Faced with the sudden change that the new normal generated in companies, employees are challenged to increase their skills to work remotely, adapt to more flexible contracts and refine their technological skills and cognitive qualities.
Telecommuting has become an everyday occurrence among companies in the region, which have had to adjust to the restrictions imposed by governments due to the outbreak of covid-19.
A study carried out among companies in Guatemala concludes that eight out of ten companies consider continuing with the work-from-home modality once the crisis generated by covid-19 is over.
Higher levels of productivity, better balance between personal life and work, added to savings in travel time and expenses, are part of the benefits of implementing the modality of working from home or another place other than the traditional office.
Although working from home is considered a non-wage incentive because of the flexibility and benefits it provides to the employee, this mode of work is not yet a trend for companies in Guatemala.
Implementing work from home or home office, is a modality increasingly popular among executives and professionals who see the benefits that telecommuting provides.
The growing trend to work for companies that offer the flexibility to work from home or in spaces outside the office, is modifying the employee performance and even triggering changes in the real estate market.
Experts on the subject say that Panama reports a growing trend, which consists of employees choosing not to work in eminently corporate environments and do so in coworking’s, cafeterias and avant-garde offices, or even work from home.
The difficulties in identifying staff training needs and the lack of a clear relationship between new employee skills and incentives diminishes the possibility of achieving company goals.
According to the Deloitte 2019 Global Study of Human Capital Trends, in which more than 9,400 business leaders from around the world participated, including 261 from Costa Rica, the learning of business staff is the most relevant trend.
The greater interest in studying social sciences and the lesser inclination for training in technical or scientific areas may be partly because of the preference of professionals for employment in a government institution rather than in the private sector.
According to data from the National Council of Rectors (Conare), between 2006 and 2016, in Costa Rica the careers in the area of Social Sciences registered the highest growth according to the proportion of graduates, going from 36.2% to 45.5% of the total number of students.
Between January and September, 327,000 work contracts were registered, 4% less than the 341,000 reported in the same period in 2016.
Data from a report by the Comptroller General of the Republic corresponding to the period January - September shows that with respect to the same period in 2016, defined contracts fell by only 0.3%, those for specific projects fell by 12.7%, and indefinite contracts were reduced by 13%.
"More than half of the adult population has not managed to approve the second cycle of secondary education, meaning that many Costa Ricans will have to acquire new skills in order to take advantage of new job opportunities."
From a report by the OECD:
18/10/2017 - Costa Rica enjoys relatively high life satisfaction levels, but should do more to develop a more inclusive and sustainable economy, according to a new OECD report.
Up to the second quarter the net national labor participation rate stood at 57.2%, registering a decline of nearly 5% compared to the same period in 2015.
From a statement issued by the National Statistics Institute of Costa Rica:
The figures for the second quarter of 2016 reveal a decrease in the net domestic labor participation rate to a record of 57.2% which is a drop of 4.9 pp, resulting from a withdrawal of people from the workforce .
The annual growth rate of output per worker in Panama has tripled compared to that of Costa Rica after the 2008/09 crisis, Guatemala's grew by just 1%, and other countries maintained similar values to 2004.
From the V Report on the State of the Region 2016:
According to estimates based on data from Cepal, productivity per worker in Central America is below the average for Latin America, which in 2010 was $30,000.Panama and Costa Rica are the closest, with levels above $20,000.The other countries are far from reaching the average: in Guatemala and El Salvador GDP per worker is around $8,500 and in Nicaragua and Honduras it is $3,500 and $5,000, respectively (Figure 4.23).
In job fairs convened by the State over the last two years only 35% of the job offers by companies were able to be filled.
The problem of a labor supply not matching the demands of the private sector persists in Panama, where companies have to invest time and money into order to cover the limitations of graduates of the public education system, which is putting a brake on development.
If job responsibilities are easy then it's very likely that you may not be using the full potential of your workers, preventing their personal growth and causing demotivation.
In a discussion of the topic in an article in Harvard Business Review, Francesca Gino says that the belief that work without stress increases productivity, is false.
Beyond the fact that stress can cause disease, the truth is that in order to be more productive, it is essential to feel some stress.
The government has been presented with a proposal for comprehensive reform of the state which includes issues such as flexible working hours and the opening of the electricity and hydrocarbons markets.
The Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Enterprises (Uccaep) gave a warning in the report handed to President Luis Guillermo Solis about the "...
When companies become addicted to meetings, it indicates poor management of working hours and decreases employee productivity by at least 30%.
If companies estimated the losses caused by a dozen employees, mostly senior ones, meeting four times a week they would think twice before giving in to "Meetingitis", the cultural tendency to schedule a meeting for every issue.
In Honduras and Nicaragua the cost that a company must assume to formalize a worker amounts to more than 70% of what they will produce, while in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama, it is just under 40%.
From a statement issued by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
Formalizing a worker in Latin America costs 39% of what they produce
Wage and non-wage costs relative to productivity, are 50% higher in Latin America than the average in OECD countries.
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