Managerial jobs decline as Kenyans take up remote work: report

Managerial jobs decline as Kenyans take up remote work: report

The demand for managerial jobs has shrunk during the COVID-19 pandemic following an acceleration of remote work in recent months.

According to a just released report by job listings website Brighter Monday, managerial jobs now account for the least growing job function in the marketplace alongside business development and administration & office.

The sharp decline in the demand for managerial jobs is largely attributable to the acceleration of remote work which requires little to no staff supervision.

In contrast to 2019, the demand for job functions in administration has fallen to 4.5 per cent from a higher 12.2 percent last year while the need for management and business development roles has shrunk to 4.1 per cent from 10 per cent last year.

According to Brighter Monday Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Mutuma, the workplace is undergoing significant shift which is forcing organisations to reconsider their human resource capacities.

“The job market will change even more after COVID-19, mainly due to the fast and deeper adaptation of digital tools and technology that has made it easier and more affordable or even more productive to work remotely,” he said.

“Some sectors will have to relook at their human resource capacity as they look to stabilise in the future, these industries may adopt gig jobs or part-time jobs.”

There has been a blanket decline in the demand for jobs but the government has led the way in offering employment under the cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic which top roles being in the medical field, legal and pharmaceuticals.

Other top industries marking a significant demand for jobs include IT & telecommunications, non-government organisations (NGOs) and manufacturing.

In contrast, the hospitality, advertising and media industries have posted a flat demand in jobs based on the report’s analysis of new job postings between January and August this year.

Meanwhile, Sales has emerged as the job functions with the greatest demand and the only industry to have retained a double digit growth in the period ahead of accounting, engineering and marketing.

At the same time, the report notes the emergence of new roles in artificial intelligence (AI) & data science, tech support and virtual events facilitators.

Big data analytics, data visualization and digital and social media marketing meanwhile make up the shortlist of emerging skills.

The collapse of managerial jobs could signal the end of employees push for the corner office as hiring activity is contained in mid-level roles

According to the report’s analysis of hiring activity by job level between January and August, recruitment in mid-level and entry jobs outpaced the demand for management level roles.

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coronavirus jobs remote work brighter monday

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