More Proof We’re Overworked … and in Deep Talent Trouble

As per this recent article in Industry Week on building a lean, mean profitable machine, productivity in manufacturing has jumped by a record 94% during the past two decades while headcount has significantly shrunk. That’s a productivity increase that’s 60% higher than any other U.S. business sector. Since technological innovations have occurred across the board, one cannot attribute all of this productivity increase to new technologies. A good portion of it is due to blood, sweat, and tears — and people working harder and longer than ever before. And while it looks good on the books, it’s not sustainable over the long term.

There’s a reason that 9 out of 10 employees are looking for a new job. They feel like they’ve been worked to death and that there couldn’t be a job that is possibly worse than their current job. Considering that production is becoming more and more specialized and reliant on precision machinery and technology, this is not a good thing as the industry as a whole is facing a dire shortage of skilled production workers, scientists and engineers. Add this to the predicted shortage of up to 100,000 logistics workers by mid-decade, and you see a deep talent shortage looming across the supply chain.

How does your organization plan to manage it … before it’s too late?