Economic Woes Will Spur More Underemployment Which Will Spur More Workplace Woes
By Michelle Malay Carter on February 9, 2009
Back in May, I blogged about the dangers of overhiring.? With all the clammering to hire the best and the brightest, some managers intentionally overhire for roles.? Sure, these managers have to do less up front training and sure they get more “bang for their buck” – temporarily.? But unless you are building a bench for impending growth, overhiring, i.e. underemploying people, creates an unhealthy workplace environment.?
You Can’t Fight Mother Nature
Try as they might, people can simply “check their extra capacity at the door”.? Most managers and employees will be adversely affected by the strain caused by this situation.? I’m talking about?good people with strong work ethics, stellar character, and positive intentions.
Sadly but understandably, with the economy the way it is, there will be more people willing to take jobs that they don’t find challenging.?
Unnatural is Unsustainable
Unfortunately, this is like buying an ill-fitting pair of shoes because you really like the way they look.? It seems like a tolerable situation when you are wearing the shoe for 30 seconds in the store, but when you actually try to go about your life wearing them, it becomes excruciating quite quickly.
Taking a job that you are overqualified for can be a double whammy.? Not only will you be bored with the work within six months, but you stand a good chance of being equally or more cognitively capable than your manager, which then presents a whole host of additional issues.
What the Research Finds
PeopleFit research which has over 5,000 data points finds that on average:
- 35% of employees are mismatched to their roles in terms of cognitive capacity.
- 39% of employees are mismatched to their managers, who should have +1 capacity relative to their direct reports.
Any given employee within an organization can have both mismatch issues listed above.
Employee Engagement
We were not doing well with employee engagement before the economic downturn.? Sigh.? Brace yourselves for impact.? I believe it is going to get worse before it gets better.?
What To Do?? Become Informed
For those of you who want to make more informed, intentional decisions about matching people to roles, I suggest becoming well versed in requisite work levels and human capability to perform work and their critical implications for employee engagement, talent management, and organizational effectiveness.
I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.
Have you ever been underemployed?? How did it feel?? How was your relationship with your manager?
Filed Under Employee Engagement, Managerial Leadership, Requisite Organization, Talent Management, Work Levels
Comments
3 Responses to “Economic Woes Will Spur More Underemployment Which Will Spur More Workplace Woes”
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Great post Michelle! Underemployment isn’t something that I’ve thought too much about in the context of a struggling economy, but your post is dead-on!
Bottom line: job fit is critical regardless of the current economic time!
I’ve featured your post in my weekly Rainmaker ‘Fab Five’ blog picks of the week (found here: http://www.maximizepossibility.com/employee_retention/2009/02/the-rainmaker-fab-five-blog-picks-of-the-week-2.html) so that my readers might benefit from your post.
Be well Michelle!
Getting managers to listen and implement a strategy for every employee is vital to the company’s success. We expect them to just do the work and keep their mouths shut. This doesn’t work any more.
We need to get everyone involved in making the company better. It’s the only way to survive and thrive in this economy.
-Thanks Chris.
-Hi Karl, yes, constantly seeking innovation at all levels of the organization should be an accountability within organizations.
Regards,
Michelle