Japan was grappling with an aging population and low birth rates before the pandemic. Its population is the oldest in the world, with 29 per cent aged 65 or older. There are shortages across sectors, with a particular pressure on nursing as the national workforce shrinks and more people need care. The health ministry said in July that nearly 690,000 additional nurses would be required by 2040 to meet rising demand.
Waste Management said it had begun deploying partially automated garbage trucks that do not require drivers to empty bins themselves. “We are no longer competing in just the waste industry for [truck] drivers,” says Tamla Oates-Forney, its chief people officer, noting that the company was having to compete for staff with the likes of Amazon and Walmart.Article contentU.S.
According to the Institute for Employment Studies, a think-tank, the U.K. labour market is at its tightest in at least 50 years. The pandemic has converged with the U.K.’s departure from the EU, intensifying shortages further. However, Russell Beck at Imagine Think Do, a people strategy consultancy, says the pandemic has “amplified a trend that was already playing out.”
However, Beck, who is also a speaker for Vistage, a leadership network, adds that raising pay is only a short-term fix as its effect swiftly wears off. “Money is a bit like lip-balm,” he says. “Our lips are chapped, they feel a bit sore, I need a bit of lip balm. But it wears off and so I need a bit more.”
They wouldn't have this problem if they were paying workers enough, if governments put stricter regulation on real estate and rent, price controls etc.