Trends in Composition of Labor Market and their Impact on HR
Changes in Composition of Active Members of Population Economically
There has been recorded a decrease in the rate of birthrates leading to increased activities by women. The circumstance has resulted in increased education for women and fewer women’s time spent on household duties (Folarin, 2021). Another shift in the economically active members has been noted in the increase in the number of older workers—a lifespan for the population longer than the average means this statistic will rise. Women are more preferred during employment rather than men during the recruitment process.
Low Numbers of Qualified Employees
The scarcity of a qualified workforce is a significant challenge to the progress of economic growth. The employee’s qualifications do not often meet the market’s needs, and structural unemployment and a limited number of professionals may be challenging experiences in this case. Consequently, there are significant faults in the professional orienteering system. Companies and organizations have devoted too little money and time to the training of employees. For instance, persons who have graduated from colleges and universities but cannot implement what they are taught in class in real-world situations (Selingo, 2021). In the presence of training, the process is of low quality.
Legislations
Over the past several decades, there have been rules, policies, and regulations that western countries have enacted. These forms of policies govern labor relations and are involved in safeguarding workers against unfair treatment. Due to these policies, individuals will no longer face discrimination in the workplace due to gender identity, nationality, and ethnicity (Folarin, 2021). Boylan (2021) gives an example of the challenge is employees who may insult their bosses by claiming they know their rights. As a result of the enactment of these policies, some senior management has faced pressure to recruit new employees in choosing and attracting them.
Activities Required for Managing Cultural Diversity
The development of cultural competence in the workplace results in the ability to communicate, interact effectively and understand all individuals in the workplace. These practices are made possible regardless of the people’s schedules and cultural beliefs. These activities include:
Communication
Effective team performance and collaboration requires accurate and effective communication. One should maintain an open mind and be ready to learn about other individuals’ cultural differences. Involvement in active listening is important regardless of the differences and getting accustomed to the various accents of different workers (Ng & Sears, 2020). Individuals from different cultural settings may vary in their ways example, in how they relate to bad news. Individuals from cultures like Asia may be reluctant to give their superiors bad news, while other cultures may exaggerate bad news (Rae, 2019). Practices of kindness and sensitivity are important when dealing with people of different cultural beliefs.
Team Building
To succeed in new environments or a new industry, one must be open-minded to the new cultures of different people, be willing to engage in team-building activities with others, and share tasks and responsibilities with them regardless of their cultural differences. Teamwork is crucial to the organization as it helps to attain common goals and set objectives. Some cultures, such as those in the US nay are individualistic and find that some individuals may prefer working alone. Issues related to team building may become problematic in cases where individuals compromise the teams due to a mix of cultural types (Nayak, 2018). Effective cross-cultural team-building activities are significant in an organization for the benefits related to the advantages of cultural diversity in the workplace and the benefits of workplace diversity training.
Time
Different cultures may vary in their perspectives of time and the way they view time. For example, different cultures may vary concerning balancing family and work life. Other cultures may differ in work pace mix before social behavior and work. Another perception that may differ in different cultures is the exact definitions of overtime and perceptions of deadlines in a working context. The difference in time perception in a workplace from different cultures may cause great misunderstandings, especially in deadlines and schedules (Robertson, 2021). Time perceptions underscore the significance of cultural diversity and how it can impact everyday work in the organization.
Schedules
Different religious events and cultures can impact work. The business work for the west generally runs from January 1 to December thirty. In other cultures, they may use different calendars to determine the date of the New Year and holidays. For example, western Christians celebrate Christmas from Eastern Orthodox Christians on different days (Fredman, 2019). For Muslims, Friday is a day of worship, while the Jews observe holidays ranging from Rosh Hashanah to Yor Kippur. These variations may lead to people needing different days to observe their holidays.
Awareness
Cultural diversity should be celebrated and made known to all employees to create a healthy workplace and environment. A great way to encourage excellent relations and friendship with coworkers is learning about their different cultures and encouraging interactions and learning of their language. There should be policies against cultural discrimination between coworkers and encouragement of social relations between diverse cultures.
Model the Correct Behavior
Each individual in the workplace should appreciate and embrace diversity, and this should be made a common goal for all people. Individuals in the workplace would prioritize peace and common sense over correctness. They should approach the situation with a cheerful attitude and a sense of humor (Brooker, 2022). In cases when someone is having a rough day or going through personal challenges, one should avoid taking them personally.
Aspects of HR that Involve Specialists and those done In-House
Project management needs a human resource specialist to manage projects of different sizes and complexity. HR can help the team increase their efficiency and overall productivity. HR specialists are significant in recruiting and hiring employees as they can identify skilled workers who need the expertise to achieve a certain goal. Compliance management in the workplace needs an HR specialist to ensure that the company meets the legal obligation regarding compliance. Aspects of HR that can be done in-house include drafting rules to be followed by employees and decision-making for the salaries for the employees, as these aspects are well known within.
Human Resource Management in Foreign Countries
Human resource management in foreign countries can help the organization in its endeavors to operate its facilities in a foreign country in various ways. Human resource management can assist in identifying and recruiting qualified personnel to work in the organizations’ facilities in foreign countries. The management can assist in developing and training these employees to work effectively in a foreign country (Poór et al., 2018). Additionally, human resource management can assist in monitoring and evaluating employee performance and ensuring they meet the organization’s standards.
Internet Applications in Meeting the Challenges
Various internet applications can effectively meet the challenges experienced in operating facilities in a foreign county. Job boards can be effective in the identification and recruitment of qualified personnel to work in the facilities. Development and training portals such as Sky’s Global Totara LMS may provide the workforce with the development and training needed to work effectively. Performance management systems such as Objectives and Key Results (OKR) may be put in place to evaluate and monitor the employee’s performance in the foreign country to ensure they meet the standards required by the organization.
References
Boylan, J. F. (2021). Rudeness is on the rise. You got a problem with that? The New York Times.
Brooker, M. (2022) How severed is your workplace personality? The Washington Post.
Folarin, K. (2021). The future of human resources–Trends, reflections and strategies. European Journal of Human Resource, 5(1), 1-19. Web.
Fredman, S. (2019) I’m an Orthodox Jew. I grew up loving Christmas. Then I left New York. The Washington Post
Nayak, A. (2018). Growing a successful and collaborative team. The New York Times.
Ng, E. S., & Sears, G. J. (2020). Walking the talk on diversity: CEO beliefs, moral values, and the implementation of workplace diversity practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 164(3), 437-450.
Poór, J., Juhász, T., Machová, R., Bencsik, A., & Bilan, S. (2018). Knowledge management in human resource management: Foreign-owned subsidiaries’ practices in four CEE countries. Journal of International Studies, 11(3).
Rae, S. (2019). From inclusion to support: How to build a better workplace. The New York Times.
Robertson, K (2021) New York times calls for workplace changes in diversity. New York Times.
Selingo, J. J. (2021). Opinion | how to fill the skills gap for new college grads who don’t have work experience. The Washington Post.