You’ve hear this one before: “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” And if you’ve ever been out in the country, you’ve probably seen one or two cows or sheep with their heads between the slats in the fence eating grass that’s just the other side of the fence.
The Australian government is hoping to play on those sentiments. They’re hoping that the bored workers in Britain will emigrate to Oz. What they don’t do, however, is comment on whether their workers are any more disgruntled than those in the UK. Chances are quite good that they are.
It’s true that workers, in general, are bored. In fact, I often wonder how some of them can stay awake! The reason is that the level of skill and education that people have has grown more quickly than the level of skill and education that’s actually required to do the jobs.
For example, many companies want candidates to have a Bachelor’s Degree before they apply; yet, few of those jobs actually require the skills that a graduate would have to do the work. Contact Centers (formally known as Call Centers) are a perfect example.
- Image via Wikipedia
This problem of over-qualification also contributes to high turnover. Many of those who get the jobs they thought they wanted soon discover that very few of the “little grey cells” are required to actually do them. Boredom sets in quickly.
Employers for whom retaining talent is a priority need to do whatever is necessary to help people grow in the jobs they’re given; that is, to help the become more employable. The failure to do so will make the problem of retaining talent even worse.
Bruce Hoag, PhD, CPsychol
Work Psychologist
