Most Important Developments in HR for July 19th

Interesting piece in The Atlantic this month about the future of work. It talks about the fact that specialists in the Navy are going away, in favor of generalists, in the context of the launch of a state-of-the-art new warship. Here’s an excerpt: “The ship’s most futuristic aspect, though, is its crew. The LCS was the first class of Navy ship that, because of technological change and the high cost of personnel, turned away from specialists in favor of “hybrid sailors” who have the ability to acquire skills rapidly. It was designed to operate with a mere 40 souls on board — one-fifth the number aboard comparably sized ‘legacy’ ships and a far cry from the 350 aboard a World War II destroyer. The small size of the crew means that each sailor must be like the ship itself: a jack of many trades and not, as 240 years of tradition have prescribed, a master of just one.” If you’re in a company that’s asking you and your team to “do more with less” (and who isn’t?) you know this isn’t isolated to the Navy. Deloitte predicts that, a decade from now, 70 to 90% of workers will be in so-called hybrid jobs or superjobs — that is, positions combining tasks once performed by people in two or more traditional roles. The Atlantic

Like Virginia and Michigan, more and more U.S. states these days are turbocharging their workforce development initiatives, partnering with both educational systems and employers to ensure there are enough skilled workers to keep their economies growing. What does that look like? Take Virginia’s initiative as an example: Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam launched Build Virginia last June to connect workers throughout the state with training and employment opportunities in the skilled trades supporting Virginia’s main industries. Its website is a jobs hub, with fields for “Get the Job,” where job seekers  find employment listings, and “Get the Skills,” with links to education and training needed for those jobs. “We have the opportunity to get high school and community college curricula aligned with the skills needed for the 21^st century jobs in shipbuilding, manufacturing and construction,” notes Chief Workforce Development Advisor Megan Healy. Training Magazine

Et tu, Jimmy Choo? In 2013, Tamara Mellon left the company she co-founded when she saw it was lowering the quality of its product to increase profits and saw her male employees earning more than she did. She wanted to create a company with a culture based on feminist ideals. At her new company, named after herself, all of her employees have equity in the business. The idea is to make every employee feel like they have ownership, a voice, and a seat at the table. She also supports various women’s issues. Last year, it focused on women’s health. It also advocates for closing the gender pay gap. The brand’s authenticity has boosted its success not just with employees, with customers as well. Mellon says: “If they believe in a company’s values, they’re much more likely to purchase from that company.” Inc.

It’s been nearly two years since the #MeToo movement took on wide momentum. What has changed? HBR wanted to find out. In 2016, before #MeToo, HBR surveyed working women in the U.S., asking about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in their workplaces and how it impacts them at work. They conducted a second survey after #MeToo, in September 2018. Here’s what they found: In terms of what has changed, fewer women in their sample reported sexual coercion and unwanted sexual attention following the #MeToo Movement. In 2016, 25% of women reported being sexually coerced and in 2018, that number declined to 16% of women. Unwanted sexual attention declined from 66% of women to 25% in 2018. In contrast, there was an increase in reports of gender harassment from 76% of women in 2016 to 92% of women in 2018. This data suggest that while blatant sexual harassment — experiences that drive many women out of their careers — might be declining, workplaces may be seeing a “backlash effect” or an increase in hostility toward women. Harvard Business Review