Good Time to Evaluate Your Employees

David KuackThe landscape for the U.S. labor market is changing dramatically. This fall, for the first time in history, women should overtake men in the number of jobs. In June, women accounted for 49.8 percent of the country’s 132 million jobs. Through June, men had accounted for 74 percent of the 6.4 million jobs that have been lost since the recession began in December 2007. There are now nearly 15 million Americans who are unemployed.

Men and women over 55 have experienced the biggest loss in jobs since the Great Depression. During the second quarter, unemployed white men over 55 climbed to a record 6.5 percent.

Even though more older workers have been laid off, the American workforce continues to age. The Pew Research Center reports that older adults are staying in the work force longer and younger adults are staying out of it longer. This is expected to continue even after the economy recovers. One government estimate is that 93 percent of the growth in the American work force from 2006 to 2016 will be among workers 55 years and older. The Pew nationwide survey found the reason that most workers 65 years and older are working is because they want to (54 percent). Only 17 percent of older workers indicated their main reason for working was that they needed a paycheck. Another 27 percent said they were motivated by a combination of desire and need.

The recession has definitely impacted workers’ decisions to enter or stay in the work force. The Pew survey found that nearly 40 percent of adults are working past the median retirement age of 62 due to economic conditions. Sixty-three percent of workers age 50 to 61 said they might have to delay their retirement because of the economy. More people age 16 to 24 are choosing to stay in school (73 percent). More than 40 percent of nonworking 16 to 24 year olds reported they had sought a job, but could not find one.

Paid to just show up
Even with the record number of layoffs, a number of small business operators aren’t happy with the performance of their current employees. A survey of 1,000 small businesses by management consulting firm George S. May International Co. found that 41 percent of owners pay their employees just to show up. Of even greater concern is that 45 percent of these small businesses indicated they aren’t profitable.

“Too many small businesses still reward employees for just showing up….when they should be paying them based on performance related to specific, measurable goals,” said Paul Rauseo, managing director at George S. May International.

Rauseo said owners of these companies are setting themselves up to sacrifice profits when their employees expect to be compensated for collaborative activities, regardless of the results. He said these businesses “need to shake off their complacency and to commit to making a real change in operational efficiencies.”

For more: Pew Research Center, http://pewresearch.org. George S. May International Co., www.georgesmay.com.