The global supply chain has endured years of withering abuse and strain with little reprieve. These days, the foundations of the global supply chain and global labour pool are beginning to buckle, unleashing a humanitarian and financial crisis that could easily have deadly consequences.
Mismanaging our supply chain, undervaluing the role of labourers in the modern economy, and seeking short-term fixes for long-standing problems are at the root of the issue. Here’s how a renewed appreciation for better labour standards can prevent economic catastrophe.
COVID-19, Greed, And A Dismal Labour Scene
The current supply chain and labour catastrophe is the result of numerous simultaneous developments. In addition to a devastating global pandemic that has seriously frustrated the flow of people and goods across international borders, the supply chain and labour crisis was years in the making.
The painful fact of the matter is that labour shortages have been developing across critical industries for years now, though they’re growing worse in a number of key sectors due to COVID-19 woes. An inability to recognize that ethical and transparent hiring practices are a prerequisite to preventing terrible labour famines has exacerbated our current crisis.
“Workers need fair wages, but they also need to be treated with respect and dignity,” notes Joblio CEO Jon Purizhansky. “We can’t simply bribe people into accepting reviled jobs.”
While the short-term solutions often focus on improving wages, a wise step, they often fail to improve the public perception of certain jobs. Truck drivers are desperately needed in the UK, the US, and countless other developed economies yet suffer from outdated public perceptions.
According to Bruce Busada, president of the Diesel Driving Academy, starting salaries for truck drivers have soared from ~$40,000-55,000 in the pre-pandemic era to ~$60,000-85,000 today. Nevertheless, shortages persist because workers recognize that these jobs aren’t valued compared to other opportunities they would prefer pursuing. Workers also fear for their literal health and safety, something that higher wages simply won’t be able to solve in many cases.
Fostering A Welcoming Job Market
Employers around the globe can no longer take their workers for granted. A welcoming job market must be fostered to lure in talented human capital that as recently as a few years ago was dismissed as “low-wage” or “minimum wage” work that could be done by anyone. A revolution in how we view the essential labour jobs that sustain our society is sorely needed.
Corporate hiring managers who are unfamiliar with the daily realities of physically-intense jobs must recognize that these positions will be difficult to fill going forward, even if pandemic-related chaos subsides. Employers must also come to recognize the growing structural unemployment facing many developed economies due to changing demographics and diminished natural birth rates.
The solution is staring the global community in the face, yet few are ready to take the necessary steps to bolster the future of the international economy. The global talent pool is vast, yet workers struggle to migrate from one nation to another, especially during pandemics. By making it easier to relocate human capital to wherever it’s needed in an ethical and efficient manner, we can prevent a grim future defined by structural unemployment.
“By allowing migrant labourers to effortlessly fill in local labour shortages as they arise, we create optimal economic outcomes for everyone,” says Jon Purizhansky.
Juggling Health Concerns And Fair Employment Practices
Business leaders trying to avoid a dire financial future have two tools at their disposal. First and foremost, the health concerns of domestic workers must be assuaged by making health and hygiene a practical priority rather than a simple talking point. The critical labour famine currently upsetting global markets will never be remedied until blue collar workers are confident in their own health and safety.
According to the the Bureau of Census Household Pulse Survey, approximately 12 million people in the US cited COVID symptoms, COVID care, COVID fears, and childcare needs as the reason they weren’t working. Few of these individuals will return to work until vaccination is near-universal, public health is solidly assured, and childcare needs are met for workers.
The next tool that employers and governments can rely upon is ethical and fair hiring practices that attract migrant workers who can fill critical labour shortages. Rather than allowing our economy to crater, we can empower the millions of hardworking migrants around the world who seek employment in a developed economy.
That’s why the Joblio platform is striving to make global employment opportunities more accessible to migrant labourers. When talented individuals from around the world have an ethical, transparent, and free way to secure jobs for themselves, labour shortages may be speedily resolved. Additionally, employers and consumers don’t have to grapple with the deleterious effects of high employee turnover rates.
We don’t have to choose economic stagnation in the form of a severe labour famine. By empowering and welcoming migrant workers while instituting health and safety reforms at home, the global community can bounce back from this crisis to ensure a prosperous and sustainable 21st century.