As the pandemic has changed the ways of accomplishing tasks and telecommuting has gained ground in all markets, flexibility in terms of where and when to work will be one of the factors most valued by employees in this new reality.
The threats caused by the spread of Covid-19, caused companies globally to look for new ways of working. Most teams chose to readjust their dynamics and focused on promoting remote work.
Informality, access to social services and lifelong learning are some of the aspects on which the region's economies must focus in order to improve labor market conditions.
Representatives of the International Labor Organization (ILO) presented in San José, Costa Rica, the report "Working for a brighter future", prepared by the World Commission on the Future of Work, which describes the factors that affect work in the countries of the region.
An official report reveals that Costa Rican government officials get sick five times more than those in the private sector.
EDITORIAL
Data from the Central Evaluation Commission on Disabilities of the Costa Rican Social Security Department (CCSS) indicate that during 2014 the average number of days that each civil servant was incapacitated by illness was five times higher than the average number of days each private sector worker was absent from their duties due to illness.
In advanced economies employment is becoming less stable while those in developing economies are focusing on public policies, which stimulates the growth of informality and, paradoxically, unemployment.
EDITORIAL
"It's the economy, stupid."
We will use the now famous phrase coined during Bill Clinton campaign against George Bush, to highlight the paternalistic voluntarism which is fashionable in most of the countries of the region, the only effect it has is to marginalize the formal production economy for more and more people, with an impoverishing final effect. Globalization requires more and more competition, which can only be achieved with maximum flexibility using all resources, including human ones. This, which in itself is inhumane, is a reality that should not be overlooked in the definition and implementation of public employment policies, if they are to be successful and sustainable.
A professional degree used to be a guarantee of social mobility and prestige, but the current labour market pays little for some of them.
The labor market can be compared to the commercial market. Salaries are defined by the evolution of supply and demand. When supply is greater than demand, salaries are lowered and when demand is greater than supply, wages rise.
Panama is the only Central American country that has ratified the Maritime Labour Convention of the ILO, which takes effect on August 20, 2013.
A statement from the International Labour Organization (ILO):
The global shipping industry sails under a new rule
A new "bill of rights" - the Maritime Labour Convention of the ILO - enters into force, ensuring protection for 1.5 million seafarers worldwide and fair competition for shipowners.
Being an essential tool, dealing with e-mails takes up valuable time for entrepreneurs and executives, therefore it is essential to optimize its use.
Otto Stecher, Director of Business Outsourcing Services at Deloitte, writes:
We spent a lot of time on issues that the end of the day do not add value. When asked in a small survey what things took time away from more important matters, most people said e-mail.
Rigid working structures remains an obstacle to be overcome by women, even though new technologies have made working conditions more flexible in the world.
According to Sonia Vanegas, country manager of Manpower, at a global level, for several years many companies have started to promote policies that are friendly to women's performance. "Many women still fail to establish the balance between personal and professional life due to, among other things, rigid schedules that keep them stuck in the office," says Vanegas.
While in the rest of the world the standard is close connections between the private sector and academia, the region is still holding on to old ideological myths, which negatively affect development.
On inaugurating in El Salvador the II National Congress of Higher Education entitled "Linking Higher Education to the Workplace", the Minister of Education, Franzi Hato Hasbun, noted the need to "carry out a process of connection between company and university , encouraging three fundamental aspects: research, innovation and overcoming social projections. "
Technology gives parents the chance to have a much more active role in parenting, while fulfilling their obligations as executives or entrepreneurs.
By Fernando Ramirez - VP Sales, CA Technologies Central America and Caribbean
If we analyze the labor scene 50 years ago, we find a very different reality today. At that time, work was more structured than it is today and, barring a few occasions, it was unthinkable to have flexible working hours.
"Where there is good discipline, there is order and where there is order, fortune is rarely lacking" Niccolo Machiavelli.
An analysis of discipline as a component of the character of successful people is the subject of a column by Luz Mary Salamis in Prensa.com.
Luz Maria says:
"We admire people who have achieved success and think about their social lives, in their recognition, but are we really aware of the effort they have made in order to get there? If we read about our heroes, we see that many of their achievements are the result of constant and ordered effort. "
A short nap during work hours helps improve employee performance.
German doctors are recommending adding a little nap during the working day as a way of improving performance, creativity and motivating workers.
President of the German Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, Mario Ohoven, said in the newspaper edition of Bild, "'Napping in work time has already been successfully established in the United States, Japan and Austria' where they point out that incorporating 'attractive working conditions' also increases the attractiveness of a company when recruiting qualified employees. "
In a study by Cisco, 60% of professionals thought that they did not need to be in office to be productive.
Additionally, mobility and working flexibility is becoming increasingly attractive when choosing a job: 2 out of 3 people indicated they would prefer a position with lower pay and greater flexibility than higher-paying and less flexibility.
"Human resources are becoming increasingly mobile, requiring to work outside the office, increasing the risk of information security. To prevent that, there is a need for improved corporate policies, training and stronger relationships between employees and IT departments, "says the study.
How to answer three questions for which we are never prepared, due to their obviousness, in a way that can make us look better.
We already know what clothes to wear, how to enter the room of the interview, how to seat, and how to use our hands in front of our interlocutor. But it is normal that we don´t have prepared answers for these three questions:
The ILO will present "Quipustat," an electronic application tool with labor market information from Latin America and the Caribbean next April 23.
The launch will take place during the "The labor statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean. Progress and Challenges in the 90 years of the ILO" forum to be held in Panama.
Proceso Digital published: "Quipustat presents information for 19 variables and labor market indicators in Latin America and the Caribbean, which in the future will expand its content with additional information on the different dimensions of the decent work agenda. It contains statistics on the labor market in 31 countries and territories in the region. The selection of indicators is based on the ILO's four strategic objectives: to maximize productive employment opportunities for men and women, ensure respect for labor rights, foster social protection and strengthen the processes and institutionality of social dialogue."