Four-day workweek? Forget about it, the countdown to the implosion of the labor market is running anyway

2022-07-28/in Knowledge Base /by JANZZ.technology

Zurich airport, 06:43 on a Friday morning in July, which has so far been marked by scorching heat. Baggage handler Mario V. is enjoying a short smoke break between LX 243 from Dubai and LX 1952 to Barcelona. Although “enjoying” seems to be a somewhat exaggerated choice of words these days. Since the start of the summer season, Mario’s working days – like those of most of his colleagues on the ground and in the air – have been marked by a lot of overtime, chaotic instructions from his employer and rude – or downright insulting – remarks from passengers who are now going on vacation in droves. All this stress is caused by the decision of several airlines to cancel hundreds of flights this year and to struggle through the remaining ones with a number of staff that has been drastically reduced since the pandemic (so much so that there is now a severe shortage). While scrolling through the news Mario reads an article and its comment section discussing the current shortage of skilled workers. Under calmer circumstances he might have laughed about what is written there but given the current situation it brings his blood to the boil even at this early hour: Some high earners, spoiled by home office and free coffee, pride themselves on demanding things like the 4-day workweek or the 6-hour working day. They claim this “especially for people in professions with hardly any rest for the head,” because in those “it is only the result that counts anyway” (and not the working time). ” Well, thanks a lot for your solidarity,” Mario thinks to himself. Do they actually realize that he has to reload their suitcases by hand and must not make a single mistake; that his work combines mental work and back-breaking work, and that his tasks demand the very performance of a Super Mario? The much-vaunted idea of “learning from errors” obviously does not seem to extend beyond some people’s own office corner. As soon as someone outside of their working environment has a mishap, tolerance falls by the wayside – this happened just recently when Skyguide’s air traffic control technology had failed. Nobody seems to be willing to lobby for workers like Mario here. Rather, these people like to portray his kind as an incompetent, lazy bum while on their way to Mykonos. Miserably, the baggage handler returns to the cargo area to prepare the loaded baggage cart for the airfield…

4-day workweek an impossibility? In any case, it shows a lack of solidarity

The fictitious example above illustrates in a simple way how many of the accumulating problems in the global labor market have now arrived on our doorstep. One wonders: Why has no one anticipated this disaster in the airline industry, so that Mario and many other workers do not have to resort once again to the ultimate (but unsustainable) leverage of striking? Or, even worse, to face the threat of an increase to 50 weekly working hours…

Exactly such an increase (to 42 h) has just been proposed by the German industry president, primarily to counteract the much cited, growing scarcity of skilled workers. The proposal was met with strong criticism and the proponent was accused of being stuck in the past. At the other end of the spectrum, experts (and wannabe experts) are talking their heads off about alternative, “contemporary” working time models such as the compression of a full-time job to a so-called four-day or 36-hour workweek. Euphorically, they rave about the few positive examples that actually exist, such as Microsoft Japan or the microcosmic island state (i.e. special case) Iceland. Anything to manifest your own wishful thinking… Leaving aside the injustice mentioned at the beginning of this article, namely that there are many employees in sectors for whom such demands are simply not feasible because their work is not based solely on productivity but also on on-call duty, compulsory attendance without any Monday-Friday/9-5 basis or flexitime. Think of the hospitality industry, nursing, retail, waste management or teaching. Or indeed aviation. Say, one chooses to ignore this lack of solidarity and how it contrasts with these already privileged employees’ cry for even more flexibility. Even so, the question arises as to how on earth this calculation is supposed to work out if we look at the current relevant labor market indicators.

**Shortage of skilled workers and reduction in working hours: the math doesn’t add up**

A side effect of the restriction to four working days per week, which is often mentioned by supporters, concerns the creation of additional jobs. In view of the current labor market situation, however, this would likely bring about even more problems instead of solving them – the term “contemporary work schedule” is therefore only partially apt. After all, it is by now a well-known fact that in Switzerland – as in several other countries – there is currently many times more work (in the form of jobs, i.e. hours to be worked by people) than people looking for work, and that this trend could intensify even further. We feel the effects of this during events such as the current one in the aviation industry: many workers do not (or no longer) want to put up with the poor pay and working conditions in certain sectors and choose or switch to other fields of activity under better terms. This happened in thousands, especially at the height of the pandemic, which created many additional unfilled positions.

All of this seems to be ignored when people praise alternative working time models from their cozy home office or nicely located, air-conditioned office room. The same goes for the fact that the unemployment rate and labor force participation are currently at all-time lows and highs respectively, meaning that most people who are willing and able to work already have a job. The same applies also to the circumstance that the baby boomer generation is about to retire without any expectation of an equal number of (let alone more) people coming into the workforce. In short, the countdown to the implosion of the labor market is running. Moreover, we will all feel its effects even more violently than in its current form at the check-in and baggage carousel on our way to vacation. With such a starting position, it is simply nonsensical to demand that everyone works one day less. Mathematically, this can be shown relatively simply using a rule of three:

The crux of the matter is that there is not or will not be 20% more workforce available of what is already needed today (in certain industries, actually not even as much as is needed now, since there are already a lot of vacancies).

Are there any conceivable alternatives that would actively combat the shortage of skilled workers, but wouldn’t present us with a mathematical impossibility? One option would be to promote large-scale immigration for employment purposes; but not only for the highly qualified skilled workers, as certain politicians like to demand time and again. However, with respect to this idea it should be noted that recent evaluations indicate that in certain industries the recruitment opportunities for immigrants are exploited to the max, even if the free movement of persons is fully utilized. Thus, such a move would only partially counteract the current demand. This leaves us with the option of taking a completely fresh look at the labor market in its current fundamentals, with the aim of correcting certain malfunctions…

On his way home from the early shift at the airport, Mario thinks back to his moment of resentment in the morning; thanks to further flight cancellations it was not to be the only one of the day. It becomes clear to him once again that his industry and possibly many others are on the verge of a crash landing, yet no one seems to care in the long run. Neither “those at the top” of the airport and the federal government, nor the thousands of travelers who run in front of his baggage cart every day. But right now, Mario is so tired of non-stop standing, sorting and hauling that he’s postponing this headache to a later moment… Let’s grant Mario his well-deserved rest and let him roll out some more thoughts on topics like labor market planning and consumer responsibility in the next few posts (pun intended).

At JANZZ.technology, we collect a wide range of labor market information, including labor supply and demand, through a variety of projects. We do this not only in Switzerland, but also in collaboration with the Public Employment Services (PES) of countries around the world. Since 2010, this has enabled us to develop market-leading evidence-based solutions. Not only are our systems efficient, scalable and extremely powerful, they also rely on ontology-based semantic matching. Furthermore, all our tools provide unbiased results in line with the OECD principles for AI. We are committed to stimulating fact-based discussion and raising awareness in all areas related to labor markets and processes. To learn more about our services, please contact us at info@janzz.technology or via our contact form, or visit our PES product page.

4 Tantangan Tersembunyi di Balik Solusi Pasar Tenaga Kerja Digital yang Perlu Diatasi

2022-07-15/in Indonesian Postings /by JANZZ.technology

Perlambatan ekonomi global, digitalisasi yang pesat, populasi yang semakin menua, tenaga kerja informal, ketidakcocokan keterampilan, para pekerja yang kehilangan semangat, pergeseran struktural, dan berbagai jalur karier yang semakin dinamis… Dalam tata kelola dan manajemen pasar tenaga kerja, tantangan kompleks yang harus diatasi tidak pernah ada habisnya. Untuk mengatasi tantangan-tantangan ini, berbagai lembaga pemerintahan telah memperkenalkan layanan ketenagakerjaan publik (Public Employment Services/PES) dan kebijakan pasar tenaga kerja aktif (Active Labor Market polices/ALMPs). Tentunya tidak ada jawaban sederhana terkait bagaimana cara mengimplementasikan hal ini, terutama mengingat adanya kompleksitas dan tantangan unik dari setiap pasar tenaga kerja. Namun, salah satu langkah integral menuju manajemen pasar tenaga kerja yang lebih efektif adalah dengan melembagakan sistem informasi pasar tenaga kerja yang canggih. Melalui sistem yang diimplementasikan dengan baik, informasi yang akurat, relevan, dan tepat waktu, program ini dapat menyebar ke semua pemangku kepentingan yang terkait. Langkah ini dapat memfasilitasi keputusan yang terinformasi dan tindakan yang tepat – sepanjang informasi yang tersedia dapat diandalkan, bermanfaat, dan lengkap serta tersaji semutakhir mungkin.

Elemen utama dari sistem tersebut adalah solusi digital untuk mengumpulkan, memvalidasi, menganalisis, dan menyebarkan informasi yang terkait dengan pasar tenaga kerja. Solusi pasar tenaga kerja terpadu atau disebut juga sebagai Integrated Labor Market Solutions (ILMS) menggabungkan solusi digital ini ke dalam sebuah sistem terpusat. Termasuk di dalamnya yaitu solusi yang menyediakan layanan seperti pencocokan pekerjaan, bimbingan karier, dan fungsi lain yang tercakup oleh PES. Setiap sistem yang kompleks pasti memiliki tantangan teknis, dan berlaku juga bagi ILMS. Selain memastikan teknologi dan fitur utama agar dapat berfungsi sebagaimana mestinya, terdapat tantangan yang menyeluruh seperti aksesibilitas, kepatuhan terhadap undang-undang data dan privasi, konektivitas dan interoperabilitas, dan masih banyak lagi.

Berkat manajemen proyek yang baik dan pemenuhan kebutuhan teknis yang andal, tantangan yang paling besar dari implementasi teknis ini umumnya akan muncul di awal proses. Oleh karena itu, tantangan-tantangan tersebut dapat teratasi sebelum mengancam keberhasilan sebuah proyek. Namun, tantangan lain yang tidak kalah pentingnya justru secara mengejutkan sering diabaikan atau diacuhkan – dengan konsekuensi yang berpotensi fatal bagi keberlangsungan program ini.

1. Pola Pikir

Perubahan berskala besar seperti implementasi ILMS mendisrupsi proses rutin yang telah biasa dilakukan oleh karyawan PES dan klien. Perubahan semacam itu secara mendasar akan mengubah budaya dan pola pikir organisasi dan bisa membuat frustasi banyak orang yang terlibat. Hal ini sering menyebabkan pekerja, pencari kerja, pemberi kerja, atau lembaga lain yang terlibat menjadi bingung atau tidak puas. Jika nilai dari sistem semacam itu tidak tersampaikan secara efektif, mungkin akan ada kekhawatiran atau bahkan penolakan. Namun, akan sangat merugikan bagi program ini jika para pemangku kepentingan tidak mau atau tidak mampu mendukung sistem yang baru, atau untuk dapat berkolaborasi serta berbagi informasi. Oleh karena itu, tantangan ini perlu segera diatasi. Dengan pendekatan multifaset, hal ini dapat dicapai, termasuk manajemen perubahan di dalam PES dan lembaga lain, melalui kampanye dan upaya membangun kepercayaan publik, serta meninjau dan mengadaptasi kebijakan dan kepemimpinan secara kritis.

Tantangan utama lainnya bagi pemilik sistem ketenagakerjaan dan otoritas pelaksanaan adalah dengan menjaga pola pikir yang terbuka namun kritis, serta kemampuan untuk mengambil keputusan yang berani. Seperti kata pepatah, keputusan yang baik datang dari pengalaman, dan pengalaman datang dari keputusan yang buruk. Jadi, belajarlah dari kesalahan (orang lain) dan teruslah melangkah. Ketika memulai program yang kompleks seperti ini, kita cenderung menerima tekanan yang cukup besar untuk melakukan apa yang orang lain lakukan, yaitu dengan membeli sistem atau teknologi serupa yang digunakan oleh beberapa negara lain yang kurang lebih telah berjalan dengan sukses. Tetapi sekali lagi, perlu ditekankan bahwa setiap pasar tenaga kerja memiliki tantangannya tersendiri yang unik. Apa yang berhasil di satu negara atau di sebuah sistem pasar tenaga kerja bisa saja tidak berhasil diterapkan di negara lain. Oleh karena itu, menentukan sistem yang tepat sasaran memerlukan penentuan karakteristik dan tantangan utama pasar tenaga kerja, ekonomi dan budaya yang dihadapi agar dapat memperoleh gagasan yang jelas tentang permasalahan mana yang dapat dan harus dipecahkan oleh ILMS. Dengan adanya penjelasan ini, pemilik program dapat meninjau program lain yang sebanding secara kritis, menilai persamaan dan perbedaan dalam pasar tenaga kerja, budaya dan kerangka kerja politik, serta mempelajari kendala dan kesalahan yang dibuat, dan jika diperlukan, mengadvokasi solusi yang berbeda dari apa yang dilakukan oleh pihak lain.

2. Komunitas

Sebuah ILMS hanya akan berhasil jika digunakan oleh seluruh pemangku kepentingan terkait. Salah satu komponen khas ILMS adalah platform pekerjaan. Ketika JANZZ Technology mengimplementasikan program-program ini untuk layanan ketenagakerjaan publik, kami sering menyaksikan adanya perhatian yang besar pada fitur-fitur platform pekerjaan untuk pencari kerja dan karyawan dalam Sistem Ketenagakerjaan Publik. Tentu saja, terdapat banyak aspek yang harus dipertimbangkan untuk kelompok pengguna ini, termasuk kemudahan penggunaannya bagi audiens yang beragam, penyampaian layanan kepada pengguna dengan akses digital terbatas, aksesibilitas bagi pengguna dengan penyandang disabilitas, dan seterusnya. Namun demikian, semua fitur yang diharapkan ini tidak begitu bermanfaat jika platform pekerjaan tidak dipenuhi dengan posting lowongan pekerjaan. Oleh karena itu, pertama-tama dan yang paling utama adalah platform ini harus menarik bagi para pemberi kerja. Hal ini membutuhkan infrastruktur dan personil khusus agar dapat mendorong dan membantu pemberi kerja yang ingin merekrut serta menerapkan ILMS yang dirancang untuk membuat posting pekerjaan dan mencari kandidat secara sederhana dan seefektif mungkin dalam bisnis mereka. Hal ini juga dapat melibatkan keputusan kebijakan, advokasi dan kampanye.

Selain itu, ILMS juga mampu melayani pengguna dari lembaga pendidikan yang memanfaatkan data dalam sistem mereka untuk menyelaraskan kurikulum dengan kebutuhan pasar. Sebagai imbalannya, lembaga-lembaga ini dapat memasukkan data tentang penawaran kerja mereka ke dalam sistem untuk membuatnya dapat diakses dengan mudah oleh pencari kerja dan pembuat kebijakan – sekali lagi, berguna untuk menyediakan kecerdasan yang dapat ditindaklanjuti dan untuk memfasilitasi keputusan yang tepat. Pertimbangan serupa juga berlaku untuk komponen lain dari ILMS.

Tantangan krusial lainnya muncul di tingkat federasi di mana unit-unit kerja pemerintahan memiliki tingkat otonomi tertentu. Unit-unit tersebut harus menyepakati dan mengadopsi ILMS – meskipun dengan adaptasi regional untuk memenuhi karakteristik dan kebutuhan pasar tenaga kerja masing-masing unit. Dengan cara ini, ILMS dapat membantu menembus informasi silos dan menyediakan data dan layanan yang dapat diandalkan dan dapat diperbandingkan di tingkat pemerintahan pusat maupun regional. Misalnya, sistem ini dapat digunakan untuk menginformasikan kebijakan di kedua tingkat tersebut, serta untuk meningkatkan peluang kerja dengan menghilangkan hambatan regional.

3. Kapasitas

Pengembangan kapasitas yang baik merupakan salah satu aspek program ILMS yang paling sering diabaikan atau hanya sebagian saja diperhatikan, dan tidak dilaksanakan dengan baik, yang mana hal ini sering menyebabkan kegagalan proyek. Oleh karena itu, mengakui pentingnya peran pengembangan kapasitas sangat krusial untuk memastikan ILMS mencapai potensinya secara penuh. Inisiatif kapasitas yang spesifik dan terarah perlu dikembangkan di berbagai tingkatan. Pada tingkat individu, hal ini melibatkan pelatihan karyawan PES, analis dan pelaku kelembagaan lain yang terlibat, serta mendidik pengguna di tingkat swasta maupun bisnis. Pada tingkat kelembagaan, kebijakan internal, proses dan struktur organisasi harus ditinjau ulang dan diadaptasi di semua organisasi utama. Pada tingkat sistemik, kerangka kerja kebijakan secara keseluruhan harus dirancang atau direformasi untuk memfasilitasi operasi dan interaksi yang efektif dan berkelanjutan antara individu, organisasi, dan ILMS.

4. Keberlanjutan

Pada akhirnya, tujuan utama dari program ini tentunya adalah untuk mempertahankan ILMS agar dapat bertahan dalam jangka yang panjang: setidaknya lima tahun, atau lebih baik lagi selama sepuluh tahun bahkan lebih. Untuk mewujudkan hal ini, dibutuhkan pendekatan yang komprehensif terhadap pelaksanaan program yang mencakup beberapa dimensi. Misalnya, pendanaan dan kepemilikan program harus sebisa mungkin bersifat independen, terpisah dari pergantian kepemimpinan langsung (politik). Infrastruktur dan teknologi ILMS harus dipelihara dan ditinjau secara teratur, diperbarui dan ditingkatkan atau disesuaikan dengan perubahan persyaratan. Selain itu, fokus pada partisipasi masyarakat yang berkelanjutan harus dipertahankan. Hal ini dapat dicapai melalui teknik-teknik dan prinsip-prinsip seperti penyediaan layanan dan kepemimpinan yang mendukung secara berkelanjutan dan transparan, tinjauan berkala terhadap kebutuhan dan kepuasan pengguna, kampanye, dan alat-alat pendukung lainnya.

Secara umum, untuk dapat mengatasi tantangan-tantangan ini, maka perlu terciptanya lingkungan untuk sistem di mana semua pemangku kepentingan termotivasi untuk berkontribusi dan mampu menarik manfaat maksimal – sehingga memperkuat pasar tenaga kerja dan ekonomi serta membantu masyarakat berkembang.

Jika Anda ingin menerapkan ILMS yang sukses di negara Anda, hubungi kami dan dapatkan manfaat dari keahlian teknologi JANZZ.technology yang andal. Kami dengan senang hati akan membantu dan memberi saran kepada Anda secara langsung.

Atau kunjungi website kami dan temukan solusi tepat yang tersedia untuk layanan ketenagakerjaan publik. Silakan saksikan juga video kami tentang penjelasan produk JANZZilms!, produk solusi pasar ketenagakerjaan kami yang terintegrasi.

4 unsung challenges of digital labor market solutions you must address

2022-07-12/in Knowledge Base /by JANZZ.technology

A global economic slowdown, rapid digitalization, ageing populations, informal labor, skill mismatches, discouraged workers, structural shifts and increasingly dynamic career paths… In labor market governance and management, there is no shortage of complex challenges to overcome. To address these challenges, many governments have introduced public employment services (PES) and active labor market polices (ALMPs). There is no simple answer on how to do this, especially given the complexity and unique challenges of each labor market. However, one integral step towards more effective labor market management is instituting an advanced labor market information system. In a well-implemented system, accurate, relevant and timely information flows between all relevant stakeholders. This facilitates informed decisions and appropriate action—provided the information is reliable, valuable, and as complete and up to date as possible.

A key element of any such system are digital solutions to gather, validate, analyze, and disseminate information related to the labor market. Integrated labor market solutions (ILMS) combine these digital solutions into one system. This includes solutions that provide services such as job matching, career guidance, and other functions covered by the PES. Any complex system inevitably presents technical challenges, and this is also true for an ILMS. Apart from ensuring the core technologies and features work as they should, there are overarching challenges such as accessibility, compliance with data and privacy laws, connectivity and interoperability, to name just a few.

Fortunately, with good project management and sound requirement engineering, the larger challenges of the technical implementation typically reveal themselves early in the process. Therefore, they can be addressed before they jeopardize the success of the project. However, other, equally essential challenges are surprisingly often overlooked or ignored – with potentially fatal consequences for the project.

1. Mindset

Large-scale changes like the implementation of an ILMS disrupt the everyday processes that PES employees and clients have grown accustomed to. Such changes fundamentally alter the culture and mindset of the organization and can be overwhelming for many involved. This often leads to disconcerted or disgruntled staff, jobseekers, employers, or other involved institutions. If the value of such a system is not effectively conveyed, there may be apprehension or even pushback. However, it will be highly detrimental to the project if these key stakeholders are unwilling or unable to endorse the new processes, or to collaborate and share information. Therefore, this challenge must be addressed. A multifaceted approach can accomplish this, including change management within the PES and other institutions, campaigning and building trust with the public, as well as critically reviewing and adapting policy and leadership.

Another key challenge for project owners and commissioning authorities is maintaining an open, yet critical mindset and the ability to take bold decisions. As the saying goes, good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions. So, learn from (other people’s) mistakes and go ahead. When embarking on a complex project like this, there is often substantial pressure to do what everyone else does, i.e. simply purchase the same system or technologies that some other country used more or less successfully. But again, each labor market poses its own unique challenges. What works in one country or labor market may not work in another. Determining the right system thus requires pinpointing the key characteristics and challenges of the labor market, economy and culture at hand to obtain a clear idea of which problems the ILMS can and must solve. With this clarity, the project owner can review comparable projects critically, assessing similarities and differences in labor market, culture and political framework, as well as studying the pitfalls and mistakes made – and, if necessary, advocate a solution that is different to what others are pursuing.

2. Community

An ILMS can only be successful if it is used. By all relevant stakeholders. One typical component of an ILMS is a job platform. When we implement these projects for public employment services, we very often see a strong focus on job platform features for jobseekers and PES staff. Of course, there are many aspects that must be considered for these user groups, including ease of use for a diverse audience, service delivery to users with limited digital access, accessibility for users with disabilities and so on. However, all these desirable features are of little use if the job platform is not populated with job postings. Therefore, it must first and foremost be attractive for employers. This requires infrastructure and staff to attract and assist employers looking to hire, as well as deploying an ILMS designed to make job posting and candidate sourcing as simple and effective as possible for businesses. It may also involve policy decisions, advocacy and campaigning.

In addition, an ILMS should also cater to users from educational institutions who leverage the data in the system to align curricula to market needs. In return, these institutions could feed data on their offering into the system to make it readily accessible to both job seekers and policymakers – again to deliver actionable intelligence and facilitate informed decisions. Similar considerations also apply to other components of an ILMS.

Another crucial challenge arises in federations where the federated units have a certain degree of autonomy. These units must agree on and adopt the ILMS – albeit with regional adaptations to cater for each unit’s individual labor market characteristics and needs. This way, the ILMS can help break through information silos and provide reliable and comparable data and services at both the federal and regional levels. For instance, to inform policy at both levels, and to improve job opportunities by removing regional barriers.

3. Capacity

Sound capacity building is one of the aspects of ILMS projects that is most frequently overlooked or only partially and insufficiently executed, often leading to project failure. Recognizing the important role of capacity building is therefore crucial to ensure the ILMS reaches its full potential. Specific and targeted capacity initiatives need to be developed on multiple levels. At the individual level, this involves training PES staff, analysts and other involved institutional actors, as well as educating private and business users. At an institutional level, internal policies, processes and organizational structures should be reviewed and adapted in all key organizations. At a systemic level, the overall policy framework must be designed or reformed to facilitate effective and sustainable operations and interactions between individuals, organizations and the ILMS.

4. Sustainability

Finally, a key goal of the project must be to sustain the ILMS over the long term: at least five years, preferably ten or more. Accomplishing this requires a comprehensive approach to project implementation covering several dimensions. For instance, funding and project ownership should be as independent as possible from changes in direct (political) leadership. The ILMS infrastructure and technologies should be maintained and regularly reviewed, updated and enhanced or adapted to changing requirements. In addition, focus on continued community participation must be maintained. This can be achieved through techniques and principles such as sustained supportive and transparent service provision and leadership, periodic reviews of user needs and satisfaction, campaigning, and other tools.

Overall, addressing these challenges is about creating an environment for a system where all stakeholders are both motivated to contribute and able to draw maximum benefit – thus strengthening the labor market and the economy and helping communities thrive.

If you’re looking to implement a successful ILMS in your country, get in touch and benefit from JANZZ.technology’s in-depth expertise. We are happy to assist and advise you right from the start.

Or visit our website and discover the advanced solutions we have created for public employment services and watch the explainer video for our integrated labor market solution JANZZilms!.

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