IMD World Talent Ranking 2021

4. The importance of leadership One of the most affected economic areas from COVID-19 worldwide is the labor market. Concepts like ‘teleworking’ and ‘home-office’ have become part of every position that the skills and competences required can be performed from a distance. In addition, phenomena like “The Great Resignation” and a general shift in preferences of workers towards a more flexible work-life balance have become key documented trends in many of the largest economies in the world. In this hybrid environment of working from home for some employees while others, because of the nature of their tasks, need to be on-site, the decline of organizational and operational culture has been noted. Therefore, since the aftermath of the first pandemic wave, workers’ motivation has become an increasingly important element for companies to assess and consider in order to attract and retain talent.

Indicators included in the Talent Ranking 2021 show that the average worker’s motivation is increasingly linked to the quality of life of the country in which they live, as opposed to the level of remuneration they are offered. Figure 5 depicts the relationship between the average remuneration in services and the responses by mid- and upper-level executives on whether workers’ motivation is high. The correlation is positive implying that countries with high salaries are the ones that the executives perceive the work force as highly motivated as well.

Figure 5: Workers’ motivation - Average remuneration in services professions (USD)

Alternatively, Figure 6 focuses on the relationship between workers’ motivation and quality of life. It shows that the countries that are characterized by high quality of life, are also the countries that its work force is highly motivated. In fact, the positive relationship is very strong with a correlation coefficient equal to 0.80. A fundamental question in this context is whether managers can affect the levels of motivation, so as to assess other contributing factors beyond country specific such as the quality of life. We attempt to identify criteria that can approximate the leadership capabilities of managers.

Two such criteria are the competence of executives as well as their international experience. The underlying thought is that competent managers can reflect upon the new working realities and address the potential issues of organizational discontent. This in turn, will foster a more motivated labor force. Figure 7 shows that counties that are characterized by competent managers are also the countries with high workers’ motivation (correlation coefficient equal to 0.78).

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IMD WORLD TALENT RANK ING 2021