Testing

With a second Trump administration in power, heavy tariffs being imposed, a volatile stock market, and a pending Canadian federal election looming, times are uncertain to say the least.  Consequently, many businesses have adopted a wait-and-see mode and have paused nearly all hiring since February 2025. 

Unfortunately, these aren’t their only problems.  Chief amongst them are:

Rising expenses and the economy
Hiring challenges – employee attraction and retention
Professional growth – employee training and leadership development
Employee burnout

Being able to rely upon the integrity of those you work with or for, and the organizations that you do business with, nay even your own spouse or children is critical.  Without trust and trustworthiness everything falls apart. One need look no further than the stories behind whistleblowers like Frank Serpico or Karen Silkwood from the 1960s and 1970s.  More recent examples include dishonesty and abuse of trust in a now-famous case litigated by Erin Brockovich (1993), and crimes by the likes of Mary Kay Latourneau (1997), Bernie Madoff  (2009), Elizabeth Wettlaufer (2016) and Sean (P. Diddy) Combs (2024).  These are, of course, extreme examples of dishonesty but note that they encompass policing, industry, education, healthcare, investing, and the music industry.  Dishonesty can and does occur everywhere.

A recent survey of nearly 13,000 frontline employees and managers in 11 countries, including the UK, US, Australia, France and Germany by UKG, found that 83% of Gen Z frontline employees are experiencing burnout, a figure notably higher than the 75% rate reported by frontline employees overall. It’s causing a staggering 150% loss in productive days, particularly amongst Gen Z and Millennials, and the decrease in production and burnout reportedly costs the British economy $176 billion annually.  Baby Boomers are also being affected at high rates, and the figures and costs are similar for the USA and Canada. Burnout is not considered a medical condition, but rather an occupational phenomenon.  It was coined in 1974 by American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger.

There’s no silver bullet, one-size-fits-all solution, nor any guarantees when it comes to the hiring processes.  It’s a mixed bag of ‘best practices’, trial and error, and simply ‘what works best for us’.  AI can absolutely be part of that process, but the human component cannot be removed from it.

Recent surveys by Express Employment Professionals, Harris Polls, Fortune, FlexJobs, the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, Business Insider, and others, have all shown conclusively that the majority of employees who can do so prefer to...