HotJobs for sale
As part of its plan for tackling the crisis, Yahoo has reportedly decided to spin off HotJobs, the third-largest U.S. job site behind CareerBuilder, with 5.6 million unique visitors in 2008. Yahoo paid US$436 million for the company in 2001, and positioned it as job search engine in 2005.
Check your employees’ psychological safety and health
Three out of every 10 Canadian employees is likely to work in an unsafe environment possibly leading to psychological problems, according to an Ipsos Reid study recently commissioned by the Consortium for Organizational Mental Healthcare (COMH). In light of these findings, the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace launched Guarding Minds @ Work. This online guide provides employers with practical information to explain the concept of psychological safety and health and to measure it.
Solar sector: bright job outlook
101% is the spectacular rate of growth forecast for jobs in the solar power sector by 2011. This finding, from a joint study conducted by the Electricity Sector Council (ESC) in partnership with the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA), takes into account the economic uncertainty that was just breaking in October and November 2008, when the poll was done. The four types of job functions with the wind in their sales are project management (+178%), installation (+146%), sales (+120%) and manufacturing (+107%).
Communications: job security doesn’t attract professionals
Only 4% of Canadian communications professionals chose their job because of job security, according to a recent Canada-wide poll conducted by the National Advertising Benevolent Society (Bénévolat d’entraide aux communicateurs in Quebec) and Infopresse. The poll says that respect inspired by the employer, working with interesting people, and salary are among the most important criteria. Proportions were slightly different in English-speaking Canada vs Quebec, with salary motivating 12% of English-speaking Canadians vs 8% of Quebecers.
U.S.: men more affected by unemployment
According to the latest Labor Department statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate is 8.8% for men vs. 7% for women. Women have been less touched by the financial crisis because the sectors in which men work are those that have suffered the most from the economic collapse. In the housing sector, 9 out of 10 workers are men, while their proportion is 7 out of 10 in manufacturing.
Poor preparation for multicultural management
According to a recent study by , communication between managers and employees with different cultures and horizons remains difficult. The poll of 45 global companies reveals that they have not set up training programs for the management of multicultural teams. 91% of employers expect cultural diversity on their teams to increase even more in the near future, with the inclusion of employees who do not speak the same language and who have different approaches to work. Differences between Western and Asian cultures were reported as a particular challenge.
Boomers not planning to retire just yet
Babyboomers are choosing to stay in the workforce longer. According to a BMO Financial Group poll, a third of Canadian workers due to retire within the five years plan to keep on working. Why? To stay active mentally, and because the financial downturn has scared future retirees. In addition, an increasing number of retirees are looking for jobs to supplement their retirement income. The study also highlighted a problem with a lack of information, with more than a third of respondents saying they didn’t know how much they would receive from the Canada/Quebec Pension Plans by returning to work.
Job quality stable
According to the new CIBC World Markets report, the quality of jobs in Canada has not been affected by the economic crisis. With 356,000 fewer jobs since October 2008, the number of jobs is decreasing at an unprecedented rate. The CIBC Employment Quality Index, meanwhile, has only gone down 0.2%, vs. a decrease in job quality of 6.4% in the U.S. in 2008. The index assesses job quality based on factors such as the distribution of part-time vs. full-time jobs, self-employment vs. paid employment, and the compensation ranking of full-time paid employment in more than 100 industry groups. The stability of job quality in Canada can be explained by the fact that most of the jobs lost are in low-paying sectors. Jobs in Western Canada and Ontario experienced the fastest rate of deterioration in terms of quality, while the index was stable in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
Talk to your employees when times are tough
24% of Canadian employees are worried about getting laid off, according to the “Build a Better Workplace” Ipsos Reid poll. More than half the 1100 employees questioned say that their employers and managers have not given them any information about the crisis. Concern is mounting in Ontario, where most of the auto industry is concentrated. Private sector employees are generally more concerned than those in the public sector. Not communicating about the economic situation may create tension, making managers’ jobs more difficult. According to the poll, employee/manager dialogue, even informal, may reduce uneasiness. It appears, however, that executives (47%) and managers (52%) are not really better informed about the impact of the downturn on their company’s operations.