It has often been said that our current labour market is an employees’ market. This was mainly due to the fact that very often employees manage to get whatever salary they ask for. I have learnt over the last couple of years that when someone tells me what salary they have at present, they will be really telling me what salary they are expecting. 

All too often we realise that the information we pick from our clients at Misco about the remuneration packages of their employees differs greatly from what their own employees claim to be earning. The reason for this is that it has become habitual for employees to overstate their remuneration when attending an interview.

It has also become an employees’ market because many people (I am purposely using the word many because I dare not mention a percentage, or say a majority) under the age of 30 are now treating their job as a means to a lifestyle. Gone are the days when people looked at a job as a career whereby one develops oneself through work. 

In those days employees were willing to adapt to job conditions. Today employees expect the job to fit their lifestyle and their expectations. This is evident when we are conducting interviews for clients. We have had cases of people refusing a job because the normal working day ends at 5.30pm and that would be too late to go to the gym. Or others who refuse a job because the place of work is too far away from home or from where they would normally meet their friends for a drink.

A report published by Misco last week entitled, Job Seekers – Behaviour and Expectations, confirms the view that our labour market is currently an employees’ market, and has also given another twist to this notion. The report is based on a survey we have conducted among employees nationally.

The main point that emerges from this report is that job seekers (and these are most likely to have a job) do not expect to have to search and apply for a job, if they wish to move, but expect to be kept informed about job opportunities. As such, apart from commanding the salary they wish to be earning, and apart from the job having to fit their lifestyle, they now expect the job to chase them and not they chase the job.

Job seekers expect the job to chase them and not they chase the job

Two bits of data confirm the first two aspects. The quest for a new job is triggered by the desire for a better salary, with 70 per cent of respondents commanding the salary they wish to be earning and 77 per cent of respondents wishing to have flexible working hours (the job is the means to a lifestyle). Now the twist comes.

This survey showed that only 13 per cent of respondents were employed and not seeking another job, while 50 per cent of respondents were employed, not actively seeking another job but are open to new opportunities. In other words, if a job comes their way, they would be willing to consider it; but if it does not, then it does not really matter as they are convinced that one of these days an opportunity is bound to come their way.

Fifty-two per cent of people seeking a job want to have the possibility of speaking to a recruiter or contact person about the role prior to applying for the job. The reason is they want to see if it is worth their while. For older generations this may sound like arrogance but not for the millennials.

All this is pointing to the conclusion that in the coming weeks and months (hopefully not years), the expectation of employees is that they want to be head hunted. And there will be a great deal more head hunting than there has been so far. The job opportunity has to go to them and not the other way round.

What does save the day is that job applicants do value employee recognition and employee development more than monetary gain and reward. However, this kicks in only at the point when the employee has to take the decision whether to accept the job or not. Therefore employers have to be willing to meet a number of applicants and then weed out the good ones from the mediocre ones at a later stage.

The likelihood is that the Maltese labour market shall remain an employees’ market for some months to come. This is certainly not good news for employers. On the other hand, this makes it imperative for employers to develop their employer brand and clearly demonstrate their ethos, to distinguish themselves from other employers. If employees are not able to distinguish between employers, then they are likely to base their choice on salary, which will only make things worse for an employer.