Workforce shifts need refreshers
Employees are at risk of burnout, as 83 percent of Asia’s employees report having the experience in the past year with financial strain as the top reason.
Daily TribuneEmployees are at risk of burnout, as 83 percent of Asia’s employees report having the experience in the past year with financial strain as the top reason.
Mejul Rajparia, Asia head of digital solutions of Mercer Marsh Benefits, the global head office of Mercer Philippines, a human resources consulting firm.
Photograph courtesy of Mercer Marsh Benefits
Generative AI is expected to usher in new workplace reality for white-collar workers.
Photograph courtesy of Standard and Poors
The massive change in the workplace due to the introduction of cutting-edge technology presents the need for workers to upskill and be reskilled, a global consultancy firm executive said in an interview.
Based on Mercer’s Talent Trends report, taking the insights of 3,600 respondents in Asia, and the People Risks report that interviewed 110 individuals, the results showed companies have difficulties finding the right balance between adaptation and technology deployment.
“Although 41 percent of executives in Asia believe the biggest productivity boost to their businesses is by investing in AI, 86 percent believe that less than half of their workforce can adapt if their jobs are changed or eliminated by AI.
The situation is made worse by 62 percent of companies implementing technology without transforming the way they work, creating no-value/busy work that depletes productivity,” the report stated.
Also, the survey result stated that employees are at risk of burnout, with 83 percent of Asia’s employees reporting having the experience in the past year with financial strain as the top reason.
They spend, on average, six hours of work time monthly worrying about their finances.
The report added that in the Philippines, mental health deterioration was ranked 24th overall by human resource and risk managers in the People Risks report but was ranked sixth in Asia, signifying a worrying trend in the Philippines.
Confidence in employers drastically drops
Moreover, the survey also proved that trust in employers has plummeted from 80 percent in 2022 to 65 percent in 2024, with broken promises, such as not delivering on promotions and career opportunities, as the main contributor.
At the sidelines of the human resources conference on 20 June 2024 at the Grand Hyatt Manila entitled “Workforce 2.0: Unlocking human potential in a machine-augmented world,” Mejul Rajparia, Asia head of digital solutions of Mercer Marsh Benefits, the global head office of Mercer Philippines, a human resources consulting firm, said organizations should not stop from enhancing its workforce.
“In the last two to three years, the speed of change was faster than any of us have seen in our lifetime. Hence, the conference has focused on how organizations learn from our regional and global expertise and apply them when they return to their organizations,” according to Rajpana.
“The focus is on how to be ready for tomorrow and preparing an organization for workforce 2.0. There is a massive change in how we all work today and will all work for tomorrow,” Rajparia added.
Quick in adaptation
He said the Philippines will not have a hard time adapting to workforce 2.0 with its young and tech-savvy population, especially the current generation, namely the GenZs.
“For over many years now, Filipinos have been very tech-savvy, unlike other markets where people are not ready to embrace technology and life becomes more difficult. But here, the good news is people are very ready for technology and they are using it in their day-to-day lives. The question is, how do you use technology to improve employee experience,” he said.
According to Rajparia, the objective among workers is not only about retaining their jobs, as the survey results showed that organizations with better experiences and engagements tend to perform better when it comes to revenues, sales, and customer satisfaction.
“Because it’s these people who are taking care of customers, going out and selling and who are managing operations. We have seen a wide positive impact on employee experience or engagement outcomes beyond just the retention piece. It was very critical to the business performance,” he said.
In terms of technology helping to achieve goals, he said AI is everywhere and no discussion is complete about technology without including the new evolution of technology.
Multiple benefits
“Technology can be used for personalization, second is transformation and third is connection. What I mean by that is that we all want to be ourselves and not to be somebody else. Technology can give that personalization feeling to every employee, as every person in each organization has different needs and expectations. Flexibility comes in, the choice comes in and technology can significantly help in ensuring that you as an individual can get to see what they think is of interest to them,” he said.
Also, Rajparia maintained that technology can transform how workers do their daily work.
“Based on our data, 35 percent of jobs change every three years, especially its nature. If a company hires me today, I have to learn 35 percent of new things within three years. So, constant learning and upskilling is so crucial. Organizations play a big role in that,” he stated.
Managing risks
As most organizations are pivoting to digitization, risk is inevitable, so, for Rajparia, what Philippine organizations should not forget is the people’s side of it.
“Every digitization effort should be part of people’s transformation. You may bring in the most advanced technology or most expensive tool, but if people do not use or leverage them, then we miss the entire point of digitization and digital transformation. So digital transformation has to result in people transformation,” he said.
“Digital and people transformation have to go hand-in-hand. That’s one risk we don’t do, we may invest millions in technology which will likely fit,” he explained.
And as not all workers can easily adapt to digital transformation, Rajparia said company leadership has to be mindful of that, and leaders should not expect everybody to respond and adapt to technology at a certain speed.
“They must make sure that there is enough culture of learning, reinforcement, or potentially give some rewards around the right behaviors. Management has to be sensitive about the fact that there will be different levels of adaptation and they have to continually work towards that. Patience, perseverance, and sensitivity are key and three important things for long-term adaptation to technology,” Rajparia maintained.
And for what the Philippines are performing, Rajparia said adaptation to technology will not be a problem for Filipinos.
“I see technology as the clients here are at the center of their strategy. But if we are talking about AI, it should start from the top. Leadership should take AI very seriously. Leadership has to be ready and number two, the leadership should do is to remove fear from people that AI will take people’s jobs,” he said.
