Anti-crisis regime: how salaries of Russians can change after a pandemic

Experts at the Institute for Progressive Education have found out which representatives of which professions should expect higher and lower wages after the end of the coronavirus pandemic. The results of the study are at the disposal of RT.

According to experts, in a crisis period, business will need to improve service, stand out from competitors, and increase the number of regular customers. This will provide a salary increase for PR- and SMM-specialists, producers, content managers.

In good standing, experts believe, there will be IT specialists of various levels (from programmers and mobile developers to cybersecurity experts), big data analysts and online marketers.

Difficult working conditions can contribute to salary growth for anti-crisis managers, financial consultants and logistics managers, as well as for time management specialists.

Despite the general decline in tourism, the institute believes that virtual guides should count on an increase in income.

Also, salaries can rise from doctors and specialists in the natural science cycle, experts are sure. In addition, psychologists and psychotherapists will be in demand, which may also begin to pay more.

In turn, the education sector is undergoing structural changes, which means that those who effectively train remotely - online teachers, tutors, can count on an increase in wages.

Separately, experts identified workers in the agricultural sector - agronomists, laboratory assistants, machine milking operators, livestock specialists, veterinarians. According to experts, after the pandemic, earnings in agriculture can also grow.

Risk zone

However, during the crisis, staff reductions and employee costs are much more likely, experts at the Institute for Advanced Education say. Lower salaries are expected in those sectors where layoffs and a glut of labor markets will be observed.

“Reductions in wages from 10 to 30% can be expected in those industries that will carry out massive staff reductions. This indicator may vary depending on the size of the company, the size of the initial rate and the position held by the employee, ”explained Anna Marks, director of the Institute for Progressive Education.

First of all, the decrease in income will affect the most affected sectors of the economy: tourism (travel agents, tour operators, tour guides), restaurant and hotel business (in particular, hotel managers, waiters and bartenders), as well as event managers, fitness instructors, pilots and flight attendants.

After the pandemic, due to falling demand, salaries can also be reduced for drivers, couriers, online store operators, call center consultants, realtors and sales consultants.

“Since the payroll is one of the most significant items in the budget of any enterprise, the business will use this tool to recoup the costs associated with interruption or decrease in profits due to the pandemic. First of all, ordinary employees of accounting, planning and economic departments and purchasing departments, lawyers - those people who do not directly affect the company's income, as well as the middle managerial layer, will fall under salary cuts, ”added Anna Marx.

Requirements will grow

The coronavirus pandemic will inevitably change the structure of the labor market, and against the backdrop of fierce competition, requirements for employees will grow, experts are sure.

“A lot of job seekers will appear on the market at a time (at the end of the pandemic. - RT ), which means that the requirements for each employee will increase. But if usually more stringent requirements for candidates mean a higher salary, in this situation this is hardly worth the wait. Given the clear prevalence of supply over demand, working conditions will become less attractive in the near future, ”says Anna Marx.

Moreover, the financial stability of workers will largely depend on the general economic situation, says Pavel Danilin, director of the Center for Political Analysis.

“For example, with regard to SMM, the issue is debatable. For them to have money, they need money for people who need advertising, and this is by no means guaranteed. In IT, the forecast, on the one hand, is correct. But with the proliferation of udalenki, there is no need for regular IT specialists. There is less money, people will spend less on excess consumption, ”the expert said.

According to the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, Valery Ryazansky, after lifting quarantine measures, a serious rethinking of the labor market will take place, in particular in terms of qualifications and a list of specialties that can work in different modes.

“From here, perhaps, there will be a reassessment of the requirements of both employers to employees and employees to employers. If the market will develop in the direction of electronic systems of trade and deliveries, then employees falling into this industry will know their worth. There will be a rethinking of the work on the remote. Many companies are beginning to revise their staffing in terms of what specialties could be outside the office, ”the senator explained.