Low Employability plus Misemployment

Why is China’s talent tide still at such a low ebb? Many critics observe that Chinese graduates tend to be technically proficient in their chosen field, but socially under-adjusted thanks to decades of hostility towards business culture and market economy. They argue that this contributes to the high turnover that we see today. This may be true to an extent, but misemployment is also a big factor. The reason for this is simple – the little emperors and empresses have arrived in our workplace.

With the onset of the one-child policy in 1978, China has created a younger generation that is increasingly wilful and demanding, spurred on by doting yet ambitious parents and grandparents. Most choose their majors and fields of study without a clear understanding of what truly motivates them and where their talents actually lie. The concept of ‘one mouth six pockets’ – a single child supported by two parents and four grandparents – means that too many of their decisions are made for them and not by them. This means that by the time they reach the workplace it is difficult for them to find roles in which they are truly happy. To succeed, this younger generation needs to be happy in their work life. This is a reality that too many executives, managers and HR professionals fail to realise.

Hearts and Minds

When I raise the question of employees’ happiness with executives, it causes a lot of raised eyebrows. Most of them believe that China’s success should be built on hard work and focus. They look at the younger employees who give up growth and development opportunities at their organisations and ask “why?” To them leaving a role simply because your are not happy seems reckless and poorly thought out. However, what they fail to understand is that their employees may not be thinking through their career choices logically or with their head. Rather they are working emotionally, or with their heart.

I often feel that good management is actually the practical application of behavioural psychology – we need to understand both the heart and the mind. I use the terms ‘mind’ to define rationality and reasoning, and ‘heart’ to define passion and emotion. By focusing too much on the harder side of talent management such as knowledge, skills and experience, and ignoring softer factors such as motivation, attitude and passion, HR professionals risk missing a critical factor – the heart. After all, we may hire a person because of the capabilities presented on a resume, but we rarely lose that employee because of what we see on the resume or during the interview. It is only when we lose the heart of the employee that we also lose the mind. When employees do not give their job their full heart and full mind, productivity and effectiveness suffer. When they do not find adequate passion and inspiration in their role, they are more easily attracted by new opportunities.

Contact
Dr. James Song at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it