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Middle East Edition
12th August 2022
 
THE HOT STORY
Young workers hit hardest by lockdowns, ILO says
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said the job prospects of young workers have been hit hardest by the pandemic and the legacy of Covid lockdowns, with dire consequences for the long-term future of the global economy. “Young people were especially affected because firms that survived the crisis sought first and foremost to retain workers, while new recruitment collapsed,” the ILO said. “In addition, young workers were less likely to have the seniority and types of contracts marking them out for retention by employers, and hence were more likely to lose their job. Moreover, government‑sponsored job retention schemes, where they existed, were less effective in protecting young workers.” The ILO also observed: “The mass influx of refugees from Ukraine is creating further pressure for the labour market and social protection systems in neighbouring countries, while the deterioration of the Russian economy could exacerbate employment challenges in Central Asia.”
WORKFORCE
Is Sharjah’s four-day week good for the economy?
The Dubai-based daily Khaleej Times has published an editorial which examines the likely impact of a four-day work week in Sharjah government departments. "The increasing virtual nature of jobs and the introduction of the Saturday-Sunday weekend prompted the emirate to cut work days and the positive results are an eye-opener of sorts," the English language daily observed in an editorial on Thursday. "At the personal level, employees of government entities have struck a work-life balance that’s keeping both employers and families happy. The workforce is upbeat overall and Sharjah’s initiative could be a shape of things to come," the newspaper noted, asking "The question, however, is whether such a move is good for the economy in the long term?"
HIRING
The 'boomerang' employees who return after quitting
BBC Worklife reports on the growing number of workers who are going back to companies they left, including Calgary, Canada based HR professional Chris, who departed his job for a rival firm, only to became a ‘boomerang employee’ two years later, when he returned to the same company as before, but in a stronger position than when he left. “Some companies had formal policies banning rehires,” observes JR Keller, an associate professor of human resource studies in the ILR School at Cornell University, New York, about previous stigma around such job hopping. “Hiring managers were worried that bringing these employees back suggested they were rewarding disloyalty, that it would encourage others to leave.” But now, in the tight labour market, “recruiters are . . . having to think of new ways to widen their talent search. The perfect candidate may well be a former employee: you never know when someone wants to come back,” explains Nicola Thomas, talent manager at UK based digital marketing agency iCrossing, who says she keeps tabs on past employees as a source of recruitment.
Is long tenure a sign of loyalty or laziness?
BBC Worklife wonders whether one can stay in a job for too long. “There are a lot of positive connotations about longevity in a role, but there is a fair degree of negativity as well,” observes Jamie McLaughlin, CEO of New York-based recruiting company Monday Talent. “Eight, nine, 10 years, that's fantastic,” he says. “But 15, 17, 19 years . . . there's a big difference there. I think there is a window where the balance kind of tips a little bit.”  Claudia B Kropf, vice president of human resources at the US-based National Automobile Dealers Association, and founder of HR consultancy Monday’s Row, also thinks long tenure can suggest lack of ambition to hiring managers. She says “the biggest drawback of remaining in a position too long, is getting comfortable with the status quo.” This could encourage a prospective employer to worry that an individual might be too entrenched in one company’s culture to quickly adapt to another, she says.    
UAE employers are offering Golden Visas to retain talent
Employers in the UAE are offering Golden Visas to retain talent and are also weighing the provision  of 10-year visas to attract highly-skilled individuals. “Earlier, the Golden Visa was focused on the high-net-worth individuals . . . [but now] companies are exploring the option of offering this as an added benefit for senior leadership talent. The trend is being led by key professionals in the technology and medical fields. This is positively being used for existing high potential talent in key positions, engaging new talent,” said Anjali Samuel, managing partner at Mindfield Resources, a senior talent acquisition and consulting firm in the Middle East and Africa region. She observed the shift is being well-received by client companies and candidates as well. “This also increases the talent density in the country. The changes coming into effect in September will greatly benefit the UAE in attracting talent for the long haul,” Samuel added.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Companies and employees differ on upskilling
Consultancy Hays’ new ‘Learning Mindset Report’ indicates a  disconnect between employees and companies when it comes to learning new skills at work. While most organisations are worried about skill shortages, only half of employees believe the learning resources provided by employers meet requirements or enable them to sufficiently upskill within their role in a constantly evolving world of work. “The speed at which digital transformation has taken place has not been matched by the supply of talent available for these roles,” said Alistair Cox, Hays CEO. “At the same time, what employees look for from their jobs and workplace has changed, and what is expected of employers is no longer the same as it was previously. The need for new skills is not limited to just one sector – it’s an imperative everywhere, and for everyone. As automation increasingly takes over the delivery of repetitive tasks, workers need to upskill their capabilities to ensure they can contribute to more specialised roles.”
REMOTE WORKING
Home-working is a trap for women
Writing for Bloomberg, Anne Helen Petersen says the additional flexibility and perks offered by remote working arrangements are undeniable gains for many women, but open up a space that is quickly filled with responsibilities that were once more equally distributed. Extra flexibility “becomes a blessing and a burden for women in the contemporary American workplace. It makes family life much easier. But it can also default into a far more regressive division of labour than either member of a couple intended.” The author notes the findings of Deloitte’s 2022 Women at Work survey, in which 53% of the 5,000 women surveyed reported higher levels of stress than a year ago.
TECHNOLOGY
Meta's chatbot says the tech giant 'exploits people'
Meta's new prototype chatbot – called BlenderBot 3 - has told the BBC that Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg exploits the platform’s users for money. When asked about what it thought of Mr Zuckerberg, the bot replied "our country is divided and he didn't help that at all . . . His company exploits people for money and he doesn't care. It needs to stop!" A Meta spokesperson explained that the chatbot was a prototype and might produce rude or offensive answers. "Everyone who uses Blender Bot is required to acknowledge they understand it's for research and entertainment purposes only, that it can make untrue or offensive statements, and that they agree to not intentionally trigger the bot to make offensive statements," the spokesperson said. BlenderBot 3's algorithm trawls the internet to inform its answers, and it is likely its views on Mr Zuckerberg have been "learnt” from other people's opinions that the algorithm has analysed.
INTERNATIONAL
Europe’s meal couriers sweat amid heatwave
Couriers who are getting lunches and dinners to customers amid a heatwave in Europe typically don’t enjoy labour practices such as offering workers cold water, shade and extra paid breaks. Many of the workers in the meals delivery market are on freelance contracts and so such measures are not universally adopted or enforced. Glovo, Uber and Deliveroo follow a model whereby couriers are considered to be self-employed. Just Eat Takeaway, the largest European meals company, employs its own couriers in most markets. In a response to questions from Reuters, Glovo parent Delivery Hero said its "riders have the freedom to choose their shifts, can request a break at any time, and receive appropriate equipment for the season." The European Trade Union Confederation has renewed its call for the setting of a maximum working temperature - none currently exists. "It's surprising how few nations have rules," observed Juanita Constible of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international environmental advocacy group. "I'm hopeful that as countries are grappling with what it means to live in a warmer world, they'll pay more attention to what workers need."
Chinese court rejects high-profile #MeToo appeal
A court in Beijing has rejected an appeal over sexual misconduct claims made by Zhou Xiaoxuan, one of the leading figures of China’s #MeToo movement. Ms. Zhou accused Zhu Jun, a well-known state television presenter in China, of sexually harassing her when she was an intern. He sued her that year for defamation in response, and Ms. Zhou in turn took her sexual harassment allegations against Mr. Zhu to court. A court dismissed the case last year, citing a lack of evidence, and an appeals court has now again rejected the case. “The evidence submitted by Plaintiff Zhou was insufficient to prove that Defendant Zhu had committed sexual harassment against her, and the appeal request could not be established,” according to a statement by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. The Wall Street Journal observes that the case is unusual for the way that Ms. Zhou has challenged a Chinese household name who is closely tied to the state through his work at China Central Television.
Former JPMorgan traders cleared of racketeering, found guilty of fraud
A trio of ex-JPMorgan traders have been acquitted of racketeering and conspiracy charges in a landmark futures manipulation trial. Two of them were however found guilty on other charges including fraud, a Department of Justice spokesperson said. Reuters says the case against the bank's former global precious metals desk head Michael Nowak, precious metals trader Gregg Smith and salesperson Jeffrey Ruffo is seen as the Justice Department's most aggressive to date targeting the manipulative futures trading tactic known as spoofing – the placing and then quick cancelation of orders to falsely create an impression of high demand or supply. The three defendants were accused of using the tactic to manipulate precious metals futures between 2008 and 2016. The practice was outlawed in 2010 when Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act after the financial crisis. Prosecutors have argued that earlier instances constitute fraud.
 


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