Auszug aus dem CSO-Bulletin Nr. 1/2023
Migration and resulting labour shortages within the European Union have been observed for a long time. Initially the problem primarily concerned research, development, medicine and highly qualified services. It is now more common to read in the news that there are hardly any companies not looking for employees – from bakers to craftsmen – even in the best paying industries. Where are these workers?
I think that the experience of the pandemic and the energy crisis have, for many people, increasingly pushed the idea of striving for financial prosperity into the background and the search for inner prosperity in terms of satisfaction, sense and a fulfilling life into the foreground.
To this end, new work models such as teleworking, job sharing and part-time work are being sought and success no longer flows from the pay slip alone. Youth environmental movements also point in this direction. Economic growth should no longer be allowed to destroy our livelihoods.
We need to turn the strengths of youth to good advantage and to encourage them. We owe them prospects that are far removed from economic growth, dividends or status symbols. However, we must also be aware that this will not be possible without an in-depth change in the system. But are we, the older generations, really ready to help them and – if necessary – rethink everything? We will indeed have to completely rethink the economy and prosperity and adapt them to the needs of young people, rather than require young people to bslaves to them.
In the liberal professions, the shortage of workers is something that appeared quite early on. For that reason, initial steps towards such adjustments have already been taken. We are now, for example, seeing pairs of doctors sharing jobs. Even before the pandemic, the possibility of teleworking had become an integral part of employment contracts for engineers, accountants and lawyers. Education and training is no longer limited to core business activities.
Although this cannot be transposed 1:1 to the entire world of work, the liberal professions can serve as a model here.
