Recession is Over Employees Want Security

The Staffing View

On business, the workplace and employee relations

_April, 2010

Post Recession, Employees Seek Security Before Advancement

While there are signs of a slow economic recovery, the psychological effects of the Great Recession upon employees continues, causing many at this point to prefer holding a safe, steady job above job hopping as a way to career advancement

A study by the international consulting firm Towers Watson of more than 20,000 employees in 22 markets from November of last year through January found that while 51 percent said there were no career advancement opportunities in their current roles and 43 percent said they must leave their organization and join another in order to advance to a higher-level job, 81 percent said they were not actively looking for other positions

In fact this understandable focus on job security at a time when the nation’s unemployment rate remains around 10 percent, is producing a trend many business experts are calling “workplace nesting” It’s evident in answers of respondents when asked about the factors most important in a preferred work situation More chose a “secure and stable position” (86 percent) than “substantially higher levels of compensation” (74 percent) Additionally, about half said they want to work for a single company their entire career and the remainder said they want to work for no more than two to three companies

This changing attitude is important to employers who, prior to the recession, might worry about losing employees to competitors No doubt they’ll still need to take steps to retain top talent, but they’ll also need to consider how many permanent employees to have on the payroll and what mix of temporary staffers might be appropriate

“The recession has clearly prompted many employees to rethink their priorities and focus on a longer-term commitment to their employer in return for some semblance of job security — despite the cuts or elimination of many programs, from bonuses to training, traditionally used as retention tools,” said Laura Sejen, a leader of Towers Watson’s Talent & Rewards business “Where once employers fretted over a ‘war for talent,’ they must now plan for a workforce that appears ready to settle in for years — perhaps even decades"

With retirement funds of many workers in considerably lower than they had been prior to the recession, many of the respondents also say they are putting off their retirement plans According to the study, the average worker around the world anticipates retirement at age 62, but in the US that number rises to 67 In fact 30 percent of those polled in the US plan to work to age 70 or beyond That means companies will be employing an older workforce

Be Ready for the Big Order

Unlike past economic recoveries that have been led by consumers, economists believe it will take investment by businesses to spark the next upturn That’s because consumers are saddled with debt from borrowing prior to the recession and have little cash to satisfy any pent-up demand for goods they’ve put off buying during the recession

The most glaring indication of the consumer’s weakened position is the anemic housing market In the past, a surge in new home sales coming out of a recession would lead to purchases of major appliances and furniture to fill the rooms Not this time Sales of new single-family home fell 22 percent in February from January to their lowest levels since 1963 when the federal Commerce Department began keeping such records

Certainly the federal economic stimulus package has helped the economy in the short term to one degree or another, but government spending is not a long-term solution for a healthy economy That’s why investment by businesses in new equipment and systems is considered so vital going forward As an employer, the question is will you be ready when the big order arrives?

These days many companies would love to find themselves in need of a large increase in workers in a very short time But managing staff to meet a demand for greater production can be a problem even when the economy is humming and firms have a large workforce in place But to control costs during a deep recession, many companies reduced their employee levels Now the challenge might be to staff-up in a hurry

Often those companies lack the infrastructure to overcome the biggest challenge an employer has with hiring surges – swiftly training the new people If your company faces a challenge in managing a substantial personnel increase in a rapid period, here are some approaches to consider:

Spread out the hiring Often times a company will need a large amount of people, but then realize it can’t accept them all at once To adjust, the managers will bring on two consecutive groups of 15 employees rather than one group of 30, for example One rule of thumb: the number of workers you add in a week should be dictated by the time and personnel you can commit to training

Add prescreened workers Full-service staffing firms today carry a large pool of pre-qualified workers They not only screen for technical skills, but also conduct drug, criminal and even credit checks on candidates All of that saves the contracting firm interviewing time, assures that the employees are familiar with the jobs and catches unwanted surprises that might eventually arise

Train the trainers Companies can save time and resources by contracting with a staffing firm for senior personnel who have more experience in a particular industry or job discipline An out-sourced trainer many only need a walk-through to see a plant’s production flow and a briefing about how one work cell affects another That’s preferable to committing an in-house manager to train the recruits for several days

Add a shift Sometimes companies simply don’t have the space to have more people working at once But they do have the time When there’s little elbow room many employers create a second or third shift The number of hours depends on the work to be done Some firms extend hours until their shipping service closes for the day Others expand to meet daily deadlines

Job Forecast for Life Sciences – Strong

Job seekers looking for permanent or temporary work in the life sciences fields will be encouraged to know that the employment outlook for most of this decade is promising, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment for biological scientists is projected to grow about 21 percent in the 10 years from 2008 through 2018, double the average growth forecast for all occupations

The encouraging forecast continues a string of decades in which employment in the life sciences has been strong, driven largely by the development of the biotechnology industry Government funding at the state and federal levels, along with venture capital and other private investment, helped to finance the pursuit of many ideas in labs and universities

The growth in biotech and the direction of research is expected to change slightly through the next decade, according to BLS forecasters Fewer biotech startups are likely, while mergers among established firms could slow job growth The good news is that much of the basic research conducted in recent years has generated new knowledge in areas such as gene research There will be a need for scientists who can help take that information to the next level in applying it to healthcare and agriculture, to name just two areas

That means that applied research positions may become more abundant The question is will a lack of funding in colleges and universities drive researchers away from academia and into private industry, raising competition for jobs in the business community

Among the life sciences subcategories, the BLS expects jobs to increase by 12 percent among microbiologists; 13 percent among wildlife biologists; and 37 percent for biochemists and biophysicists

Visit Microtech’s job board at wwwmtsgcom for a look at opportunities in life sciences

Tax Tips for Job Seekers

If you haven’t filed your tax return yet and you spent all or part of 2009 looking for employment, remember that there are certain expenses that the Internal Revenue Service allows you to deduct related to your job search It’s helpful to have receipts, but for some dollar amounts that may not be necessary Check with the IRS as wwwirsgov for details Deductible expenses include:

• Fees paid to employment agencies, consulting firms and head hunters for securing a job


• Fees paid to prepare a resume


• The cost of  typing, printing and mailing out resumés and of assembling portfolios of your work


• Expenses for career counseling


• Fees for advertising for a job, such as in the “job wanted” section of the local newspaper


• If you travel to an area and look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area, if the trip is primarily to look for a new job The amount of time you spend on personal activity compared to the amount of time you spend in looking for work is important in determining whether the trip is primarily personal or is primarily to look for a new job


• Even if you cannot deduct the travel expenses, you can deduct the expenses of looking for a new job in your present occupation while there


• You can use the standard mileage rate of 55 cents per mile to figure your car expenses while looking for a job