All of us have seen the hyperbolic posts on LinkedIn about the future of work and how the labour markets have changed dramatically especially over the past year. There’s obviously truth in that, even beyond the usual work from home examples. The contrast is glaring whenever any young adult goes to their parents to discuss switching jobs from some big firm to a lesser-known entity. From stability and security, the priorities have shifted to growth.
Gone are the days when one’d take any job just for the sake of some fancy name. In this day and age, roles and skills have come to take precedence. But that might be applicable to only a few: specifically the globalised (usually urban) upper middle class, mostly with their degrees from a handful of top universities and brief stints with multinationals or major Pakistani corporates. That’s the food chain, with foreign grads on the top, followed by the big local brands. It’s this lot (or some chartered accountants) that largely features across leadership positions. Then come the kids from other private (or major public) sector universities, often making up the rank and file of the non-management trainee positions.