Reuters Next: For many, COVID-19 has changed the world of work for good
12/01/2021 14:06
(Releads with Indeed CEO and other forum speakers)
By Jane Wardell and Conway Gittens
Jan 12 (Reuters) - The upheaval in global labour markets
triggered by the coronavirus pandemic will transform the working
lives of millions of employees for good, policymakers and
business leaders told a Reuters virtual forum on Tuesday.
Nearly a year after governments first imposed lockdowns to
contain the virus, there is a growing consensus that more staff
will in future be hired remotely, work from home and have an
entirely different set of expectations of their managers.
Yet such changes are also likely to be the preserve of
white-collar workers, with new labour market entrants and the
less well-educated set to face post-COVID-19 economies where
most jobs growth is in low-wage sectors.
"I think it would be a fallacy to think we will go back to
where we were before," Philippines central bank Governor
Benjamin Diokno told the Reuters Next forum.
"We were already geared towards the digital, contactless,
industries ... That will define the new normal."
The pandemic, which according to a Reuters tally has so far
infected at least 90.5 million people and killed around 1.9
million worldwide, has up-ended industries and workers across
the globe.
Hospitality and tourism are among those sectors worst-hit by
stringent social-distancing rules and travel bans, while sectors
that support the work-from-home economy are adding jobs, albeit
often in low-wage roles.
"Driving, warehouse, construction - they're actually ahead
of where they were last year," Chris Hyams, CEO of the global
jobs listings website Indeed, said in an interview to be aired
at the forum later on Tuesday.
Hyams said job searches on Indeed last year showed that
office workers - who before the pandemic would typically flood
the website on Monday mornings looking for a change in job -
were now more interested in stability in their working life.
"What we saw for the first six months of pandemic was that
employees were much less likely to be looking for something
new," he said, adding those workers had now got used to
home-working and were above all keen on retaining such
flexibility.
But while he said there were already signs that some sectors
were now ready to allow up to 70% of their workforces to operate
remotely all the time, such benefits would often be reserved for
better-educated white-collar workers.
"We believe equity and inclusion will be the next frontier,"
he warned. "Disparities that already exist in society are going
to be heightened and exposed."
THE NEW-LOOK MANAGER
Some of those sectors most badly hit by the pandemic now
face a long haul back to anything like their former health.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman
(ACCC) Rod Sims was pessimistic about the outlook for the
aviation industry, seeing no return to normal international
travel to and from Australia throughout 2021.
"I think free international travel between Australia and
overseas will be a long time away, unfortunately," Sims told
Reuters Next, noting how the virus has made a resurgence in
Australia after being virtually stamped out late last year.
Other changes are more subtle, but will start to transform
the way workers are hired and managed.
Indeed's Hyams said the job interview by Zoom had proven its
worth and predicted a "secular shift" towards such practices.
"Employers and job-seekers found it safe, more convenient
and much faster ... The future of hiring is going to very much
start with remote and video interviewing," he said.
Observers of the workplace also expect the pandemic to
fundamentally alter the way managers operate - not least because
the current uncertainties mean they must remain open to change.
"It's no longer the role of the CEO to have all the
answers," said Laura Storm, founder of Regenerators, a
collective formed to spur new thinking about products, services
and organizations. "The role of the CEO is to be a chief
ecosystem officer or a facilitator."
Hephzi Pemberton, CEO of Equality Group, a consultancy and
executive search firm, agreed.
"My hope is that our leadership will look and feel very
different," she said, calling for companies to use the moment to
fund genuinely long-term diversity and inclusion plans.
For more coverage from the Reuters Next conference, please see
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JM1Y1.
To watch Reuters Next live, visit https://www.reutersevents.com/events/next/register.php
(Writing by Mark John; Editing by Alex Richardson)
((jane.wardell@thomsonreuters.com; +61 2 9321 8165; Reuters
Messaging: jane.wardell.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net Twitter:
@TheJaneWardell))