India Employer Forum

Human Capital

A Fad for Unconventional Job Titles

  • By: India Employer Forum
  • Date: 03 May 2019

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A designation has always been important in a business scenario. It not only gives a description of what the individual does in the company but also is an indicator of his/her seniority. Someone who has grown through the ranks would place some value on their experience and growth reflecting in the title they bear. The internet serves as a reporter for trending job titles, and it has several revelations in terms of what makes them popular.

For one, trending job titles like chief happiness officer or head of optimistic people indicate that the focus has moved away from performance metrics and numbers towards more people-centric roles. The need for a custodian of employees’ emotional and mental state is now realized. A crucial metric of quality of life is job satisfaction, and businesses now go out of their way to ensure that employees are satisfied in multiple ways.

A trailblazer shows them how it’s done – workplace culture at Google

Google, multinational technology company, is also well-known for its excellent work environment. Every employee of the Digital Age has dreamt of working in this worker-friendly place where there are bean-bag sofas, nap pods, meals prepared from organic produce by starred chefs, and break-out areas with gyms and swimming pools. It goes without saying that they enjoy flexible hours, relaxation from business attire requirements, and a host of benefits during sickness and special circumstances. Google is a glowing example of how relaxed work culture brings out the employee’s best performance by setting the gray cells working at their optimum and keeping stress levels low.

More and more companies are following this trend, realizing that human beings achieve optimum performance and efficiency at different times during the day. As opposed to enforcing discipline, it is now the norm to offer remote work opportunities, and supporting out-of-the-box suggestions for work hours, meetings, presentations, and brainstorming sessions. Where employees who strayed from set rules were once viewed as indisciplined or disruptive to a workplace, these nerdy thinkers are now welcomed and are encouraged to share their views. It is not odd to have Human Resource Personnel playing the role of Culture Manager, watching over the morale and self-actualization needs of the workforce. They make sure that everyone feels heard.

A day in the life of a people manager – trending job titles are in for an overhaul

As Elena Bajic, founder and CEO of startup Ivy Exec, observes, the primary mood and morale of the employees are first noted by the Chief People Officer. Problems that might escalate unnoticed are picked up by these executives at the nascent stages and addressed before they get out of hand. Bajic says the importance of having a CPO is all the more important for a small business, where conflict can disrupt day-to-day activities and negativity can fester rapidly.

The role of these trending job titles would be to encourage open, respectful and honest communication. In the face of negativity and unfair criticism, it is natural for employees to react emotionally, as opposed to using logic in their argument. A person in charge of keeping the mental state balanced would be able to counsel, troubleshoot, and if necessary, mediate between conflicting parties, reducing the damage when trouble arises.

The presence of these trending job titles at your company can land you among the top lists of ‘Most enjoyable companies to work for’. And that’s a coveted distinction to achieve in this job-seeker-driven market.

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