dissatisfied. There is less tolerance for “paying the dues.” The same Kenexa survey showed that only 45 percent of workers agree with this statement: “My organization is helping me develop the skills I will need in the future.” The increasing practice of recruiting via LinkedIn or other social channels and the availability of job alerts means that every worker is also a passive candidate waiting to be poached by a better offer.
The Way Forward
Employers can no longer use outdated hierarchical management models, factory-oriented time management standards or obsolete communication methods. By adapting to how people want to work and by offering flexible work models and by recruiting for new and transferable skill sets, companies can set themselves up to thrive as we close upon the first quarter of the 21st century.
Over the next several months we’ll be sharing best learnings and best practices on how to adapt and thrive in this new era of changing careers.
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Read more:
- Charm Candidates With an Irresistible Company Culture
- Promote From Within or Hire From Without? Six Factors to Consider that Will Shape Your Culture
- Three Simple Ways to Attract the Right Candidate…And Deter All Others
- Why Some Recruiters Almost Always Hire the Right Candidate
- Baby Steps To Meritocracy
