Yesterday I attended an interesting seminar for HR professionals and the topic was “social networking” in the work place - timely given all the talk about it. During that session I heard that if an organization did not make Facebook available to it’s employees that the 18- 24 year old crowd would not even consider working for such a company….seems like a pretty broad statement to me. Let’s throw some stones at that notion. Do you think it’s true? How many of you work for a company that makes such allowances? How many of you don’t? And more to the point how important is this issue?
Recent bad news about the economy will no doubt have an impact on the needs and desires of young Canadian graduates entering the workforce. It will be interesting to note how the desire for stability in employment impacts the choices young people make in where they will want to work.
The other (more pressing) issue is the extent to which the recent economic events will affect the labour market in Canada. It’s probably too early to speculate as to how bad the situation will get. But: companies seeking to shed employees are likely going to start with older ones first. This will necessitate a real and deep understanding of those employees who remain.
Here. Why do government brands appear to receive such a high ranking? It’s purely speculative on our part, but the desirability of government brands may speak to young Canadians’ desire to have meaningful work. In the eyes of recent graduates, government embodies this desire in a way that for-profit companies do not. This may explain this somewhat surprising result. How these attitudes change over time would be interesting to track.
In Canadian HR Reporter. It’s interesting to see the reaction From Learning to Work provokes. That young people are actually looking for stability and security in their careers appears to be a surprise. We are inundated with messages about how youth equals rebellion, but the reality most young Canadian graduates face does not really allow for it. Student debt is one example — but cost of living (rent, housing, food) may also be a factor.
