HR World: October 2014

Volkswagen to replace German workers with robots

The car manufacturing giant Volkswagen plans to tackle an anticipated shortage of new workers in Germany by replacing retiring baby boomers with robots, according to The Financial Times.

With 21 per cent of Germany’s population aged over 65 – a higher proportion than anywhere in the world except Japan – it is feared the number of young workers entering the workforce can’t keep up with the number of older workers leaving it, posing a real threat to the country’s long-term economic competitiveness.

VW has announced that in order to address this problem some of the jobs currently performed by baby boomers will in the future be carried out by robots.

But in an article in German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, Horst Neumann, the company’s board member for human resources, was at pains to point out that robots would only be used for monotonous or unergonomic jobs, adding that a factory without humans was “neither realistic nor desirable.”

Nodding off at work is the new normal stateside

We all know that feeling. You’re staring at your computer screen, trying to focus on the task in hand, when suddenly your eyelids start to feel very, very heavy. Surely no one would notice if you just closed your eyes for a moment, would they?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question could well be yes. According to new research from Ceridian LifeWorks, more than a third of HR leaders have witnessed or heard about a co-worker catching forty winks on the job. Meanwhile, more than 35 per cent of those questioned indicated that sleep deficiency among employees negatively impacts productivity.

The survey, which polled nearly 700 HR professionals across North America, aims to shed light on a sleep deficiency epidemic that according to Harvard University costs businesses $63.2bn a year. Although the average person requires seven to eight hours of sleep a night to feel fully rested, a third of adults get six hours or less, said the report.

Sixty per cent of the companies represented do not offer tools or services to promote healthy sleep habits. Of these, 35 per cent reported employees sleeping on the job. In contrast, organisations that do offer these tools and services only saw 28 per cent nodding off.

Sleep-friendly policies held by companies include guidelines for managing after-hours workload (12 per cent); rules about checking electronic devices outside work (9 per cent); nap rooms in the office (9 per cent); jet lag policies for international travellers (5 per cent), and sleep disorder screening programmes to assess those in safety-sensitive roles (3 per cent).

Noah’s ark theme park ‘will only hire workers who believe in the flood’

A Noah’s ark-inspired theme park in Kentucky, US, is in deep water with state authorities after requiring job applicants to sign a faith statement that includes a belief in creationism and the actuality of the biblical flood, according to local newspaper The Courier Journal.

Ark Encounter, scheduled to open in 2016, is a bible-themed attraction including a 510ft-long replica of the Old Testament boat, complete with animals.

In July, the project’s parent company – Answers in Genesis (AIG) – received preliminary approval from the Kentucky Tourism Finance Authority to proceed with a $73m first phase, including up to $18.25m in tax rebates over 10 years.

But state officials became concerned following a job posting for a designer’s job with Ark Encounter that required applicants “to supply a written statement of their testimony, a statement of what they believe regarding creation, and a statement that they have read and support the AIG Statement of Faith.”

Bob Stewart, secretary of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, said: “We are not prepared to move forward with consideration of the application for final approval without the assurance of Ark Encounter, LLC, that it will not discriminate in any way on the basis of religion in hiring.”

Mike Zovath, co-founder of Answers in Genesis and executive director of Ark Encounter, has defended the company’s position by saying the job posting was for a job at Answers in Genesis – not Ark Encounter. “[The state] wants Answers in Genesis, a recognised religious non-profit, to change our hiring policies for something that has no application to the Tourism Act. Answers in Genesis isn’t asking for tourism rebates, the Ark Encounter is.”

He added that Ark Encounter would “follow all of the applicable federal and state hiring employment laws and practices.”

Singapore’s HR pros reveal strangest interview encounters

When interviewing someone for a job, you’d expect them to talk about their professional achievements and awards. You might be a bit more surprised if they insisted on telling you about their 5m swimming badge and school prize for spelling.

But according to Singapore-based jobs portal JobsCentral, which polled HR managers and recruiters across the country about their most bizarre interview encounters, this isn’t as unlikely as it sounds: one candidate really did present the hiring manager with all the trophies they’d won since school.

Other weird and wacky interviewee behaviours included:

• Answering the phone mid-interview to teach their mother how to cook a dish

• Loudly singing the national anthem and refusing to stop

• Constantly playing with a 3cm-long fingernail on their little finger

• Sucking their thumb before speaking

• Arriving, using the toilet, then immediately leaving

• Insisting on only speaking to the CEO

• Asking the interviewer out on a date

• Bringing their mother to sit in on the interview

• Combing their hair repeatedly

• Asking the interviewer for a hug

About the author

Rhianon Howells

The former editor of a leading trade magazine, Rhianon Howells has extensive experience of writing for both business and consumer titles, including The Guardian. In addition to writing about HR, she specialises in health, fitness, leisure and hospitality.