According to Tjaart Minnaar, MD of OIM, international labour productivity is a leading indicator of job creation and these recent figures are therefore cause for concern. He urges employees not to become complacent in the new year, adding the catchphrase in 2012 will be productivity.
"Employers will be looking to achieve the same -or higher levels of productivity as 2011 in," he says. "When money is tight, it's important to show one's employers that you can give them more value for less money than someone else. This is not to say one needs to accept a pay cut - it means one needs to increase productivity levels."
Minnaar gives the following advice to employees in 2012: