Senate Considers Capping Working Hours

A proposal of Mexico’s Senate to cap workdays to six hours received push back from industry sectors, which say that it conflicts with production and scheduling factors. Meanwhile, industry leaders consider the impact of design thinking, board governance and a human-centric approach to talent retention.

In international news, Mexico’s best software engineers are increasingly opting to work for US tech companies, while recent graduates continue to struggle to find employment.

This week in Talent news and developments:

Mexico

Legislators Explore Six-Hour Workday

A new initiative by the Mexican Senate proposes a 6-hour workday to improve employee’s wellbeing, happiness and even productivity. The proposal consists in reducing the legal maximum hours worked per week from 48 to 36 hours.

Gender Inequality in Mexico’s Labor Market Remains an Issue

The gender gap in Mexican companies is not diminishing at the rate that was expected, even though half of the country’s companies implemented a diversity committee and have goals for women representation. In four years, women merely increased their presence in senior positions from only 13.4 percent to 13.9 percent, found consulting firm McKinsey.

Industry

Design Thinking and Data Science: Powerful Duo to Transform HR

Creating empathy in colleagues and discovering their needs will always bring companies much closer to solving organizational problems. Experts believe that a combination of design thinking and data Science might be the way to foster this way of thinking.

Company Success Begins at the Top

Board governance and adequate CEO succession processes have critical implications for business competitiveness. “Only with the right people sitting at the board of directors’ table having the right discussions, can organizations expect sustainable growth,” Russell Reynolds' Ruiz Maza told MBN.

Human-Centricity: A Key Retention Differentiator

A healthy work environment, diversity, inclusion and flexibility are non-negotiable for today’s businesses. As [Clara] continues to scale throughout Latin America, transmitting and maintaining these values is of upmost importance, Clara’s Juan Domínguez told MBN.

International

Why Mexican Tech Firms Are Losing Their Best Software Developers

The battle for Latin America’s tech talent has become particularly challenging recently, with a constant tug-of-war between US and Latin American companies to retain the best local IT professionals. Gino Ferrand, CEO and Founder, TECLA, explains why.

The Struggles of the Young Workforce

Unemployment among new and recent graduates remains well above what was observed before COVID-19, and recovering painfully slowly in comparison to other demographics, says the International Labor Organization. If prolonged it will continue to push this demographic into informal labor market where employment wages are not competitive.