To most people work and career play a very important role in their life. They choose appropriate kind of job according their present situation (family, health etc. There are various kinds of job: a nine-to-five job with regular working hours, a system of flexi-time (which implies working when you want, within certain limits and core hours, it’s a good choice for adults with children), shift work (when a person may be on the day shift one week and the night shift the next week, it’s difficult because of changing a new routine for sleeping and eating), irregular and antisocial work (work hours are unlimited, often without weekends, it concerns policemen, firemen, doctors), freelance work (this is work for difficult companies at various times).
As for self-employed work, I consider it to be the best one, have your own company. Teleworking is work from home using a computer and the Internet. Not all jobs are suitable for teleworking, only jobs such as receptionists, counters, makers of goods that require complex machinery to produce. Speaking about the future of labour market, teleworking is becoming more and more popular and agencies are introducing this. Besides, this job is convenient for students, disabled, the only disadvantage is a lower profile as a teleworker within an organization.
As for labour market in general, it differs much in highly developed and developing countries living conditions and activities are also not the same. In developing countries (in Asia, Africa) lots of people living in rural areas work in the sphere of agriculture, they are overworked and underpaid, thousands suffer because of unemployment. As for developing countries, the level of unemployment has drastically risen, mass layoffs became a usual event, but people who are laid off may receive compensation in the form of a redundancy payments.
Unemployed people receive jobless benefits (doles). And those who have just lost a job may join the dole queue. Industrial actions, especially strikes when workers stop working completely and demand better pay, such strikes happen very often in France, strikes are organized by the workers of the Eiffel Tower. In developed countries there is a highly elaborated social protection policy (e. g. in the USA), which takes care about families having many children, unemployed, low-paid and old people.
Highly-qualified specialists are always more demanded then semi-skilled or unskilled. But applying for a job it’s necessary to have paper qualifications. Most graduates have them but they have no work experience. It is a difficulty. Besides, it is important to have such skills and features of character as interpersonal skills, conscientiousness, to be ambitious, self- motivated, dynamic, responsible, to be skilled in numerating. Now I’d like to speak about recruitment. A company may recruit employees directly or use outside recruitment agencies.
The process of applying for a job includes: sending CV and a covering letter with an explanation why he/ she wants a job and why he/ she is the right person for it. If an employer is interested in a person, he invites on an interview. The selection process consists of a looking at the background of an applicant, as I’ve already mentioned his/ her educational qualifications. Sometimes an employer gives psychometric test to assess intelligence and personality. Most promising applicants are shortlisted. An employer checks references by writing to applicant’s referees.
If references are ok, the employer chooses and hires the most promising from residuary. For achievement in work or just apart from the salary, employees receive extra benefits (perks): company car, cash, medical insurance, company accommodation, free fitness etc. Lots of companies, especially corporations are very hierarchical (has a structure with powerful and less powerful people). There is a pecking-order there (a system where some people have the right to get benefits before others). Having gotten a job an important role plays atmosphere in company between workers.
Unfortunately, such things as bullying (someone uses its position of power to hurt others, e. g. verbally), sexual harassment, sexual and racial discrimination, ageism meet often. Such things as passive smoking, repetitive strain injury, dangerous machinery, hazardous substances, fire hazards are also contributed to a bad working environment. In conclusion, I can say that there are a lot of difficulties in work but being a compliant, emotionally intelligent and associative person to avoid various anxieties and attain much.
