Historical Position of the Changing Trends in Employment - Essay Example

Introduction Firms have been constantly invested massive resources so as to avail educational services to their employees. This is in line with the emerging new economy driven by technology. Presently, firms are rethinking the manner in which they undertake business as a way to enhance productivity and the quality of their products and remain competitive within the rapidly changing environment. Organizations have realized that investment in human capital in the form of training and development delivers enhanced returns. The global workplace is rapidly changing whereby, previously, and employees sought employment so as to undertake a certain task. Presently, the workplace has undergone significant transformations into a place in which workers both work and learn as organizations transform themselves into learning organizations. As learning organizations, firms avail an ongoing work-related training to all spheres of employment, avail information and resources, stimulate the exchange of ideas, and reward employees to gain fresh skills (Horton1999, p.511). The paper explores the changing trends in employment and the factors that are likely to change in the next decade. Historical Position of the Changing Trends in Employment In the first decades from the start of 1950s to the early 21st century, the number of women within the workforce has increased dramatically yielding enhanced programs aimed at aiding working mothers. In the early, 1950s, lower that 30% of women worked outside the home compared to 21st century in which close to 40% of workers are women. The registered changes have led to an enhanced elevation of certain careers such as day care aided by flexible working schedules, and granting leave of absence to mothers caring for young children. The global workforce has changed significantly and diversified to incorporate more women and minorities (Seguino1994, p.45). The recorded changes started with the immense entry of women and ethnic minorities into the workforce during the World War II. Employment has featured as a critical item within the development agenda of many countries. Approaches to the subject have differed in diverse periods within the last 50 years. In the earlier years of development planning, unemployment was not conceived as a significant challenge; nevertheless, employment has attained a reasonable magnitude generated within the development process to employ the growing labour force. The number of ethnic minorities entering the labour force has risen dramatically in the 21st century essentially due to immigration and equality policies that facilitate minority hiring and promotions (Arriagada1994, p.91). The number of senior citizens within the workforce has risen based on the increasing age of the population in Western nations and the erosion of retirement benefits. Most countries have instituted multiple rights for job applicants and employees to guarantee that everyone has an equal change of securing employment and career advancement (Abigail and Tony 2008, p.225). The laws have made it unlawful to: discriminate within employment based on race, sex, religion, colour, or national origin; differential pay between male and female employees undertaking the same of considerably similar forms of work; utilization of age as a determining factor in hiring, discharging, and promoting employees; discriminating against persons with disabilities who remain sufficiently qualified, with or without accommodation of undertake key functions of a job (Harasty and Schmidt 2003, p.28). Affirmative action plans have traditionally remained employed to enhance the representation of minorities, disabled people, and females within the workforce. Affirmative action plans encompass goals and timetables (not quotas) has gained widespread acceptance within the industry, but they have equally attracted heated debate that peaked during the 1990s and early 2000s. Critics to such plans assert that such plans contradict the ideals of true equality, especially in the case where there is no proof that the employer directly discriminated against persons who would benefit from such plans. Furthermore, critics have asserted that such plans yield reverse discrimination. Advocates for such plans maintain that they are critical in guaranteeing that employers do not engage in discriminatory employment practices. Furthermore, affirmative action within employment practices guarantee the representation of minorities or other groups within certain workforce irrespective of whether their real discrimination against individuals. Feminization of the work force has overtime been a general trend within the labour markets of western societies in the last two decades (Ellingsater 1993, p.153). The process of changing female economic roles has particularly gained momentum within Scandinavian countries, whereby Labour force participation rates among women have reached the highest levels among the industrialized economies. These trends are anticipated to continue toward the end of the century. The higher levels of labor-force participation among women are mainly perceived as an indicator of women’s progress toward equality with men. Social factors are interconnected to changes witnessed within social structures and avail insights into behaviour, tastes, and lifestyles patterns of a population. Age and gender have critical significance on employment trends, and understanding such changes is essential to the development of strategies that align with social and cultural differences that differ from one country to another. Language, lifestyle patterns, and religion patterns are all critical information for successful business management (Chen, Sebstad and O’Connell1999, p.603). Legal factors that impact on business strategies are linked to changes witnessed within government laws and regulations. Laws keep on changing, and it is essential that workers are aware of these changes, especially in the arena of employment law and health and workplace safety. Economic factors encompass changes within the global economy whereby rise witnessed within economic activity lead to an increase in employment opportunities. The factors driving global integration encompass aspects such as trade expansion, technological change, and the internationalization of production that has altered the composition of output (Mehra and Gammage 1999, p.553). Offshoring has overtime become an increasingly common practice of locating jobs within low-cost labour countries. Changing trends in employment: Current Status The processes of informalization of jobs observed amid the past decades have impacted on both high and low-income countries. The processes of informalization and decentralization influencing current labour market trends align with sharp rises in employment instability, and an increasing number of employees experiencing the stressful consequences of workers experiencing stressful episodes of unemployment. Job and labour market insecurity have yielded a pronounced effect on workers at the bottom end of educational and labour market hierarchies (Marchington and Wilkinson 2002, p.288). Moreover, workers attitudes towards firms and the culture of work keep on changing whereby, the “happy worker” model prominent in the past, with stable employment and strong loyalty to the company are increasingly becoming less relevant for a large section of the working population. Consequently, more unstable employment contracts have had a negative influence on employee discipline, absenteeism, and employee’s commitment to the employer. Labour turnover rates have spiked significantly with highly skilled professionals being the least committed to their employers since they are assured of high chances of finding work elsewhere. Younger and older employees appear to vary in their commitment to the firm’s objectives, as well as desired working conditions such as the extent of the working day, plus other factors impacting on the organization of work. The diminishing significance of internal markets has delivered numerous advantages to several firms such as the ability to respond speedily to market changes, flexibility within production and decreased costs in the short run (Rubery, Smith and Fagn 1999, p.17). Career trends keep on changing based on the fact that a career choice today may not necessarily be the best choice in the coming years from now. There are numerous factors that impact on an individual’s employability, most of which are linked to the job market. Hence, in keeping an eye on the trends within the marketplace, individuals can be ready to respond as factors that are ever changing and proactively manage one’s career for long-term success (Weakliem and Frenkel 2006, p.335). Just as everything changes overtime, employment is no different. There are numerous employment trends to consider amid a job search. For instance, in the 21st century, it widespread for people to change their employment frequently; indeed, the trend details that people change positions every three years. Second, presently, it is imperative that people should become computer literate or upgrade their current skills. Third, compensation and education are interconnected, and education beyond high school into college is necessary to secure a professional position (Singh 1996, p.133). Moreover, the remuneration in the current employment sector is in tandem with the level of education. Fourth, the number of women who have actively engaged within the employment sector has increased considerably climbed in the corporate ladder over the years (Frenkel 2002, p.149). Fifth, majority of the jobs in the contemporary business world can be termed as found within the hidden market given that the bulk of the positions may never advertise. Furthermore, companies are downsizing and restructuring at a rapid pace and is increasingly becoming the order of the day. As a result, competition is increasing for fewer positions. Market Trends Some of the biggest trends impacting on the job market entail: an aging working population; better medicine that has enabled people to live more productive lives; enhanced costs of childcare, which has made childhood education a more lucrative and stable profession compared to the past; rapid technology growth and the advance of ideas has propelled the need for constant upgrades that guarantee IT professionals a consistent job security in the next decade. The continual innovation provides as assurance that technology is expected to persist in playing a crucial function within the workplace. Similarly, it is also likely to feature distributed work as a growing number of employees, especially specialized consultants and leaders divide their time among numerous locations at companies or client relationships (Skorstad and Ramsdal 2009, p.93). The contemporary business world has witnessed numerous opportunities to grow or learn new skills such as health insurance, flexible work schedules, and provisions for retirement. Well designed benefits programs that respond to the needs of employees have been proven to yield a measurable effect of productivity. An attractive benefits package remains a powerful recruiting tool for employers pursuing to hire and keep talented workers (Tam, Korcynski, Frenkel 2002, p.775). Presently, businesses are working leaner with close to 35% of the employers reporting that their staffs is lower compared to pre-recession levels in line with the changing focus and hiring in other areas (Alvesson 2001, p.863). Similarly, workers are increasingly changing jobs as they become more optimistic regarding their jobs prospects for the right opportunity. Organizations are increasingly creating new functions along with conventional job opportunities based on additional fresh functions within their companies in response to popular movements (Elson1999, p.611). The changing patterns of employment by occupation are increasingly dominated by long-term trends instead of the cyclical position of the economy. Industries and career paths are increasingly becoming extinct versus those that are advancing via a process of natural selection. Hence, there are some careers that are increasingly dying due to the altering technological, social, economic, and business landscape (Paton 2005, p.196). Some of the careers that can be considered as dying include postal service workers, office and administrative workers, manufacturing assembly jobs, and telemarketing and door-to-door sales. The thriving career in the 21st century encompass aspects such as data scientists, research and design managers, medical assistants, computer programmers and network administrators (McAdam 2013, p.12). The broad adoption of eco-friendly approaches to economic production and consumption is altering the nature of work and skills required by many workers. Although, greening economies presents challenges, it also avails significant potential for job creation, which is essential in addressing long-term employment concerns. The absence of skills imperative to satisfying the requirements of changing and newly emerging occupations that impedes on green investment and impedes on green economic development. Green structural changes are anticipated to be profound within certain factors (Great Britain and Yeo 2009, p.87). In today’s dynamic economy, there are several things that remain critical whereby three pillars avail stability within workers’ lives: increasing economic security; a work and family balance, and workplaces that are safe and fair (Taylor and Taylor2002, p.247). The influence of technology is likely to surpass new equipment, and faster communications as work skills continue to be redefined and reorganized (Waters 2006, p.208). Three critical challenges for the 21st century workplace and work-force will yield: the challenge of being skilled within the new economy as technology and population changes; the dispute of flexibility as employers pursue more flexibility to compete within the global marketplace and employees pursue enhanced opportunities to spend more time with their loved ones; and, the test of diversity as employers appoint from a more varied pool of workers within the future generating new opportunities for economic growth, but also increasing the probability for persistent discrimination and inequality (Seguino1994, p.45). Critical demographic trends are anticipated to take place within the workforce in the coming 10-15 years. The population and labour force are likely to continue to diversify as immigration continues to increase (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 1999, p.7). These trends comprise a sharp reversal of the last decades, especially within the prime-age category of workers masking a significant change within the group (Eaton 1999, p.247). Nature of Skills required to meet the need of Industry In seeking employment, employees are expected to possess a number of core/key/common skills: knowledge skills detailing body of knowledge within the field studied application of theory to practice in familiar and unfamiliar situations, highlight, organize and communicate in written and spoken English. The other critical skill entail thinking skills or capability to exercise critical judgment, capability of demonstrating rigorous and independent thinking, being realistic self evaluators, adopting a problem solving approach, and being creative and imaginative thinkers (Information Resources Management Association and Khosrowpour2002, p.259). The other core skills entail personal skills manifested by capacity for and commitment to life-long learning, capability to plan and attain goals in both personal and professional spheres, and capability to work with others (Erickson, Bradley, Stephenson & Williams 2009, p.31). Personal attributes entail striving for tolerance and integrity and acknowledgement of personal responsibility with regard to one’s value judgments and ethical behaviour towards others (Thompson, Warhurst, Callaghan 2001, p.923). It is also essential that employees demonstrate practical skills with regard to utilization of information technology for both personal development and professional development. A look into employment growth indicates a wide variation in the rate of employment growth. Some of the positive factors that have played a critical in guiding this growth include high percent of workforce holding advanced degrees (master and above) and high racial/ethnic diversity of the population engaged within the employment sector (Scarborough1999, p.5). Presently, some of the prominent jobs within the employment space that mirror trends within the society detail an enhanced focus on environmental issues and advancements in technology that impact on the manner in which individuals communicate (Information Resources Management Association and Khosrowpour2006, p.255). This has elevated the stature of jobs such as green jobs, jobs within the social media, and telecommuting. Education and training generate assets in the shape of knowledge and skills that enhance the productive capacity of manpower. The prosperity of any nation is inherently tied to its human resources. Human capital remains one of the most critical assets that a country can possess and a critical determinant of a nation’s (United States 2010, p.27). Jobs demanding higher level of skills have increased faster compared to those requiring lower level skills (International Labour Organisation and International Labour Office 1993, p.14). Skills development is largely industry driven as the industry remains the best positioned to determine their own skills needs (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 2006, p.63). This has yielded in a range of issues, namely: a lack of demand for critical skills that enhance competitiveness and profitability; patchy recording and recognition of present skills levels; the industry is not making the most of present mainstream skills funding; and, owing to the absence of clarity over skills development, career prospects and professionalism (Tam1996, p.835). The global recession experienced in 2008 generated fundamental shifts in the manner in which companies and employees view the market. Businesses are increasingly becoming more agile and changing direction (Marks and Scholarios 2007, p.28). Consequently, workers are transitioning to new fields and are increasingly open to relocation and are more pertinent to consider opportunities outside employers. Some of the jobs that have been suggested to top for the next decade and beyond encompass: computer programmer, day care provider, elder care specialist, employment specialist, environmental engineer, home health aide, management consultant, network specialist, physician assistant, and social services coordinator. Conclusion The economic downturn that started in 2008 has had a considerable impact on companies and yielding decisions arrived at by management. These decisions have influenced employee engagement levels and perceptions globally yielding to changes in prominent drivers of employee engagement. It is essential to match the trends registered within the employment industry. This demands that employees continue to upgrade their skills. It is also essential that employees do what they enjoy and choose something about which they enjoy and are passionate. Employees should target smaller companies as they are likely to have enhanced opportunities compared to large companies. In doing so, the workforce incorporates work life and learning in everything they do so as to enjoy the rewards. This should be guided by well defined career goals and career plan. References List Abigail, M., & Tony, H. (2008). Creativity and workplace attractiveness in professional employment, Journal of Human Resource Costing & Accounting 12 (3), pp.225-239. Alvesson, M. (2001). Knowledge work: Ambiguity, image and identity, Human Relations, 57(7), pp.863-886. 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