The "dismissed" people in high-tech enterprises are getting younger and younger. Has the "career" of technical talents been shortened? Is it difficult for these people to get re-employed?
As the era of "artificial intelligence" approaches, where will those jobs that have been replaced by programs and algorithms go? Will it aggravate the income gap between the rich and the poor?
With the development of economy and society, the health and education level of workers are constantly improving. Many middle-aged people who are still "in the state" in energy, physical strength and intelligence have to face the loss of leaving their jobs and being idle. How to make them continue to contribute their intelligence and wisdom, serve the society and improve their living standards at the same time?
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These new problems and phenomena in the human resources market are closely related to you and me, and also bring challenges to all walks of life. Seemingly "crisis", there is "opportunity" in "danger" — — As the "primary productive force", the acceleration of technological innovation and the extension of the age of the labor force should theoretically create more wealth and benefit all workers. In order to achieve this goal, individuals should have the habit of lifelong learning, enterprises should have long-term manpower planning, human resources, social security and education departments should strengthen pre-judgment and constantly improve the policy system. Please pay attention to this series of reports "Focus ‘ Workplace crisis ’ " .
— — Editor
What does it feel like when a midlife crisis encounters a career crisis? The rumor that a large communication company has retired middle-aged employees has made many people of the same age panic; The news that a middle-aged man failed to start a business and slept on the street also made people sigh that life is changeable. The "2017 Investigation Report on Turnover and Salary Adjustment" released by Worry-Free Future shows that employees in high-tech industries frequently change jobs, with a turnover rate of 25.1%. The phenomenon of middle-aged employees leaving their jobs in high-tech enterprises is becoming more and more prominent.
Known as "winners in life", why do they leave their jobs frequently? Can they bear the heavy burden of leaving their jobs when they are bent down by houses, children and tickets? How do middle-aged employees play the "second half" of life well?
"A company named some employees at the board meeting to leave."
The impact from young people is great, the promotion channel is narrow, and many middle-aged employees are "resigned"
Li Mei, a white-collar worker in a foreign company in Shanghai, has been "dismissed" twice. The first time was when she was 34 years old. After working for a foreign company of medical materials for 4 years, Li Mei was forced to submit her resignation. "As a veteran employee, I was told that I couldn’t attend the important meeting held that day, which meant that I couldn’t grasp the company’s annual business plan and was excluded from the core team." In a rage, Li Mei went over the top to report to the leader, but was regarded as violating the company’s regulations. In desperation, she could only choose to leave.
The second time was when she was 38 years old. "At that time, there was no psychological preparation, and I was suddenly told not to renew my contract. I just bought a house in Shanghai, and I have almost no deposits. I fell into severe anxiety and lost sleep all night. " Li Mei recalled.
When talking about the reasons for being "resigned", Li Mei said that the newcomers in the company are growing rapidly, which puts a lot of pressure on themselves. At the same time, the company’s leadership changed and the team reorganized. Before you know it, she was on the "resignation list".
Sun Yi, a mobile phone engineer of "Ben Si", experienced three layoffs. "The former company is a well-known international mobile phone manufacturer. Because of business contraction, the company laid off a group of employees, and I was unfortunately among them."
"Engineers overcome technical difficulties, just like soldiers fighting, the battlefield is gone, and it is difficult to display their skills." Sun Yi said that in order to seek a new "battlefield", he chose to go to the United States for further study. "Every day, I take classes and do experiments with my classmates who are a little younger than myself. Although tired, it is very fulfilling. Middle-aged employees should bite their teeth and climb over the ridge. It may not work if they fight, but it will not work if they don’t fight. "
"Middle-aged employees in high-tech enterprises ‘ Be dismissed ’ The phenomenon is already very common. " Li Yuhui, an associate professor at the School of Labor and Human Resources of Renmin University of China, said that during her research, she found that some companies even named some employees to leave their jobs within a specified time when holding a board meeting.
It stands to reason that middle-aged employees in high-tech enterprises have worked hard for many years, have mature technology and rich experience, and are valuable human resources of enterprises. Why are they frequently "left"?
First of all, this is determined by the current situation of talent supply in high-tech industries. Li Yuhui said that the supply of young labor in high-tech enterprises is sufficient, and in terms of quantity, a large number of technical graduates flood into the job market every year; From the quality point of view, young people have strong learning ability, which is exactly the trait that high-tech industries value. "Take the Internet talent market as an example. The younger generation is the Internet ‘ Aboriginal people ’ Better at using Internet thinking and more sensitive to the development trend of the Internet. Many up-and-coming Internet company CEOs are very young, and many people laugh at themselves for being ‘ Post-70s work for post-80s, post-80s work for post-90s ’ 。”
"After a year or two of training, newcomers are easy to get started. Compared with middle-aged employees, young people are paid less and motivated. From the perspective of enterprise cost control, some middle-aged employees have lost their competitive advantage. " Li Yuhui said.
Secondly, this is related to the organizational structure and promotion channels of high-tech enterprises. Ni Yuan, a lecturer at the School of Economics and Management, Beijing Information Science and Technology University, said that jobs in high-tech enterprises can be roughly divided into grass-roots positions in technology and market, management positions and decision-making positions. There are a large number of grass-roots posts, showing a trend of youthfulness, and the number of middle and high-level employees is limited, which leads to a narrow promotion channel for employees. When employees reach their forties, they still stay in front-line posts and are easily eliminated.
"I encountered such an example in vocational training. The company promoted an employee with outstanding technical ability to a management post. Because he did not adapt, he proposed to return to the technical post. Soon, the employee was on the company’s layoff list." Li Yuhui said.
"Middle-aged employees of large high-tech enterprises ‘ Be dismissed ’ The probability is higher. The larger the scale of the enterprise, the more emphasis is placed on specialization, and employees become a part of the technology assembly line. In the long run, the adaptability to the surrounding environment is not strong, and the technical ability has not increased with the increase of working years. " Ni Yuan said.
"As long as your skills are excellent, you can’t worry about finding good opportunities."
There are many small and medium-sized enterprises, and the tide of entrepreneurship is surging. Many middle-aged employees choose to leave their jobs voluntarily.
In the interview, the reporter found that among the employees of high-tech enterprises at the age of 40, many people chose to leave their jobs voluntarily to resolve the workplace crisis.
Zhou Peiliang jumped from foreign companies to small and medium-sized enterprises in order to break through the ceiling of the workplace. At the age of 40, he completed the transition from technology to management, and currently works as an executive in an Internet of Vehicles company in Hangzhou. "After graduating from college, I was engaged in technology development in a foreign company, and I soon encountered a bottleneck and was in an awkward position. "If you don’t need the boss to say it, you will feel that you can’t do it."
Zhou Peiliang’s second job is engaged in operation management in a smart home company. "technicians deal with programs every day, and operators need to consider the market and users. My work content has changed from constantly improving technical details to coordinating interpersonal relationships. There are many discomforts, but through continuous learning, I have made up the shortcomings. "
"I hope to work in by going up one flight of stairs. After more than a year of hesitation, I chose to resign again. " Zhou Peiliang said that he quickly found a new job because of his rich experience. "My talents have been fully utilized, and I have gradually been promoted to deputy general manager and entered the decision-making level of the company."
Ni Yuan said that the characteristics of high-tech industry are "new", and new technologies and business models will catalyze a number of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are in a high-speed growth stage and urgently need a large number of high-end talents. Middle-aged employees who have been tempered for many years in large enterprises have become the targets of small and medium-sized enterprises in the labor market. After facing the "ceiling" of the workplace, many middle-aged employees choose to enter the management or even decision-making level of small and medium-sized enterprises, which ushered in the "second spring" of their careers.
Ni Yuan believes that human resources theory emphasizes "borderless career", and employees should not keep an eye on an employer, but should constantly improve their skills according to changes in the external environment, realize mobility among different organizations, and open up new space for career development.
The tide of entrepreneurial innovation has created many new opportunities for middle-aged employees. The 2016 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Report, supported by big data from many domestic authoritative organizations such as Tencent Research Institute, shows that scientific and technological personnel have become the main group of entrepreneurs. "Knowledge-based employees have certain resources, strong autonomy in career development and strong entrepreneurial desire." Li Yuhui said.
"In the United States, it is impossible to work for a company for a lifetime. Especially in the high-tech industry, it is commonplace to leave. " Jia Ting, who worked in a computer company in the United States, left his job because of the internal adjustment of the company. "My colleagues have a good technical level, and they have not relaxed their studies, so they have found satisfactory platforms."
"Chinese and western cultures, employees have different attitudes towards leaving their jobs. China emphasized finding an iron rice bowl, but this is based on ‘ New, Fast and Changing ’ It is unrealistic in the high-tech industry characterized by it. Employees should have a sense of urgency and take resignation as part of the whole career planning. " Jia Ting said.
"There is no stable job, only a stronger self"
Employees should be prevented from entering the "automatic elevator" mode, and enterprises should look after the long-term interests and be more "human"
Li Mei said that the process of re-employment is very difficult, just like rushing to attend a blind date. If it is high, it will not be low. The self-confidence accumulated over the years will be swept away and life will be in a mess. Two unexpected unemployment made her realize that there is no stable job, only a stronger self.
Not long ago, a post titled "The Financial Tragedy of Middle-aged Unemployed Families" was widely spread, causing many people to resonate — — Middle-aged people have to support their parents in the world and their children in the world. Once they are unemployed, the sudden increase in financial pressure is overwhelming. No matter whether you leave your job actively or passively, you can plan ahead and make plans for your family life and career development, so as to plan ahead and not get confused.
How to plan personal assets? An Xiaohui, a software development engineer of a technology company in Xi ‘an, said that from the age of 30, we should pay attention to accumulating wealth and rational consumption. Conditional, can strive to get the company’s equity. Only after middle age can we cope with change more calmly. Generally speaking, the system of large enterprises is relatively standardized. For employees who leave their jobs, they will provide a sum of compensation, and those who meet the conditions can also receive unemployment insurance, which can alleviate certain financial pressure.
An Xiaohui believes that employees should also be wary of entering the "automatic elevator" mode, what enterprises need, what to learn and what to do, which will easily lead to a disconnect with market demand and the forefront of scientific and technological development. They must actively plan and "charge" according to their own situation.
"Middle-aged employees are the main source of family income. Laying off a person sometimes puts a family in a dilemma." Li Yuhui believes that enterprises should have a human touch, comprehensively consider the family burden, personal contribution and re-employment of employees, and layoffs should not be simple and rude.
Li Yuhui believes that technical posts and management posts have different working objects and different requirements for ability. Now many technology companies have noticed this problem and often hold career planning courses to help employees broaden their career channels.
Some employees mentioned that they are under great work pressure on weekdays, often work overtime, and have to take care of their families. They want to take the initiative to study, but they are powerless. Moreover, enterprises do not want employees to take up working hours. Jia Ting believes that the training system of American technology companies is worth learning. "Many companies have a technology sharing culture and regularly invite experts to discuss issues of concern to employees; Hire experts and offer technical courses. " One of his colleagues successfully switched from hardware research and development to software development by participating in company training.
Ni Yuan introduced that as a high-tech enterprise, a stable talent team is the core competitiveness. In dealing with middle-aged employees, enterprises should properly handle the relationship between immediate interests and long-term interests, and pay more attention to tapping employees’ internal potential while controlling labor costs. Taking the lifelong employment system of Japanese enterprises as an example, this system provides employees with a diversified training system and promotion channels, and forms a close interest bond with employees. The strong sense of belonging and dedication of employees has prompted many Japanese companies to grow rapidly.
"Once targeted, companies will try their best to force employees to leave." Lawyer Jiang Siqing, director of Guangdong Labor Law Firm, often encounters such legal disputes. He said that the provisions of laws and regulations on "being resigned" and "soft resignation" are still not perfect. For example, it is difficult to judge whether it is "forced" for enterprises to take measures to make workers resign. Employees should strive for satisfactory compensation through negotiation as far as possible. If an enterprise violates the labor contract or even threatens the personal safety of employees, employees should pay attention to collecting evidence and seek legal ways to safeguard their rights and interests.
Jiang Siqing believes that employers and employees should communicate well, abide by the provisions of labor contracts, avoid conflicts between labor and capital, build harmonious labor relations, and make money with harmony.
