- Hacking Work International
- Posts
- #10: The end of anonymity is the end of Glassdoor?; Employees in danger of burnout; The opportunity map; No equal chances for women in the workplace.
#10: The end of anonymity is the end of Glassdoor?; Employees in danger of burnout; The opportunity map; No equal chances for women in the workplace.
BONUS: Chronoworking - the end of 9 to 5?; Middle managers are exhausted; You work remotely - you won’t get promotions.
Hacking Work International
March 28, 2024
Welcome to the newest edition of Hacking Work International Newsletter!
Here’s what you can expect every two weeks:
Updates on the global job market; the latest developments in leadership and organisational culture; valuable insights into professional and educational landscapes; modern perspectives on careers; and the evolving nature of work.
In today's email:
The end of anonymity on Glassdoor? Freedom of speech silenced
Recently, the Glassdoor platform sparked outrage when it added a new feature that required users to verify identities with their complete name, job title, and organisation, thereby giving up anonymity.
Many users have used anonymity to submit reviews about firms, reveal flaws with company culture, and negotiate higher salaries. Glassdoor's shift raised concerns about personal data protection, with the potential of information becoming subject to court orders or data leaks.
Glassdoor attempted to calm the situation by stating that it has previously declined more than 100 requests to expose users' identities. However, many users are sceptical, believing the new tool violates the platform's essential ideals of free speech and anonymity.
It remains to be seen how the fresh feature will impact the quantity and quality of reviews published on the platform.
Source: Dalle 3. Prompt provided by the Hacking Work team
Pay transparency: a Pandora's box for organisations?
A poll of more than 5,700 CEOs and HR experts conducted at the end of 2023 found that 60% of US organisations include wage ranges in job adverts. The rise over the previous year is 15%, and of all employers who practise pay transparency, 21% do so because it is mandated by law, while 39% do it irrespective of laws.
Pay transparency appears to boost employee engagement. Furthermore, employees at companies required by law to provide transparency demonstrate an interest in the subject by asking more inquiries regarding their salaries. On the other hand, 14% of leaders report that staff departed because they spotted higher-paying employment in other organisations, and 11% discovered that they were paid less than other employees for a similar role.
However, 13% of companies are against pay transparency. Reasons include the cost of creating systems to standardise and publish pay structures, as well as a reluctance to expose information about pay levels to competitors.
Opportunity map: which industries employ the most people in each country
Looking for work can be challenging, especially if your abilities are not applicable to the country you live in. A map created by Resume.io and Visual Capitalist using LinkedIn job ads shows which industries hire the most people in each country.
Globally, the IT industry has the highest amount of job adverts. This trend emphasises the value of digital skills and the growing demand for specialists in this field. Recruitment is ranked second, showing organisations' need to identify skilled workers quickly and efficiently, particularly in competitive areas.
Regional variety is also maintained, as the leading industry differs greatly from region to region. For example, agriculture employment accounts for a sizable proportion of available positions in Moldova, whereas construction industries employ the majority of workers in the United Kingdom.
Source: resume.io
Managers feel exhausted from serving all sides
Middle managers around the world face a challenging situation: they are overworked, have too many duties, and receive little training and support to manage them. According to a Capterra survey, half of them feel overwhelmed by their tasks, and 43% are burnt out.
Managers confront increased demands as a result of remote and hybrid working (they are expected to do more than ever before), management pressure to deliver outcomes, and employee expectations for additional help and guidance. According to Gartner, one in every five managers would decline this responsibility if given the opportunity because they do not feel equipped to lead change in their businesses.
The issue becomes even more apparent for female executives. They are far less likely to obtain continued management training than their male counterparts. This lack of support pushes many new managers "overboard"; 40% are already seeking for other positions.
However, there is hope for improvement: 59% of leaders want to invest more on management development initiatives. Technology can also have a significant impact. 76% of managers are positive about artificial intelligence, believing that automating monotonous administrative chores will save up nearly half of their time.
No country in the world provides equal chances for women in the workplace
The World Bank discovered that the gender disparity worldwide is substantially bigger than previously anticipated. According to recent studies, narrowing this gap has the potential to increase global GDP by more than 20%. The analysis evaluates for the first time how 190 countries are executing current rules to safeguard women, revealing a "shocking" disparity between legislation and practice.
The tenth edition of women, business, and the law report examined how childcare and safety legislation affected women's labour market involvement in 190 countries. The survey finds that women's safety globally is poor with a score of just 36 out of 100.
This means that women receive only one-third of the legal protection required to protect them from domestic abuse, sexual harassment, child marriage, and femicide. Although 151 countries have laws prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace, just 39 of them address abuse in public places or on public transportation, leaving women vulnerable on their way to work.
98 of the 190 economies analysed have passed equal pay legislation, but only 35 have implemented pay transparency or enforcement procedures to close wage discrepancies. Globally, women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by males.
“All over the world, discriminatory laws and practices prevent women from working or starting businesses on an equal footing with men,” said Indermit Gill, chief economist of the World Bank Group.
😠 BUZZKILL IN CHIEF
Following the recent implementation of a required return-to-office policy, Dell has announced employees who work remotely would no longer be considered for promotions or role changes beginning in May. This decision is surprising given that Dell had previously promoted a hybrid work paradigm and claimed that it would not force employees to work from the office before the COVID-19 pandemic.
📜 QUICK READS
Byte-sized news
Due to its solid performance in 2023, Porsche AG employees will be awarded a bonus of up to 9,690 euros. The bonus will be disbursed alongside their April salaries and will be available to employees working at Porsche facilities in Germany and the company's subsidiaries.
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How to Build Trust in Remote Teams – a 2-minute video by Simon Sinek.
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Tennessee, known as the birthplace of country music, is set to become the first state in the United States to pass laws protecting musicians from artificial intelligence. Effective July 1st, the law will prohibit the reproduction of an artist's voice without their express permission. Is this an appropriate way to secure today's jobs for the future?
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This year, 82% of employees are in danger of experiencing professional burnout, but only half of employers take their well-being into account when designing work, as per a global Mercer report. Financial pressure impacts 43% of employees, while burnout affects 40%, and 37% grapple with excessive workloads. Less than half of employers incorporate employee well-being into workflow design, and fewer than one-third recognize the significant risks of neglecting it.
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Here are five websites that could be helpful in your quest for remote job opportunities Index.dev, RemoteOk, Remote.co, Wellfound, and the AI Job Board.
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According to a Live Data Technologies estimate, the amount of job cuts for middle managers is responsible for 31.5% of all layoffs in 2023. As a result, they feel less confidence in their firms' future growth than other employees.
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Flexible working is more affordable for people in the UK. Employees will be able to request flexible working arrangements from the very first day of their job under new laws that go into effect in the UK on April 6. Previously, employees had to wait 26 weeks to submit similar requests. Employees also no longer have to defend their requests in detail, making the application procedure for flexible working, which includes alternatives such as desired working hours, working patterns, and space (for example, hybrid working), easier. In addition, companies must respond to these inquiries within two months, rather than three as previously required.
💡 DID YOU KNOW?
Gender bias occurs frequently on LinkedIn
Men have more recommendations from previous bosses or coworkers on their LinkedIn and Indeed profiles than women. Furthermore, the type of suggestions differs by gender; those for males frequently focus on hard abilities, whereas those for women focus on soft skills.
Women's unwillingness to self-promote could explain why they obtain fewer referrals. Furthermore, a 2019 study found that when women explain their skills to potential employers, they do so in significantly less favourable terms than equally high-performing men. As a result, women's technical skills are undervalued, and inequalities persist.
News on Layoffs:
Unilever lays off 7,500 individuals or 5.9% of its workforce. The news coincided with the decision to spin off the ice cream divisions (Magnum and Ben & Jerry's).
PwC Australia will slash 329 jobs. The move is part of a larger restructuring following a national incident in which a former partner divulged the government's tax plans.
Shell, the oil major, is slashing at least 20% of its transaction team roles to save expenses.
At least 1,600 employees of Webasto, a major automotive supplier, are to be laid off. The cuts will take place in Germany.
The world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaic panels, Longi Green Technology Energy Co, will lay off a third of its workforce. The industry is facing overcapacity and intense competition.
Stellantis is laying off about 400 US workers in its engineering, technology and software units to cut costs. The spokeswoman declined to disclose the exact number of employees to be laid off, but a source confirmed it would be about 400.
Businesses that operate entirely remotely claim to be the most productive
The entire back-to-office policy discussion can be reviewed in light of the recent Impact of Technology in the Workplace report. 64% of remote firms perceive themselves to be highly productive, compared to 54% of those who prefer a physical office presence and 53% of those who use hybrid working. Furthermore, remote businesses recruit at a 44% higher rate. The survey also emphasises the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI): 72% of organisations that utilise AI on a regular basis report much higher productivity than the rest.
Source: tech.co
🧠 MIND HACK
Do you work 9-5 or when you're really productive? 4 ways to integrate chronoworking into your team
Be honest with yourself - first of all - how much do you still like the classic 9 to 5 work program? If you want to take a nap in the middle of the day, have a quiet meal and then get back to work, why not? The essential thing is to get the job done on time, no matter how or when - it may sound rebellious, but it makes sense, doesn't it? It's the vision of some Generation Z managers (but not only) who, fed up with formalities, have introduced relaxation breaks, informal meetings or the "no meeting after lunch" policy.
Chronoworking is a concept that suggests we should tailor our work schedules to our own biological rhythms, keeping in mind that the best periods for productivity may differ for each of us. The proposal is to shift away from a rigorous work arrangement and towards a more flexible timetable.
Anthropology suggests that this view may be a valid one. Sleep experts point out that it's healthier to allow your body clock to synchronise with daylight hours than to force it to wake up at night. Another survey of 10,000 employees shows that 45% of those working an 8-hour day work only half that time, spending the other half on the internet, social media or coffee breaks.
Clearly, traditional leaders view these innovations with distrust and mild disdain. Let us remember, however, that the working day as we know it, with work from morning to evening, was established in the 18th century. Perhaps the time has come to ask ourselves whether it is worth continuing in this style.
Implementing chronoworking, however, requires adaptability and the use of appropriate technology, as well as good team communication. The Startup Scoup provides a simple guide to getting started:
Ask the team questions to better understand each member's normal sleep and wake rhythms. According to research, generations have different preferences for working hours. Adobe's Future of Time analysis identifies differences between Baby Boomers, who favour the regular 9 am to 5 pm schedule, and Generation Z, who prefer later hours between 6 pm and 3 am.
Accept flexibility in working hours, including remote working. Regardless of individual preferences, this strategy boosts productivity and well-being. Furthermore, honoring your body's natural rhythms and adapting your work schedule accordingly decreases fatigue and other stress-related side effects.
Leverage technology to improve cooperation and project management. Use tools that make your work easier, and share "tips" with your coworkers. Every team requires a pragmatist who can discover effective answers to any situation.
Focus on results and achievements rather than hours worked. Instead of feeling compelled always to prove yourself and leave the office last, prioritise work-life balance. This will increase your motivation to attain achievements and, as a result, feeling satisfied with your work.
In conclusion, chronoworking seems to be gaining more and more ground in the professional environment and we have to adapt to the changes that make our lives easier. The solution to a good implementation is probably somewhere in the middle - a balance between innovation and tradition, between flexibility and discipline, between respect for individuality and the need for team cohesion and efficiency.
✏️ RECOMMENDATIONS
If you want to start the day positively, check out the Nice news Newsletter. It is a daily email series delivering positive news stories to your inbox each morning.
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If you want to learn something new daily science-wise, check out the Important not Important Newsletter. It is a Webby award-winning weekly newsletter that delivers key science news in just 10 minutes or less.
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The newsletter is written by the Hacking Work team: Cristina, Ioana, Izabella, Andreea, Ionuț, Loredana, Tibi, Iulia, Alexia and Doru.
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