More US Work Visas; Many Students Dropped Out During Pandemic

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that this year, Mexico could receive a record number of US work visas. Additionally, more than a million students dropped out of school during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telmex Workers began a national strike to ask for the enforcement of a labor agreement as well as higher salaries and better benefits. Moreover, expert contributors say well-being can be a game changer for maximizing employee retention and provide 10 tips for creating highly effective teams.

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Mexico

Mexico could obtain a significant number of US work visas.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that where 310,781 US work visas were granted to Mexico in 2021, this year the country is expected to receive 356,000 visas. Ebrard stressed that when President López Obrador met with the US President Joe Biden, he proposed to increase the number of US work visas granted to migrants. According to Ebrard, the proposal is being considered by the US government, as both nations seek to generate greater order in the flow of migration. 

Over a Million Students Dropped Out of School During the Pandemic

According to the organization Educación con Rumbo, 607,413 students dropped out of school during the 2021-2022 academic year, while 815,740 students left throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. Taken together, these figures show that 1.43 million students abandoned their studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say that since the information system of the Ministry of Education has deficiencies, it is impossible to know whether these students have resumed their studies or abandoned them completely. 

Telmex Workers End Strike to Demand Labor Agreement Compliance

Workers organized a national strike against Telmex because of what they argue is the company’s failure to comply with their Collective Working Agreement (CCT). Some of the factors that provoked the strike are the alleged lack of hiring of almost 2,000 people, less beneficial pensions for those who have just joined and the transfer of assets to other Grupo Carso companies such as América Móvil. On the same day that the strike started, an agreement was reached.  

Nestlé Shares Insights About its Hybrid Work Model

Due to the slow return to the office work after the pandemic, the hybrid work model is now a priority for companies. Nestlé Mexico reached the first position in a group of companies evaluated regarding hybrid work models.  

Expert Contributors

Why Should We Infuse Well-Being into Organizations?

Over the last few years, there has been a worldwide emphasis on the need for well-being at work. New working realities from the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have increased stress and uncertainty among people, organizations, and economies. Moreover, now with low unemployment rates, employees have more leverage to change jobs, have more decision-making capacity, and more consideration for well-being. Altogether, there has been a significant trend of employees leaving their jobs due to job-related stressors. Can organizations cultivate well-being and become a magnet for talented employees? 

From Zero to Success: How to Build a Highly Effective Team

One of the main challenges for companies is designing a team that is not only capable of meeting the business’ goals, but also of doing so while making autonomous decisions, and working collaboratively and harmoniously. Having a team with these characteristics can make a difference when establishing and scaling processes, while defining and distributing areas and responsibilities and, last but never least, to generate a work culture that reduces turnover and focuses on growth. 

The Right to a Digital Education

The potential of digital education, particularly driven by the 2020 pandemic, has launched a serious reconsideration of the individual and collective dimension of the teaching and learning processes, the timing of learning, the new ways to structure information for knowledge construction and the duties and competences of teachers and learners.