Forgotten human resources
The wave of layoffs due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic is still going strong and Asian economies are starting to feel the impact from this situation. Survey results have just been released by Mercer Company (USA), showing that businesses from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand see a higher rate of absenteeism in 2021 compared to the previous year.
This means businesses must find a solution to the problem of shortage of human resources, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), a solution to the current crisis of people with disabilities.
Bernd Starke, a senior official at Deutsche Bank (Germany), told CNBC that the world has more than 1 billion people with disabilities, and this group is often “forgotten”, including the talented and outstanding. In Asia alone, according to ILO expert Joni Simpson, there are about “472 million people with disabilities of working age”, but nearly two-thirds of these are currently unemployed.
A recent ILO report says “improper perceptions” and “prejudices” are the main barriers to hiring workers with disabilities in Asia. Businesses are often concerned that people with disabilities are not productive, prone to accidents, can only perform simple tasks, etc.
However, Mr. Simpson emphasized that the labor market does not lack “high-skilled people with disabilities who are looking for work” and it is time for businesses to change their recruitment thinking.
Mr. Rui Brito, a disabled person, worked at an office in Porto – Portugal recently Photo: Reuters
According to a survey by job site Glassdoor, 76% of workers and job hunters want to work in an environment with a diverse workforce. Therefore, recruiting workers with disabilities can give businesses advantages in terms of reputation, profits and competitiveness.
A 2018 study by Accenture Company (Ireland) concluded that “businesses that actively employ people with disabilities have higher revenue, income and profit margins than those that do not”.
Besides, “loyalty to the business” is also a quality commonly found in workers with disabilities. For example, in the US, according to a study by DuPont de Nemours Company (USA), workers with disabilities tend to stick to their jobs for a long time and are less absent without a valid reason.
In terms of work efficiency, the research confirms that workers with disabilities have no lower or higher productivity than their peers who are not in the same situation. Experts also emphasize that the presence of disabled workers in the company can help arouse and spread sympathy.
According to Mr. Starke, the journey to diversify the workforce begins with the company’s leadership. In the same opinion, Mr. Simpson said that they need to re-evaluate their recruitment policy to ensure the company does not discriminate “indirectly or unconsciously” against candidates with disabilities. Mr. Starke emphasized that the ultimate goal of the above efforts must be “career opportunities”, that is, giving opportunities to workers with disabilities because of their abilities and talents, “not for charity”. according to CNBC.
The worry of labor shortage in the US
Nikkei Asia recently reported that the size of the US workforce is lower than before the Covid-19 outbreak more than two years ago, raising concerns about the speed of recovery of the world’s largest economy. . According to statistics, the labor force in the US, including those who are working and looking for work, in February 2022 increased to 164 million workers. This is the fifth consecutive month that this number has increased but is still lower than the level recorded in February 2020, just before the pandemic broke out.
Several factors such as early retirement or stay-at-home parents contribute to the labor shortage in the US. In addition, there are several reasons why workers are slow to return to work in the country. While Europe and Japan tried to maintain employment levels before the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic by increasing subsidies for businesses, the US sought to respond by increasing unemployment benefits. So the number of unemployed people increased sharply in the US as workers left their jobs in mass. Another reason is that many workers choose to retire early because the value of their assets and investments has increased amid Washington’s monetary easing and fiscal stimulus.
Expert Markus Brunnermeier at Princeton University (USA) said that many workers will return to work when the number of Covid-19 cases decreases and health concerns are not as many as before. However, some other analysts worry that middle-aged or older workers (many of whom were laid off during the Covid-19 epidemic) may have difficulty finding suitable work. Several solutions have been talked about to attract workers back to work in the US, such as raising wages or trying to convince those who have left the labor market to care for children or parents to return to work. .
Pham Nghia
at Blogtuan.info – Source: nld.com.vn – Read the original article here
