Worried workers need reassurance

Jo Faragher

The impact of the recession really hit home this week, with news that British workers are feeling less secure and more stressed at work than they have in the past 20 years.

The six-yearly Skills and Employment survey into employee attitudes from the Economic and Social Research Council shines an uncomfortable spotlight into just how the workplace – and the job market – has changed as budgets have been squeezed and business confidence eroded.

One of its key findings was that employers with the most content staff tended to give those workers more of a say in what they were doing. This is an area where recruiters can help: by getting involved in building relationships with hiring companies and easing that communication process. It’s also good advice to take on board when maintaining morale among your own consultants.

Those who are feeling insecure about their jobs might take comfort in some other figures released this week, however. A survey of almost 1,400 finance directors has found that more than 35% are looking for new hires – so if the money-holders are feeling optimistic, that should be an encouraging sign.

Meanwhile, graduate recruiters will welcome the news that there will be an 8% increase in the number of graduate roles being advertised this year, according to research company Income Data Services.

The beleaguered Work Programme was back in the headlines this week, however, with a parliamentary committee report suggesting that welfare-to-work providers had failed to help the most disadvantaged jobseekers. It claimed that the ‘hardest to help’ jobseekers, such as those with disabilities or a history of homelessness, were given little support to find sustained employment.

Last year, the programme was criticised when only 3.5% of jobseekers on the scheme found a job for six months or more, missing the Government target of 5.5%. With such a pitiful record for the Government-backed programme, is it time for mainstream recruiters to support the long-term unemployed back into work?

Finally, a story of an innovative approach to recruitment came under our radar this week. German software company SAP has announced plans to recruit hundreds of people with autism, saying they have a unique talent for information technology.

SAP has already hired six people with autism at its office in Bangalore, India, where they work as software testers. The firm said its productivity had increased as a result of their efforts and attention to detail. SAP executive Luisa Delgado is quoted as saying that “innovation comes from the edges”.

Thinking about ‘best fit’ in different ways can often reap rewards, as this story shows.

Let us know what you think at editorial@recruitmentagencynow.com