Understanding the Job Trends in Businesses Around the Globe As Affected by Coronavirus

If there is one thing that coronavirus has wholly changed, it is human interaction. All was going well in 2020 for many people; we had our 2020 resolutions sorted until Covid-19 got pronounced a pandemic. It was on 30^th January 2020 that the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus as PHEIC; public health emergency of international concern. It was the point where all started going downhill.

Social distancing became the new normal since Covid-19 is exceptionally infectious. We witnessed severe lockdowns worldwide where human life came to a complete halt. As a result, businesses, schools, and the general activities of people got massively hindered. Schools and offices started functioning remotely, which paved a way to an entirely new mode of communication.

We can easily say that Covid-19 forced the entire world to shift their activities to the virtual world. From conducting online business meetings to buying the monthly grocery, people had no other option but to use the internet to avoid going out and risking contracting the virus. It also brought about a whole new shift in the employment industry and job trends. Jobs that could not move to an online platform such as airline staff left a considerable number of unemployed people. Furthermore, there was also a shift in demand for a few professionals in the industry. Let’s look into a little as to how the job trends evolved after the rise of Covid-19.

• WORK OUTSOURCING

Covid-19 resulted in a slowdown of economic activity, which meant lesser trade for businesses. As a result, the majority of the companies moved towards reducing costs to a minimum. It consequentially led to laying off workers that got deemed as excessive for the company. On the other hand, work outsourcing appeared to become a popular option for many organizations gradually.

Outsourcing is when you assign your work to a team of professionals that are not part of your payrolls, such as freelance workers or third party consultants. One essential advantage of outsourcing is that it reduces costs for the company since you only have to pay an amount for the project that got delivered. It will cut you any extra benefits that you would have to offer if you hire the employees to do the work for you. Therefore, Covid-19 enhanced the demand for outsourced or freelance workers.

• NEWER OPERATIONAL HOURS AND WORK CONDITIONS

Many prominent business experts now believe the 9-to-5 standard working hours to be a thing of the past. With most of the work getting online during the pandemic, employers believe that the employees can work as and when required.

The lockdown situation introduced a relaxed working environment for many, where they could efficiently juggle between home chores and office tasks. It provided an example to employers that it is doable. People believe that the working conditions in the future revolve around greater trust between the employer and worker. It means the workers will not have an official start or end to their day; instead, they will have the autonomy to schedule their work around their routine and task deadlines. It will overall provide ease to the working class and make it simpler to manage between personal and work life. For instant, if you are doing a master of business online, you can work around your office hours following your class schedules.

• MORE WOMEN JOINING THE TALENT POOL

One cannot ignore the fact that many women choose to stay at home and not pursue careers just so that they can better look after the house and family. The familiarity people have gotten with a work-from-home setup thanks to the pandemic has made it easier for women to join the working class. Since work-from-home is considered the way forward for corporations, women that were previously unemployed because of restrictions can now also get employed.

Additionally, men and women working from a home office can also create a better environment for their family where they manage home and work hand-in-hand. Consequentially, employers also get a vaster pool of talent to choose from for hiring sessions.   

• REMOTE WORKING SETUPS

After numerous countries issued lockdown regulations, many businesses shifted to work from home. It included conducting meetings online, delegating work, and supervising over the internet through software or portals. It also provided companies with an opportunity to judge the jobs they could hire remotely and hence, shift their operations online only. Eventually, it overall reduced company costs by removing the expense of renting a physical space. Even if companies do not outsource work, they could still consider it more advantageous to continue with a remote working setup.

CONCLUSION

The coronavirus outbreak has massively evolved human life today. The fear of the virus made people avoid social interactions altogether. The slowdown in business activity has resulted in losses and unemployment. Business gurus fear an impending recession in the years to come due to the shift in economic activities. Covid-19 has also affected the employment industry and has introduced newer trends, such as the ones we highlighted above. However, its not all doom and gloom. Even though coronavirus has altered our lives, the upcoming years require us to adapt to the changes and polish our skills accordingly. If we readily absorb the newness and get along with the trends, we are more likely to have a secure future.