HR Professional - December/January 2008 - (Page 12)

UPFRONT MONEY | I N T E R N AT I O N A L | R E C E S S I O N BY THE NUMBERS DO YOU FEEL RICH? THE FIFTH ANNUAL ADP PAYDAY POLL REVEALS THAT CANADIANS WOULD FEEL RICH IF THEY EARNED $296,000 A YEAR, BUT AMERICANS WOULDN’T FEEL FLUSH UNLESS THEY EARNED AN AVERAGE SALARY OF $440,000. THE SURVEY, WHICH POLLED MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE FROM ACROSS CANADA, ALSO FOUND: OF CANADIANS DON’T KNOW THEIR ANNUAL TAKE HOME PAY World Watch © LINCOLN ROGERS/BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM R U S S I A N B U R E AU C R AT S : U P D AT E C O M P U T E R S K I L L S OR L O S E YOU R JOB regularly logging on; but in an effort to curb corruption and increase government transparency, the Russian government has been trying to make more of its work available online, including public access to documents and government-funded research. Unfortunately, its luddite civil service has proved incapable of the task—largely because many don’t know how to use computers. But the president demands change and has put the bureaucracy on notice. “They either should learn or, as they say, goodbye,” he said. “We don’t hire people who can’t read and write. Computer literacy today is the same.” 36% 69% 88% OF ATLANTIC CANADIANS FEEL THEY ARE RICHER THAN THEIR PARENTS BUT ONLY 20% OF ONTARIANS FEEL THEY HAVE MORE MONEY THAN THEIR FOLKS OF CANADIANS WOULD TELL THEIR EMPLOYER IF THEY HAVE BEEN OVERPAID YOUNG ADULTS (AGE 18-29) WOULD NOT COME FORWARD IF OVERPAID Russian president Dmitry Medvedev had blunt words for his civil service recently: Learn to use computers or hit the bricks. Russia has the lowest Internet use in Europe, with only 12 per cent of citizens Source: BBC WOMEN WOM E N MOR E V U L N E R A BL E T O R E C E S S IONA RY JOB L O S S As workers across North America brace for further job losses thanks to the recent economic downturn, the U.S. Congress’ Joint Economic Committee recently released a report that ﬁnds women are increasingly vulnerable to job losses during recession, and the current downturn threatens women’s employment more than ever before. The report’s ﬁndings include: • In recessions prior to 2001, women did not experience sharp job losses but this changed in the 2001 recession as women lost jobs on par with men in industries that lost the most jobs. In the 2001 recession, women lost a larger share of jobs in manufacturing, trade, transportation and utilities, compared to men. In the other high-job-loss industries, women lost the same share of jobs as men. • The lacklustre recovery of the 2000s made it difﬁcult for women to regain their jobs and in hard-hit sectors, women’s employment rates never returned to their pre-recession peak. • As of 2008, the female employment rate in the U.S. is about six percentage points below where it would have been had women’s employment stayed on its trend line from 1948 to 2000. 24%OF 26% 52% OF CANADIANS EARNING MORE THAN $100,000 PER YEAR WOULD SNEAK A PEEK AT A COLLEAGUE’S PAYCHEQUE WOULD DIVULGE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MAKE, BUT ONLY 21% WOULD DISH ABOUT THEIR LOVE LIFE. Source: U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee 12 D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 8 / J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 HR P ROF ES SI O N AL

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - December/January 2008

HR Professional - December/January 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters Upfront Legal Compensation Human Capital Talent Management The R-Word Speak No Evil On Message Strategy HR 101 Interview with Donna Wilson Off the Shelf The Last Word

HR Professional - December/January 2008

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