杰艾智库丨我们想要的工作已经有所变化，但其价值还没有
近期，世界就业联合会（WEC）公布了其最新的战略研究项目“The Work We Want”的成果。该项目是WEC携手FT Longitude，以及招聘和雇佣行业的主要商业领袖合作进行的，而我们杰艾控股就是项目组的重要成员之一。该项目成果分为三个篇章，以下是最后一个篇章的最后一篇推文，杰艾控股持续翻译转载，与大家一起分享探讨。
The work we want has changed — but its value hasn’t
我们想要的工作已经有所变化，但其价值还没有
COVID-19 brought many changes and accelerated several long-term mega trends that characterise the changing world work. One of the most significant has been to the way we work. At the height of the pandemic, huge numbers of people rapidly switched to remote working. Others had their roles disrupted by new regulations. Amid such upheaval, many felt the need to reassess their personal priorities.
新冠肺炎带来了许多变化，并加速了世界工作变化的几个长期大趋势。其中最重要的就是工作形式。在疫情最严重的时候，大量职场人士迅速转向远程办公，其他人的角色也被新规定打乱了。在这样的动荡中，许多人觉得有必要重新评估他们个人的优先事项了。
Now, people in many regions seem to be spending less time working. Research by the ADP Research Institute found that the average working week in 2023 was the shortest in five years. The largest fall in hours worked was among the highest-paid quartile, suggesting that at least some of the shift is down to choice, rather than internal restructuring or lack of demand. Prominent among the groups working less were female and younger workers, adding to evidence of a substantial shift in attitudes. But other demographics are also part of this trend: US workforce data, for example, indicates that older workers have been quitting the workforce at record rates, with a growth in early retirement.
现在，许多地区的人们似乎都在减少工作时间。ADP研究所的研究发现，2023年的平均工作周是五年来最短的。工作时间下降幅度最大的是收入最高的那四分之一人群，这表明至少有一部分变化是由于自我选择，而不是内部重组或缺乏需求。在工作时间较少的群体中，女性和年轻工人是最突出的，这进一步证明了人们的态度发生了重大的转变。但其他人口统计数据也是这一趋势的一部分：例如，美国劳动力数据表明，老年工人以创纪录的速度退出劳动力市场，提前退休人数也在增加。
As part of their search for a new work-life balance, employees may seek part-time roles or opt for flexible contracts that allow for weekly variation. Barry Asin, chief analyst at global staffing and workforce solutions research and advisory firm Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), says that in healthcare, for example, an approach that incorporates variable working hours has become increasingly common. “Many of those healthcare professionals are deciding that traditional jobs are not their ‘thing’ anymore,” explains Asin. “They’d much rather work on a temporary basis — work for three months and then take three months off and recover.”
作为寻求工作与生活平衡的新构成，员工还可能会去找兼职工作，或选择允许每周变动的灵活合同。全球人员配置和劳动力解决方案研究与咨询机构（SIA）的首席分析师Barry Asin表示，例如在医疗保健领域，包含灵活工作时间的办公方式变得越来越为普遍。“许多医疗保健专业人员决定，传统的工作不再是他们的‘正职’。”Asin解释说，“他们更愿意被临时雇佣——工作三个月，然后休息三个月调整状态。”
Besides the time spent on work, there is also the question of where work is done. “Candidates now always ask for flexibility around home working,” says Verónica Rodríguez Largacha, human resources director for Spain and Portugal at Bosch Group. Like many other companies, Bosch is striving to accommodate employees’ evolving preferences without neglecting business needs. But the bottom line is clear, says Largacha: “It’s best for the business to have happy people, because happy people are high-performing people.”
除了花在工作上的时间，还有一个问题是工作在哪里做。“候选人现在经常要求有在家工作的灵活性，”博世集团西班牙和葡萄牙人力资源总监Verónica Rodríguez Largacha说。与许多其他公司一样，博世集团努力在满足业务需求的情况下适应员工不断变化的偏好。但Largacha也表示底线是明确的：“企业最好的状况就是工作的人都很快乐，因为只有快乐的人工作才能都是高绩效的。”
The case for work
工作的理由
While many are rebalancing their priorities, and perhaps putting in fewer hours, work is still fundamentally important to our society. “It goes back to Abraham Maslow’s classic hierarchy of needs,” suggests Viktorija Proskurovska, labour market intelligence manager at the World Employment Confederation (WEC). “Work serves us at the basic level of safety, giving us a way to secure financial resources.”
尽管许多人正在重新平衡他们的优先事项，或者也许会减少工作时间，但工作对社会仍然至关重要。“这可以追溯到亚伯拉罕·马斯洛的经典需求层次，”世界就业联合会（WEC）劳动力市场情报经理Viktorija Proskurovska表示，“工作提供了安全的基本水平，给我们提供了一种获得财政资源的途径。”
But, once we have met those basic security needs, we view work as more than just a source of income. “It can enhance our sense of identity, give us purpose and direction, build confidence and provide social connection,” adds Proskurovska. By the same token, the negative repercussions of unemployment for mental health can be severe.
但是，一旦满足了这些基本的安全需求，工作将不仅仅被视为一种收入来源。“工作可以增强认同感，给我们目标和方向，建立信心，并提供与社会的联系。”Proskurovska补充道。同样，失业对心理健康的负面影响也可能很严重。
While attitudes to work are shifting in every part of the world, they are not always doing so in the same direction. The World Values Survey 2023 found that, while just 73% of UK workers and 80% of US workers rated work as a very or rather important aspect of their lives, other nations record far higher numbers, with the Philippines and Indonesia recording scores as high as 99%. An obvious reason for this is that workers in developing economies may not have the luxury of moving away from work, as some may in the developed world.
虽然世界各地对工作的态度都在发生变化，但也并不总是朝着同一个方向发展的。《2023年世界价值观调查》发现，尽管只有73%的英国工人和80%的美国工人将工作视为他们生活中非常或相当重要的一部分，而在其他国家的这个数字则要高很多。菲律宾和印度尼西亚的得分高达99%。其中一个明显的原因是，发展中国家的职场人士没有像发达国家的一些人那样，拥有离开工作岗位的奢侈条件。
Strikingly, despite workers’ changing priorities, global data reveals that workforce participation has, in fact, increased in recent years. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), global unemployment has fallen quickly since spiking at the beginning of the pandemic, reaching 5.3% in 2022, below 2019 levels. Work remains relevant and highly valued for the vast majority of people.
值得注意的是，尽管员工的优先事项发生了变化，但全球数据显示，事实上，近年来劳动力参与度有所提高。根据国际劳工组织（ILO）的数据，自疫情开始以来，全球失业率迅速下降，2022年仅5.3%，低于2019年的水平。工作对绝大多数人来说仍然休戚相关，也被高度重视。
The implications for business
对业务的影响
WEC research suggests that senior executives recognise the significance of these changing priorities. In our recent global survey, 83% said that workers now value flexibility as much as factors such as pay, while 82% said the idea of a person following one career path in their lifetime has gone for good as workers seek greater variety.
WEC的研究表明，高管们认识到这些不断变化的优先事项的重要性。在最近一项全球调查中显示，83%的人表示，员工现在与薪酬等因素一样重视灵活性，而82%的人则表示，随着员工寻求更多的多样性，一个人一生只做一份工作的想法已经不复存在了。
There are several implications for businesses. One is the requirement to accept that talent will come to the workplace with a variety of attitudes and expectations. Consequently, providing a wide range of both opportunities and options for workers will be important in expanding the talent pool. One aspect of this may be making greater use of agency personnel on fixed-term contracts and offering more part-time roles.
这对企业有多方面影响。其一即要求接受人才会带着各种态度和期望来到职场。因此，为员工提供广泛的机会和选择对扩大人才库至关重要。另一个方面则是尽可能多地利用固定期限的中介员工，并提供更多的兼职职位。
Temporary or project-based fixed-term contracts can not only fulfil some people’s desire for variety and autonomy, but also contribute to a thriving skills ecosystem. Dr Anna Gurun, associate director at UK research institute HSM Advisory, points out that this is why many people with in-demand digital skills work on contracts. “If you have tech skills, you learn by the projects you’re on,” she explains. Depending on the company, a variety of projects cannot always be offered in a permanent role. And crucially, Gurun points out, “The exchange of knowledge goes both ways.” Organisations benefit from bringing new personnel in as much as those individuals benefit in terms of their own development.
临时或基于项目的定期合同不仅可以满足一些人对多样性和自主性的渴望，而且有助于蓬勃发展的技能生态系统。英国研究机构HSM Advisory的副主任Anna Gurun博士指出，这就是为什么许多拥有需求旺盛的数字技能人才都在签订项目合同。她解释道：“如果你有相关技术技能，就可以通过你正在进行的项目来学习。”根据公司的需求，各种项目不可能总是由固定的那几个员工推进。更重要的是，Gurun指出：“知识交流是双向的。”组织从引进新员工中受益，就像这些人也能从中受益于自身发展一样。
Bosch’s Rodríguez Largacha says the desire for varied work is particularly strong among younger workers: “With the new generations of workers, after they spend two years – or even a few months –doing the same thing, they start to look for something new,” she says. Businesses should not misconstrue this as making it inevitable that they will lose workers, however; rather, they can help workers to access learning opportunities and prepare them to take on new roles within the organisation.
博世的Rodríguez Largacha表示，年轻员工对多样化工作的渴望尤其强烈。她说：“随着新一代员工上线，我们发现他们在花两年或仅仅几个月的时间做同样的事情后，就开始觉得厌倦，然后想要去寻找新的东西了。”然而，企业不应将其误解为，这意味着不可避免地会失去员工；相反，他们可以帮助员工获得学习机会，并为他们在组织中承担新角色做好准备。
Increasingly, the emphasis is on self-directed development, giving employees more control over their learning. “We used to map out career plans for employees. Now, they make their own path,” says Rodríguez Largacha. Bosch has created an internal skills hub where employees can create profiles displaying their skills, allowing the HR team to match them with vacant roles or project-based opportunities. “Our message is, ‘You can grow with us. You can choose your own development path’,” explains Rodríguez Largacha.
渐渐地，自主发展越来越被重视，员工对自己的学习也有了更多的控制权。“我们过去常常为员工制定职业计划。现在，他们在自己走自己的路。”Rodríguez Largacha说。博世创建了一个内部技能中心，员工可以在这里创建并展示其技能档案，以便于人力资源团队将其与空缺职位或基于项目的机会相匹配。Rodríguez Largacha解释道：“我们想传达信息是，‘你可以和我们一起成长，你可以选择自己的发展道路’。”
As well as internal career coaching, many companies may find it valuable to partner with an external career support services provider. Working with external advisors can still build internal mobility, but some employees may be more open about their career goals with someone who they don’t normally work with.
除了内部职业指导，许多公司可能会发现与外部职业支持服务供应商合作也很有价值。而与外部顾问合作仍然可以建立内部流动性，因为一些员工可能会与他们没日常共事的人更开放地谈论他们的职业目标。
It is undeniable that many people have decided they want to adjust how they work.
不可否认，许多人已经决定调整自己的工作方式。
Yet the fundamental importance of work as a source of income and of personal confidence and dignity has not changed.
然而，工作作为收入以及个人信心和尊严来源的根本重要性并没有改变。
A one-size-fits-all approach to accommodating the range of new requirements from employees won’t be effective for employers. If businesses want to remain competitive in the ongoing battle to attract and retain talent, they need to be increasingly flexible and responsive, listening closely when candidates explain how they want to work.
用一刀切的方法来适应员工的一系列新要求，对雇主们来说也是无济于事的。如果企业想在持续的吸引和留住人才的战斗中保持竞争力，就需要越来越灵活和反应迅速，在应聘者阐述他们想如何工作时密切倾听。
These three chapters are all our sharing about “The Work We Want” research project. Thank you for your continued attention. We are searching for more interesting and meaningful content, looking forward to our next series!
以上就是我们关于“我们想要的工作”这个研究项目的所有分享，感谢大家的持续关注。杰艾智库正在搜索更多有意思的精彩内容，期待我们的下次相见！
