SHRM, in partnership with the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and Seyfarth Shaw LLP, has launched the 2023 Global Worker Project. It is an ongoing effort to better understand the needs and desires of different types of workers in Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S.
SHRM is planning more research for 2024 that will expand into all regions of the world.
"Much of today's research is focused on the worker's experience with a workplace's culture, but not on the actual needs and desires of a worker—let alone different types of workers," SHRM said in statement about the partnership. "Consequently, today's labor laws are outdated due to a lack of understanding about what workers currently need and may result in a one-size-fits-all approach that causes tension in the worker-employer relationship."
The idea was born from a 2021 meeting between SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, and IOE Secretary-General Roberto Suárez Santos to create a shared understanding of how workers and employers can thrive now and in the future, SHRM noted.
In 2022, SHRM and Seyfarth Shaw partnered to develop 30 personas with the aim of building a universal lexicon of different types of global workers. Using their global presence, SHRM and Seyfarth Shaw leveraged experts from different parts of the world to develop the personas using factors such as wage structure (hourly or salaried) and eligibility for workers' compensation and benefits.
SHRM, Seyfarth Shaw and the IOE will convene a Global Worker Summit on July 7 in Geneva, Switzerland. The summit will feature discussions by researchers, workers, global business leaders, civic organizations and policymakers on the current needs and desires of different types of workers.
A plenary session at the summit will include Camille A. Olson and Richard B. Lapp, partners at Seyfarth Shaw, speaking on "Charting the World of Work." They will present fresh survey data from SHRM Research shedding light on the intricate challenges facing today's workers and the emerging trends shaping tomorrow's workplaces.
Those interested in learning more about attending the SHRM Global Worker Summit in Geneva should email governmentaffairs@shrm.org.
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