Labor shortage threatens the innovative power of Swiss companies

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The Swiss economy is shaking – but not from the cold, as feared only a few months ago due to an impending energy shortage. This danger has now faded into the background. So are post-pandemic and supply chain issues. One innovation at the top of the list of concerns for Swiss companies: labor shortages.

Academics and artisans wanted

Only a quarter of all Swiss companies can fill vacancies without any problems. This was the result of a UBS survey of 2,500 companies from different industries. 22 percent accept cuts in qualifications. 40 percent say they still have “difficulties” finding staff, even after making cuts to their qualification profile. 13 percent cannot fill vacancies at all.

This has very tangible implications: more than half of companies say that the lack of labor puts an excessive strain on existing staff. “These survey results are alarming. If employee performance declines, the company’s innovative capability suffers,” UBS economist Alessandro Bee said in a statement on the study.

UBS emphasizes that innovation is crucial not only in the research and development of large pharmaceutical heavyweights in Switzerland, but also for practically all SMEs in the country. “Employees are at the heart of the innovative talent of Swiss companies,” Bee said in the presentation of the study, and it is precisely these employees that are currently missing. The study refutes the narrative that there are too many scholars and not enough artisans. “There is a shortage of both craftsmen and academics,” Bee says.

costs are rising

More than a third of the companies state that new projects cannot be implemented due to lack of personnel. Many complain about the higher hiring costs. Longer waiting times, restrictions on opening hours, and disruptions in product and service quality are already the order of the day in many places due to labor shortages.

These issues have already become apparent in the last few months, for example in the catering industry, where many restaurants have cut the menu, thrown the lunch service overboard, or shut it down completely over the weekend.

It is far from reaching the top: 40 percent of companies surveyed fear that staffing shortages will worsen. According to the forecasts of labor market experts, the peak of demographic change will not be reached until 2030.

Migration is not the solution

After all, there are already a number of recipes on the table against staff shortages. Half of the companies surveyed want to increase the attractiveness of their companies for their employees. For example, more and more companies are trying 4 days a week or sending their employees on two months of paid vacation to make themselves as attractive as possible in the job market. However, this does not increase the overall pool of workers, companies are simply chasing each other.

That’s why almost half want to keep older workers in the labor market longer. Third, it wants part-time workers to increase their workload. Relatively few companies – 15 percent – ​​say they want to fill the gap with additional staff from abroad.

This may also be due to the shortage of skilled workers and the demographic shift that has slammed the whole of Europe: hiring in Germany, Italy or France is no longer as easy as it used to be.

Source :Blick