Here's what to expect on the jobs front in '08

As we head into the new year, here's what to expect in the workplace, and how to make the most of it.

By Christina Rexrode, Times Staff Writer
Published December 30, 2007

Look for a job here...

Florida is gaining the most jobs in education, health services, hospitality and government. So much for that state budget crunch. That's according to the latest report from the state Agency for Workforce Innovation. On a national level, Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts that the push for alternative energy and the green movement will generate demand for environmental engineers, sustainability experts and the like. Also, Challenger says, the housing downturn will create jobs, though they're not the most desirable. Think debt collectors, repossession officers, real estate lawyers specializing in foreclosure, and rental agents.

... but not here

Construction and real estate, on the other hand, have taken some heavy blows from the housing downturn. In the past year, Florida has lost 24,100 jobs in construction and 9,000 in real estate. (Just a note to the out-of-work: The construction scene in Canada is thriving, according to Manpower.) Florida is losing jobs in information and manufacturing. (Another tip courtesy of Manpower: For manufacturing jobs, check out Norway and France.)

Get in shape

Like you, your employer is tired of paying more and more for health care. (The Mercer consulting firm predicts health care costs will rise 6.7 percent in 2008.) And, fair or not, the only aspect of health care costs that your employer can really control is you. While companies aren't allowed to charge different rates to employees in the same group plan, federal laws enacted this year have created loopholes. For example, while your employer probably can't charge you a higher health insurance premium because you smoke, it can give a discounted rate to employees who don't. Will Fike, whose Clearwater business, WillPower USA, helps companies create corporate wellness programs, predicts the trend will only pick up steam. He envisions employers eventually charging higher premiums to the obese and to heavy drinkers.

Work harder...

Pay for performance, long an integral part of the sales industry, is spreading to other fields. According to a June study by Hudson, 41 percent of companies say they utilize merit-based pay, up from 35 percent the year before. "It can come in lots of ways," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "It can come in measuring customer satisfaction, or how many articles you write, or how many IT repairs are made."

... make your company want you

With strategies like merit-based pay, companies are trying to weed out their slackers, improve their efficiency and prepare to weather a probably volatile market in 2008. "The competition is going to get tougher and tougher for those dollars that are out there to be spent," said Frank Crum Jr., president of the FrankCrum professional employer group in Clearwater.

Don't call him a kid

Traditionally, laws aimed at curbing age discrimination have been targeted at protecting older workers. But this summer, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched an outreach program called Youth@Work it made clear that it will also protect young workers from age discrimination, said Theresa Gallion, a labor lawyer at Fisher & Phillips in Tampa. Florida and about 20 other states have laws clarifying that any age can be the subject of age harassment. Youth@Work is meant to teach young workers about their rights in discrimination cases.

Mind the gap

For what appears to be the first time in modern history, there are four distinct generations in the workplace. Each has its own rules, its own quirks, its own work philosophy; managers will have to be aware of those differences if they want their employees to work well together. Caryl Lucarelli, vice president of human resources at Tech Data in Clearwater, has asked her staffers to read a book on the generation gap during the Christmas lull. She's noticed that the young new Gen Y hires expect lots of feedback, and they expect it instantaneously since they're so used to IMs and text messages. "Even e-mail is old to them," Lucarelli said.

Work from home

Employers have been coming to terms with telework for years. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 48 percent of employers offer telecommuting on an ad hoc basis, 33 percent on a part-time basis and 21 percent on a full-time basis. Companies are realizing that telework helps them lower their overhead costs and lure stay-at-home moms back to work. Improved technology has also helped ingrain working from home into the corporate mindset. In 2008, teleworking will get another boon: $3-per-gallon gas. "Workers just can't afford to commute," Challenger said. "It just takes too big of a chunk out of their take-home pay."

Hire wisely

When state legislators return to Tallahassee in the spring, a half-dozen bills on illegal immigration will be waiting for them. There's an estimated 12-million illegal immigrants in the United States - 850,000 of them in Florida - so any new laws, state or federal, will resonate strongly in the industries that employ them. For one, wages will rise if employers stop hiring illegal immigrants. "It's a critical, critical issue," said Crum. "The United States is at a crossroads."

[Last modified December 28, 2007, 19:40:35]