Job insecurity is a global issue, and so is inconsistency in upskilling workers from different generations and different job types.
Young adults were more upbeat than older counterparts about their skills and overall job prospects, according to a survey of nearly 40,000 workers worldwide by ADP. The report, People at Work: A Global Workforce Review, found that 21% of workers between ages 18 and 39 reported that their employer invests in the skills needed for career advancement, whereas just 12% of employees 55 and older received targeted investments in skills development, the lowest percentage in the age groups.
Also, more younger workers surveyed received on-the-job support from colleagues and support from leadership than older respondents.
Amongst workers who strongly agree that their employer is investing in them, 53% are fully engaged, the report said. When this support is lacking, the report said, the share of fully engaged workers dropped to 12%.
“Upskilling isn’t just workforce strategy; it’s a form of reassurance,” the report said. “Workers who strongly agreed that they had the skills needed to advance their careers were five times more likely to say their job was safe.”
Globally, fewer than one in four workers could confidently say their job was safe. “Nowhere did we find a majority of workers” who said with confidence that their jobs were safe, the report said. Just 22% strongly agreed that their job was safe from elimination.
The report found that 30% of knowledge workers said they felt their jobs were safe compared with skilled task workers (18%) and repetitive task workers (16%).
Additionally, respondents in finance and insurance, educational services, healthcare, and technology — sectors heavy with knowledge workers — were more likely to have confidence in their job security.
The security of seniority also comes into play, the report added. More C-suite leaders surveyed strongly agreed that their job is safe (35%) than employees in upper (31%), middle (23%), frontline management (21%), and individual contributor roles (18%).
The cost of free labour
Job insecurity promotes lower productivity and engagement — but working for free poses the same risks.
“Most employees say they work off the clock, and some do it a lot,” the report said. “But all that unpaid effort can have downsides for both workers and their organisations.”
Sixty-two per cent of respondents reported working up to five hours unpaid; 26% said their unpaid hours stretched from six to 15 hours; and 12% worked unpaid for 16 hours or more each week to catch up on work.
C-suite leaders were more likely than other types to work longer unpaid — 20% said they put in an extra 16 hours or more.
Unpaid hours can lower productivity, raise stress, and increase turnover. “People putting in the most unpaid hours were most likely to be fully engaged and finding meaning in their work,” the report said. “But they also were more likely to be looking for the next job.”
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.