Many economic experts have sounded the warning bell of a possible recession within the next year. According to executives across a wide variety of businesses, executives say there is a cause for concern for those workers who are less agile.
According to a report by Valerie Bolden-Barrett that appeared on the HR Dive website, business leaders are concerned that almost half of their workers are not sufficiently agile, nor do they tend to be self-starters. According to executives that were surveyed by training firm VitalSmarts, this lack of agility and motivation can make a difference in terms of employment if there is an economic downturn.
According to the report, there are five essential skillsets that business leaders believe to be crucial in the case of a recession. These skills include change mastery, productivity, open dialogue, accountability, and leadership. An estimated 47% of those surveyed don’t believe that their current staff is agile or self-starting enough to handle a recession. More than half of those workers (52%) could engage in productive, open dialogue with colleagues to meet the challenges of the current trends and increased competition within the workplace. One bright spot is that of the 89 executives who were surveyed were confident in workers’ productivity in general.
According to the data, the ability to be agile and to prepare for a possible economic downturn rests both with workers and managers.
Last year, Wiley Education Services surveyed HR leaders and found that the skills gap in workers has grown by an estimated 12% from 2018 to 2019. In March of this year, VitalSmart conducted a survey of workers across a swath of industries. In it, 80% of those surveyed indicated “glaring flaws” of members of management within their organizations.
The VitalSmart report indicates that an estimated 27% of workers felt that their manager or team lead was overwhelmed and inadequate. An estimated 24% considered their manager to be a poor listener, while another 24% felt that their manager was biased and unfair. An estimated 23% said that their managers were disconnected and distant, and 21% said their immediate supervisor or manager was forgetful or disorganized.
Based on the data, it appears that both managers and workers need to work together to be better prepared for the potential changes that an economic downturn might bring.