Post-Covid, women's work the most affected. Help from outplacement.

The pandemic will be remembered as a real change of state. A watershed capable of dividing one world philosophy from another, and of changing the course of history. Among the thousands of transformations that are taking place and that are being prepared, one in particular is crucial for millions of human beings, the one that affects the world of work. Help can come from Outplacement. What's this? I talk about it with an expert in the sector.

Hundreds of thousands of businesses are bound for closure or bankruptcy. Others, those destined to survive, are expected to undergo a transformation, even a radical one, of their operational logics. The impact on employment levels is inevitable. A complex situation whose triajectory can already be glimpsed. And the worst backlash will be on the work of women and (even more) moms. Even before the coronavirus, the professional position of women was in severe difficulty. The figures leave no room for interpretation: in Italy, out of 9 million and 872 thousand employed, there are about 5,4 million mothers. More than 50% of them have at least one child under the age of 15¹. Not infrequently, however, they are engaged in sectors that have suffered a real meltdown in this period, such as tourism and travel, where the "pink share" stands at 54%² .

Organize hope

In situations that seem desperate, however, only the organization can help manage: even managing a disaster. That's what he thinks Annadebora Morabito, expert in outplacement, training and coaching with specific attention to the female world. Outplacement is a support service for worker relocation. Someone takes care of collecting information about us well, testing our skills and organizing them in order to make us more visible to the world of work: especially in times of confusion and with little visibility it could be a service that makes the difference.

The password is to give hope an organization. It is necessary to recover the sense of construction, desire and awareness of how to transform one's ambition into a concrete goal.

“It is necessary to clarify in terms of future projects, aim to tell oneself effectively on a CV and interview, study a real personal branding strategy,” says Morabito. “Take advantage of the opportunities offered by a tool like Linkedin and by any useful channel in search of new professional opportunities such as Head Hunter, APL, announcements, spontaneous applications, networks. It may seem pleonastic to underline it, but a fulfilled mother is a happier mother, especially if she can carve out a space to cultivate her desires. "

The profile of the near future, in other words, is to build yourself not starting from the job you want to achieve, but starting from your technical background. Because, we know, the boundaries of work duties they become more and more unstable and the contribution of soft skills becomes fundamental. There are many sectors that in the midst of this epochal change will need sensitive, versatile and intelligent figures. The large e-commerce sector, for example, which can give space both in the management of infrastructures and in the marketing of products that many entrepreneurs and artisans can already offer to the public.

An era in which smart working, by removing the boundaries and needs of “fixed” working spaces, can also offer an opportunity to harmonize family life with professional life.

What hypotheses for the near future?

The picture is not the most comforting. "It is possible to hypothesize for next winter, after the blocking of layoffs by companies, a drop in employment in Italy ", Morabito says. "To avoid dramatic outcomes it is necessary to immediately focus everything on the second meaning of crisis, that of 'opportunity'. The dispassionate advice is to think about new projects, proactivating your network."

What is the role that your job can play?

“To help employees who may find themselves in need of finding a new job, outplacement is a key relocation service. The numbers speak for themselves and the data³ they tell us that in 6 months, out of a total of 10.000 people taken in charge, 84% identify a solution commensurate with their expectations."

Of course, the post-Covid-19 crisis could lengthen relocation times. Relying on industry experts, however, could considerably increase the opportunities to find new jobs compared to DIY.

¹ source: Foundation for employment consultants studies - ² source: Federalberghi / Fipe - ³ source: Aiso - Italian Association of Outplacement Companies