Finding a job is a war!
It is not getting easier; it is getting harder and more difficult.
Finding the right job that you can pursue with a passion, while having meaning and money is even more difficult. This is the focus of my work with my career clients at Career Design Associates, Inc., and has been since 1978.
Now, more than ever, researching and understanding all the unexpected and rapid changes in our workworld is a necessity. The Coming Jobs War by Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup shares his critical insight into the current workworld.
What Everyone Wants is his major question:
“Does anyone know for sure what the whole world is thinking?”
To answer this question, Gallup created the World Poll. They discovered that what the whole worlds wants is a good job.
According to Gallup’s data, “The primary will of the world is no longer about peace or freedom or even democracy; it is not about having a family, and it is neither about God nor owning a home or land. The will of the world is first and foremost to have a good job. Everything else comes after that. A good job is a social value. That is a huge sociological shift for humankind. It changes everything about how people lead countries, cities, and organizations.”
Clifton defines a good job as the following:
- You know what is expected of you at work.
- You have an inherent capacity to perform your tasks at work.
- Your boss takes an interest in your success and development.
- Your opinion counts at work.
- You feel that your job has an important mission and purpose.
“The coming world war is an all-out global war for good jobs” according to Clifton, he continues on p.2 with “The leadership problem is that an increasing number of people in the world are miserable, hopeless, suffering and becoming unhappy because they don’t have an almighty good job – and in most cases, no hope of getting one.”
Clifton defines a good job as a job as a job with a paycheck from our employer and steady work that averages 30+ hours a week – formal job. Informal jobs with no steady work or income while they create ¬¬subsistence and survival but no real economic energy.
“Of the 7 billion people on the earth, there are 5 billion adults ages 15 or older. Of these 5 billion, 3 billion tell Gallup they work or want to work” most need a full time – formal job.
There are currently only 1.2 billion full-time formal jobs in the world, a shortfall of about 1.8 billion good jobs. – Global unemployment approaches a “staggering 50% with another 10% wanting part-time work.” (p.2) – Nearly a quarter of the population.
Clifton says it is against this backdrop that the coming jobs war will be fought. He emphasizes that the new world war for good jobs will triumph everything else. “Lack of good jobs will be the cause of hunger, extremism, out of control migration patterns, reckless environmental trends, widening trade imbalances, and on and on” (p.3)
“Joblessness is the strongest care driver of National Happiness” (p.20) “30 million Americans are fighting a war – a war for jobs – that they know they won’t win, and the 18 million with no hope are the dead and critically wounded. They have lost energy, so they have dropped out of the battle for jobs, which is terrible for them and the economy. But worse, to a great degree, they have dropped out of life altogether.” (p.20)
Scott Uhrig of Whiterock Partners compares Clifton’s definition of a good job to his hypothesis that the best job for you will:
- Leverage your strengths (what your good at)
- Align your experiences and strengths with your interests (what you enjoy doing
- Be a strong cultural fit
- Satisfy your economic needs
- Satisfy your personal needs
- Provide an opportunity for accomplishment (or achievement or mastery)
- Provide meaning to you (or significance or purpose)
My question to you is: What would you add or subtract?