Jobs
Jobs
Our occupation plays an important role in our lives. Everyone should do something. One shouldn’t stay at
home and do nothing. There are several reasons why people work: they need money to cover their living cost, they want to make the
most of their talent or for some people, their job can also be their hobby alongside with the fact, that it covers their needs.
In an early childhood and even later as teenagers, we do not think thoroughly about how important it is to decide about our
future job. We want to be pop singers, bin men, actors, actresses or even top sportsmen. Most children are influenced by their parents, teachers,
relatives and friends and they often want to go in their footsteps. Others prefer to go their own way. Each occupation should bring people joy and
satisfaction from a job well done. It cannot be said, which occupation is the most important of all.
As we grow up,
we become wiser, gain more knowledge about ourselves and the society we live in, and we gradually get an idea about what we would like to do and
what job would be appropriate for us. The time for this final decision is to be made during secondary school. We finally decide whether we want to
do a manual job or a better paying job that requires more qualifications.
There are lot of different jobs and
professions you can choose according to your ability, hobbies or your idea of a salary. Jobs can be divided into typically
men (eg. plumber or car mechanic) and women jobs (flight attendant or nurse), traditional (tailor or lawyer) and new ones (Social Media Manager,
app developer), physical (hairdresser, fire fighter) and mental jobs (scientist, broker).
Each job has its own advantages and
disadvantages. It can be interesting, exciting, motivating, funny or hard and dangerous. Physical jobs tend to require less education but
you have to have physical power, energy and stamina. They are often less paid than mental jobs (unless they are life or health threatening).
Mental job requires particular education and/or knowledge. It is often better paid than manual job. The exception to this can be a position of a
teacher in Slovakia, which is considered as underrated.
The labour market is a virtual place in which workers find
paying work, employers find willing workers, and wage rates are determined.
Labour markets may be local or national (even international) in
their scope and are made up of smaller, interacting labour markets for different qualifications, skills, and geographical locations. They depend
on exchange of information between employers and job seekers about wage rates, conditions of employment, level of competition, and job location.
The labour market in Slovakia is very flexible, that means it is very easy to hire and fire people. Many companies
react quickly to economic problems by downsizing and laying off employees. Copared to the European labour market, the wages of Slovaks are still
incomparable, however the gap is lessening.
If you are looking for job, you can always find a list of currently free
positions in the newspapers, on the internet, leaflets or job centre. In larger companies, Human Resources dept. conduct the choice of possible
employees. The candidates usually send the job application in which you should enclose CV (includes personal data, work experience, skills,
education etc.), motivation letter and a photo (appearance is often crucial nowadays). The chosen candidates also do the oral interview with the
employer. If you meet their expectations, you are given an official offer of employment, with salary, position, medical benefits, vacation
defined.
Unemployment
Unemployment is the condition of not having a job. Unemployment occurs when a person is
available to work and is seeking work but currently is without work. In this situation it is difficult to meet financial obligations such as
purchasing food and paying bills. The unemployed are sometimes not able to pay rent and they become homeless.
In Slovakia, it is
becoming more and more difficult to get a job. The rate of unemployment is increases from year to year. Currently the unemployment rate fluctuates
around 14%. Some of the reasons for unemployment are lack of qualification, reducing the number of employees due to saving money, labour market
can be overload with graduated in particular profession.
EVERY TIME the new technology is introduced, those workers whose jobs are not
destroyed are told: this will make your work easier, more skilled and more enjoyable. However, the invention of new technologies
often makes employees redundant because using robots and computers instead of human work is cheaper and more effective. On the other hand, new
technologies can be profitable as well. They can shorten our working time and ease stress, for example truck drivers use interactive GPS instead
of old fashioned maps while driving.
Difference between salary and wage
The difference between a salary and a
wage is that wages are paid on hourly basis based on the number of hours' one works in a day while a salary is quoted on yearly. Unlike salaried
workers, wage workers have no access to paid vacations and sick days as each time spent away from work is not paid for.
Working time
In Slovakia, the working time varies around 40 hours a week. In some professions, people work longer hours, but
have more free time later(Police officers, bartenders).
In Slovakia, typical working day in manufacturing, fast food chains, line
production is divided into shifts, morning shift is 6-14, daytime shift is 14-22 and night time shift is 22-06. Other professions such as
teachers, accountants work from 8 a.m. till 4 or 5 p.m..
Some people do moonlighting, they have 2 or more jobs at the same time, because they
can’t get enough money from 1 job.
Artist and self-employed people have flexible working time.
Maternity leave
When a child is born to a couple, typically woman, but nowadays more and more often men take a maternity leave, which last for 3 years. In
Slovakia, our social system provides financial help for the families with children, although it is not very high and in the most cases the men is
responsible for earning the entire family income.
Equal opportunities
Equal opportunities refers to an equal
distribution, among individuals, of opportunities for education, training, employment, career development without being disadvantaged on the basis
of their sex, race, language, religion, economic or family situation, and so forth. In Slovakia, men are often preferred to women in the
employer’s view, because he sees the likelihood that women can temporary abort their career due to maternity leave. Men are often preferred
because of their persistence, balanced working effort and stronger will.
Requalification
Young high school
students choose their university according to the perspective to find a job on the labour market, but unfortunately for him the labour market will
have changed by the time he finishes his studies. He then needs to find a job in different area and undergo a requalification. This can also
concern older people when they lose their job and they cannot find another one in the area of their qualification.
Employee
benefits (often called perks, short for perquisites)
• Child and Elder care benefits
• Compensation time
•
Family-friendly benefits
• Flex time
• Health insurance
• Job resources
• Life and disability insurance
• Phased retirement
• Professional development
• Relocation
• Retirement investment plans
• Sick,
personal, and parental leave
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vacation time
Future
career
I see my future career in a field of economics and business, therefore I chose universities with these subjects. I have not
thought about the exact job I would like to do, but I see myself helping other people with their business queries.
Zones.sk – Zóny pre každého študenta