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Warehouse Jobs Booming Due to Online Sales

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Amidst a surge in e-commerce sales, warehouse operators, such as FedEx and Amazon, are scrambling to hire workers across the United States. As the labor market has yet to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic, this could prove to be a saving grace for many who have struggled to find work in recent months. Overall employment is still down in the U.S; almost 11 million are still seeking employment since the beginning of quarantine. However, employment in the warehousing and storage sector is actually higher than pre-Coronavirus levels. As the holiday season approaches, these numbers will only continue to go up; a positive signal of the rebounding U.S economy.

Job Availability

Brick-and-mortar retailers have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, having to furlough or release hundreds of thousands of workers since early March. And with the economic downturn, there were not too many job positions opening up. Now, warehouse businesses that order, pack, and ship products are in a hiring frenzy as online sales are projected to reach $196 billion in the period from November to January. Online and physical stores alike experience increased activity during the holiday season, but with consumers avoiding brick-and-mortar locations because of the virus, more and more shoppers are relying on Amazon, FedEx, and UPS to deliver their products.

Typically, there is a temporary hiring phase for these businesses during the holidays to keep up with demand. However, many experts believe the massive shift towards online purchasing will be somewhat permanent. Already, many of the major players in the shipping and storage industry are planning for an avalanche of orders this holiday season, so more and more temporary hires are converting to full-time  positions. UPS has added over 100,000-holiday  workers on top of the tens of thousands it hired earlier in the year. Amazon plans on hiring more than 100,000 seasonal workers in addition to 1,000 new warehouses across the country. Also FedEx is seeking 75,000 temporary employees, a 27% increase from its 2019 seasonal hiring.

Proactive Hiring

To prepare for the expected holiday boom, e-commerce businesses have begun an early hiring process. Up through August alone, there were almost six times as many job postings for seasonal positions on the job platform Wonolo. Coincidently, wages have also jumped nearly 16% to $14.18 an hour. Trucking companies are also expected to look for early hires before the holiday season. Many truck drivers have left their jobs due to the virus and retirement, and the transportation industry has struggled to fill the demand for drivers. The average starting wage for drivers at UPS is expected to go up to $30 an hour, but as the market becomes more competitive, that wage may increase even more.

The pandemic still has a grip on brick-and-mortar stores. What used to be quick and easy trips to the store are now complicated and stressful as masks are required and consumers are wary of contracting the virus. With the excess demand shifted to e-commerce, storage and shipping companies need all the extra help they can get to fulfill orders before the holidays are over. Although overall employment is still way below pre-virus levels, many Americans are finally finding employment again.

The idea of Bigtime Daily landed this engineer cum journalist from a multi-national company to the digital avenue. Matthew brought life to this idea and rendered all that was necessary to create an interactive and attractive platform for the readers. Apart from managing the platform, he also contributes his expertise in business niche.

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Business

The Ultimate Guide to the Essential Social Skills in Business

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Effective communication and strong relationships are essential for success in the workplace. One factor that can greatly influence these qualities is emotional intelligence, often abbreviated as EQ. EQ refers to the ability to identify, understand, and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Research has shown that individuals with high levels of EQ are better equipped to handle stress, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively with others (Chamorro-Premuzic & Sanger, 2016).

Research has consistently shown that emotional intelligence (EQ) is an important predictor of job performance and success in the workplace. EQ is comprised of a set of skills that allow individuals to recognize, understand, and regulate their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. In addition, individuals with high EQ are better able to communicate effectively, build relationships, and navigate complex social situations. As a result, they are often viewed as effective leaders and collaborators, and are more likely to achieve their personal and professional goals.

In fact, a number of studies have demonstrated the significant impact that EQ has on job performance and success. For example, one study of 85 upper-level managers found that those with higher EQ scores were rated as more effective leaders by their subordinates (Law, Wong, & Song, 2004). Another study of 151 employees found that those with higher EQ were more likely to be promoted within their organization over a five-year period (Carmeli, Brueller, & Dutton, 2009). These findings highlight the importance of EQ in the workplace and suggest that developing these skills can lead to significant benefits for both individuals and organizations.

According to a study conducted by TalentSmart, a leading provider of EQ assessments, EQ is responsible for 58% of success in all job types (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). In contrast, IQ only accounts for about 4% of success in the workplace. This suggests that EQ is a crucial skill set for individuals in any professional field. Fortunately, EQ is a skill that can be developed and honed over time with practice and awareness.

There are several key components of EQ that are particularly important for success in the workplace. These include: 

Self-Regulation: This refers to your capacity to recognize and control your emotions. Sometimes treating them when they arise may be necessary. Understanding how to manage your anger is essential. However, it can also cover how to control the feelings you’ll experience.

Self-Awareness: This implies recognizing and understanding your own feelings. Do noisy places make you nervous? Do other people talking over you make you angry? Knowing these truths about yourself shows that you are working on your self-awareness. Being conscious of yourself is necessary for this phase, which can be more complex than it sounds.

Socialization: This category focuses on your capacity to manage social interactions and direct relationships. It doesn’t entail dominating others but knowing how to work with others to achieve your goals. This could entail presenting your ideas to coworkers, leading a team, or resolving a personal disagreement.

Motivation: Strong motivators include external forces like money, status, or suffering. Internal motivation, however, plays a significant role in Goleman’s concept. By doing so, you demonstrate your ability to control your cause and initiate or continue initiatives of your own volition rather than in response to external demands.

Empathy: It’s equally critical to be sensitive to others’ feelings. This may entail learning to identify different emotional states in individuals — for example, can you tell the difference between someone at ease and someone anxious? — but it also requires comprehension of how other people may react to their current situation. Empathy is one of the essential traits in business and business leadership.

A thought leader in this space, Michael Ventura has built a career advising organizations on the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace. In his book, Applied Empathy, Ventura highlights the value of empathy in business and provides strategies for developing and applying this skill set. With two decades of experience as a leader, facilitator, and educator, Ventura’s work has made impact in with prestigious institutions such as Princeton University and the United Nations as well as corporate clients such as Google and Nike.

Through his work, Ventura advises leaders to focus on the development of EQ in order to help individuals improve their communication, collaboration, and leadership skills, ultimately leading to greater success in the workplace. Experts like Ventura continue to support the growing body of research on the value of EQ in business, and the evidence that organizations who invest in the EQ of their teams help to create a more empathetic and successful professional environment.

And it’s worth noting that EQ isn’t just important for individual success in the workplace, but also for overall organizational success. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that EQ was a better predictor of success than IQ or technical skills in the workplace, and that teams with higher levels of EQ tend to be more effective and productive (Boyatzis, Goleman, & Rhee, 1999). By cultivating a culture of empathy and emotional intelligence, organizations can improve their overall performance and create a more positive work environment for their employees.

In conclusion, emotional intelligence is a crucial component of success in the workplace, and individuals and organizations alike should prioritize the development of these skills. The ones that do not only develop a leading edge in their category, but also become a meaningful place to work for their teams. And in today’s rapidly changing talent landscape, the retention of highly capable, emotionally intelligent leaders is one of the greatest keys to unlocking success.

References:

Boyatzis, R. E., Goleman, D., & Rhee, K. S. (1999). Clustering competence in emotional intelligence: Insights from the emotional competence inventory (ECI). In R. Bar-On & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 343-362). Jossey-Bass.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Sanger, M. N. (2016). Does employee happiness matter? Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 3(2), 168-191.

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