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New Year New You - Happy 2023

on December 25, 2022

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May you fill your New Year with new adventures, accomplishments, and learnings!

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A Worsening Job Market: New Zealand's Unemployment Crisis Deepens

A Look Back In our previous post , we discussed the growing concerns around New Zealand's rising unemployment rate, which had reached 4.3% in March 2024. We highlighted the potential impact of global economic challenges, remote work competition, and a changing job landscape. A Bleak Reality Fast forward six months, and the situation has unfortunately deteriorated. The latest unemployment figures released by Stats NZ reveal a concerning trend: the unemployment rate has climbed to 4.8% in September 2024. It's important to note that these figures don't fully capture the extent of the problem. The official unemployment rate only accounts for individuals actively seeking work within the last four weeks. The true scale of unemployment is likely much higher, as many people may have been unemployed for extended periods is still actively seeking work. The Role of Monetary Policy In response to the economic slowdown, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has implemented measures to ...

Is New Zealand Heading Towards Higher Unemployment?

As of March 2024, New Zealand's unemployment rate is 4.3%. While this number might not raise alarms right now, looking at the past and considering today's global economic challenges suggests we need to be prepared. WHAT'S HAPPENING? Back in the early 2010s, our unemployment rate was around 6%. Over the years, it dropped to as low as 3.2% in early 2022. But now, it's starting to creep back up. WHY SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED? Global Economic Struggles: The world economy is facing tough times, and as a small, connected country, New Zealand could feel the impact, leading to fewer jobs. The latest US July Jobs Report on August 2, 2024, painted a bleak picture. Remote Work Competition: With more jobs being done remotely, people from all over the world and even in different regions can apply for positions that used to be local. This means more competition for New Zealanders. Quality of Jobs: There’s a shortage of high-quality jobs. Industries that used to provide stable employme...

AI Scammers: The New Frontier of Online Threats

Introduction Today's digital age, has revolutionized countless industries. However, this progress also comes with a dark side: the rise of sophisticated online scams. One of the most concerning trends is the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deceive unsuspecting victims. The Growing Threat of AI Scams According to a report by Zscaler's ThreatLabz, phishing attacks saw a staggering increase of 745 million in 2023 alone. This surge can be attributed, in part, to the malicious use of AI. Voice phishing (vishing) and deepfake phishing have become particularly effective tools for scammers, as they can convincingly mimic voices and identities. Common AI Scam Tactics These scammers employ a variety of tactics to trick their targets. Some common examples include: Phishing emails: These emails often appear to be from legitimate sources, such as banks or government agencies, and may contain urgent requests for personal information or financial transactions. Investment sc...

How to Design a New Team Culture?

Can you design a new team culture? You can, but there are so few examples of how to design one. Here is an example with empirical evidence that I like to share from Stats New Zealand's Digital Business Services (DBS). It is how DBS transformed its culture and uplifted employee engagement from an NPS (Net Promoter Score) score of -14% in 2017 to 50% in February 2021 . Before getting ahead, we must accept that cultural transformation takes effort and time. It is a long game. As Simon Sinek described successful companies in The Infinite Game , you cannot treat this as a finite game . It would help if you were prepared to either pivot or persevere with your planned actions. Experiment to find what works. It would be best if you let go of thinking you know everything. Learn to trust your people. Get regular feedback from people to help you navigate through the adaptive challenges. Lead them on the cultural transformation journey. Here are the five...

A Roadmap for Thriving Through Career Transitions

Bing Image: Thriving in Uncertainty The end of the year can be a challenging time for anyone facing a career transition. With the job market slowing down for the holiday season, it might feel like your opportunities are on hold. However, now is the perfect time to prepare for a powerful comeback in the New Year. In my latest LinkedIn article, I outline a 90-day roadmap to help you create stability and direction during this uncertain period. By adopting daily, weekly, and monthly routines, you can build a foundation that supports both personal growth and professional momentum. This approach isn’t just about “filling time”—it’s about setting yourself up to hit the ground running as soon as the job market reopens in January. Here’s a quick look at the essentials covered in the article: 1. Daily Anchors to Keep You Focused Small, consistent actions each day can bring a sense of achievement and direction, whether that’s connecting with industry contacts, building new skills, or simply orga...

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