In addition, LaBorde said, employees and job applicants are showing an attitude researchers call “short-termism.” That is, employees are so preoccupied about the short term, they don’t respond as older generations did to long-term promises of stability.
He said companies should talk to employees about mental health and “how we can be there for you, six months, or a year or two years. It’s not about any promises of stability.”
Another way the future of work is short is that “loyalty is fleeting,” LaBorde said.
“Employees are exceedingly ready to ditch bad relationships … and that includes work, when there are better alternatives out there,” he said.
While LaBorde didn’t cite auto retail or auto finance specifically, his data on the general trends and attitudes about employment could spell trouble for a working environment that’s notoriously high-stress with long hours.
In a follow-up conversation, LaBorde said one foreseeable problem is that by comparison, other industries can offer less stress and flexible and shorter hours.
LaBorde said that in almost any working situation, including auto retail and auto finance, “there are still ways of being flexible.”
