The Impending Workforce Shortages And Their Effect On Workplace Culture

We are seeing the beginnings of a critical worker shortage, an idea that may seem impossible especially with downsizing, mergers, off shoring of jobs as well as a weak economy; but a trend that is bound to get worse over the coming years. One of the main factors for these shortages is the shrinking birthrate. It has been on the decline since early 1960, having fallen from 30 births per 100 adults in 1910 to that of 15 births per 100 adults in 2002 with a brief surge in between on account of WW2. The worker shortages will have an impact on our organizations as well as workplaces mainly in three ways:

1. Specific skills shortages

a. Nursing – already 120,000 open positions

b. Welders – 200,000 shortages by 2010

c. Truck drivers – 20,000 now – up to 111,000 by 2014

d. Teachers

e. Medical workers

f. Physicians

g. IT workers

h. Many, many more

2. General workforce shortages

A few economists predict a worker shortage as high as 30,000,000 workers by 2010 [These shortages are directly related to our shrinking birthrate].

3. Unwanted turnover

a. There will be three very diverse age cohorts in the workplace of the future

b. Mature Workers – 55+ Years old

c. Mid Career Workers – 35 – 54 Years old

d. Young Workers – 16 – 34 Years

Retention of the young workers is a little difficult these days, as ‘job-hopping’ has become the norm already (A worker of 32 years would have already had gone through at least 8 jobs on an average prior to this one). On account of rapidly forming worker shortages more choices will become available to the average worker and the loyalty of each is sure to be impacted.

Leaders will have to become far more accomplished at building organizational cultures that:

• Attract, motivate and retain workers

• Consistently produce outstanding results

• Readily adapt to changing conditions

Answers as well as great examples of workplace cultures that can weather this crisis may be in the plenty but leaders must have clear understanding vis-à-vis workplace culture and be making the right decisions in terms of continuously improving their leadership skills.

Go through my keynote address and workshops titled The Impending Workforce Tsunami on the Keynote Speaking tab on my website visionomics.com for more information and insight on this growing leadership challenge.