One out of every four U.S. workers left or were asked
to leave their current role with their employer between
February and May 2020 as the pandemic swept across
the country, a study has revealed. But women were less
likely than men to be retained by their employers (45
per cent of retained workers) and made up a smaller
proportion of workers brought back (44 per cent of
recalled workers), found an ADP Research Institute
report tracking the U.S. labour market for the World
Economic Forum in 2020.
Those who were able to transition to employment
with new companies were younger, on average (36 years
old for women, 37 for men), than those who dropped
out of employment and became displaced workers
(38 and 39, respectively), although the experience of
older workers seemed to make them more attractive to
employers for retention (ages 42 and 43, respectively)
and recall (40 and 44, respectively).
The study also found that the unemployment rate for
women increased by 11 per cent between December
2019 and April 2020, while men's rose by nine per cent.
The past four years have seen a significant increase in
the proportion of Canadian companies that have fully
invested in a digital transformation of their business,
according to a study. In 2016, a total of 15 per cent
of companies surveyed were "digital adopters" —
having a mature digital plan with investments and
innovations in place — or "digital leaders" — where
digital transformation is "ingrained in the DNA of the
business." Four years later, the proportion is 40 per cent.
The study by Dell Technologies involved a total of
4,300 directors to C-suite in mid-size to enterprise
Canadians underestimate cybersecurity
are unable to remember all their
passwords
could not identify all the
characteristics of a weak
password
correctly identified all the
warning signs of a phishing scam
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION SURGES
More than eight out of 10 Canadians feel
confident that they can identify an email
attempt to crack their online security, a
survey has found. However, more than half
incorrectly believe that such attempts —
called "phishing" — can be easily spotted
due to spelling errors, according to the
survey, which consisted of online quizzes
on cyber hygiene by Optimity and the
Canadian Bankers Association.
displaced
workers
recalled
workers
PANDEMIC LAYOFFS
HIT WOMEN HARDER
organizations in 18 countries.
There was also a big increase in Canadian
companies that are evaluating the role of digital
technologies and planning a gradual transformation
for the future — a quarter of companies were
doing so in 2016, which jumped to two-fifths in
2020. "Digital laggards" — companies that do not
have a digital plan and have limited initiatives and
investments in place — made up only four per cent
of the study subjects in 2020 compared to 18 per
cent four years earlier.
80%
63%
31%
OUTCOMES FOLLOWING JOB LOSS
CANADIANS' KNOWLEDGE LACKING
5%
14%
82%
transitioned
to other
employment
www.hrreporter.com 17
