Thursday, June 22, 2006
[IWS] Watson Wyatt (UK): Offshoring Undermines Job Security But Not Motivation [22 June 2006]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Watson Wyatt (UK)
(UK) Offshoring undermines job security but not motivation [22 June 2006]
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=16189
UK, June 22, 2006 - One in five UK employees feels insecure in their job because of the risk it will be 'offshored' to a low-cost country such as India or China, while two in five say that they feel less secure in their jobs than they did three years ago, according to new research from consultants Watson Wyatt.
However the research found that while there was a clear negative correlation between offshoring and job security, the negative impact of offshoring on employee motivation and stress and was considerably less strong. People appear not to be looking to switch jobs because of it.
"Offshoring jobs can reduce costs and enhance service. But it can also unnerve and demotivate home country employees," said Jonathan Gardner, an economist at Watson Wyatt. "We wanted to know how much of a concern to employers this should be."
Watson Wyatt undertook the research to see how less secure employees of UK-based companies offshoring work may feel compared with employees of organisations that had not engaged in offshoring. A survey of nearly 5,000 people was divided into those working for organisations that had either offshored work for the UK market directly themselves or had suppliers that had done so - 37 per cent of the sample and those which had not had this experience 52 per cent. (The remaining 11 per cent were unable to answer.)
In the group with experience of offshoring, 36 per cent agreed with the statement that they felt less secure in their job as a result of the trend to offshoring. This compared to 11 per cent in the second group. The first group were also far more likely to feel that there was a large risk of their own job being offshored within the next 12 months 17 per cent compared with 2 per cent. This is partly explained by this group being more likely to acknowledge that their job could be done equally as well offshore as in the UK 13 per cent compared with 5 per cent.
But the impact on motivation was less pronounced. Some 30 per cent of the group with experience of offshoring said they were less motivated in their job compared with 19 per cent in the group without. Similarly, 21 per cent of the first group said they were less willing to take risks at work and share new ideas compared with 15 per cent in the second group. Employees were also asked if their perceived stress levels at work were usually manageable. Some 58 per cent of the group with offshoring experience thought they were compared with 66 per cent of the group without.
"The impact on motivation seems to be fairly small," said Jonathan Gardner. "Perhaps most telling is the result of the question as to whether or not they were considering finding a new job in the next year."
In the group with experience of offshoring some 36 per cent said they were looking to find a new job in the next 12 months compared with 37 per cent in the group without experience of offshoring. It appears that people may feel less secure and slightly less motivated because of offshoring but they are no more likely to looking for a job elsewhere. According to Watson Wyatt, this may, however, be because they are working in a sector where alternative employers are just as likely to be engaged in offshoring.
"While the majority of employers may consider the short-term demotivational and consequent productivity impact of offshoring acceptable, they cannot afford to be complacent," said Jonathan Gardner. "It should be of great concern if otherwise committed and high performing employees for whose roles their employer has no plans to shift overseas are being demotivated by fears of offshoring."
For further information contact:
Bruce Wraight
Watson Wyatt
+44 (0) 1737 273370
+44 (0) 7771 765154
bruce.wraight@watsonwyatt.com
Claire Barraclough
Watson Wyatt
+44 (0) 1737 273390
claire.barraclough@watsonwyatt.com
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Watson Wyatt (UK)
(UK) Offshoring undermines job security but not motivation [22 June 2006]
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=16189
UK, June 22, 2006 - One in five UK employees feels insecure in their job because of the risk it will be 'offshored' to a low-cost country such as India or China, while two in five say that they feel less secure in their jobs than they did three years ago, according to new research from consultants Watson Wyatt.
However the research found that while there was a clear negative correlation between offshoring and job security, the negative impact of offshoring on employee motivation and stress and was considerably less strong. People appear not to be looking to switch jobs because of it.
"Offshoring jobs can reduce costs and enhance service. But it can also unnerve and demotivate home country employees," said Jonathan Gardner, an economist at Watson Wyatt. "We wanted to know how much of a concern to employers this should be."
Watson Wyatt undertook the research to see how less secure employees of UK-based companies offshoring work may feel compared with employees of organisations that had not engaged in offshoring. A survey of nearly 5,000 people was divided into those working for organisations that had either offshored work for the UK market directly themselves or had suppliers that had done so - 37 per cent of the sample and those which had not had this experience 52 per cent. (The remaining 11 per cent were unable to answer.)
In the group with experience of offshoring, 36 per cent agreed with the statement that they felt less secure in their job as a result of the trend to offshoring. This compared to 11 per cent in the second group. The first group were also far more likely to feel that there was a large risk of their own job being offshored within the next 12 months 17 per cent compared with 2 per cent. This is partly explained by this group being more likely to acknowledge that their job could be done equally as well offshore as in the UK 13 per cent compared with 5 per cent.
But the impact on motivation was less pronounced. Some 30 per cent of the group with experience of offshoring said they were less motivated in their job compared with 19 per cent in the group without. Similarly, 21 per cent of the first group said they were less willing to take risks at work and share new ideas compared with 15 per cent in the second group. Employees were also asked if their perceived stress levels at work were usually manageable. Some 58 per cent of the group with offshoring experience thought they were compared with 66 per cent of the group without.
"The impact on motivation seems to be fairly small," said Jonathan Gardner. "Perhaps most telling is the result of the question as to whether or not they were considering finding a new job in the next year."
In the group with experience of offshoring some 36 per cent said they were looking to find a new job in the next 12 months compared with 37 per cent in the group without experience of offshoring. It appears that people may feel less secure and slightly less motivated because of offshoring but they are no more likely to looking for a job elsewhere. According to Watson Wyatt, this may, however, be because they are working in a sector where alternative employers are just as likely to be engaged in offshoring.
"While the majority of employers may consider the short-term demotivational and consequent productivity impact of offshoring acceptable, they cannot afford to be complacent," said Jonathan Gardner. "It should be of great concern if otherwise committed and high performing employees for whose roles their employer has no plans to shift overseas are being demotivated by fears of offshoring."
For further information contact:
Bruce Wraight
Watson Wyatt
+44 (0) 1737 273370
+44 (0) 7771 765154
bruce.wraight@watsonwyatt.com
Claire Barraclough
Watson Wyatt
+44 (0) 1737 273390
claire.barraclough@watsonwyatt.com
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 6:19 AM
