Page 13 - Islands Business March 2022

The Future of Work The Future of Work

Capital Development Fund [UNCDF] satellite office that has the work-life balance will exist in the company.
signed up for three years. The relationship between the two Fong says, “We don’t believe in the separation of work and
companies was built before the opening. “We appreciate the home. We all have our daily checklist for the week, and we
confidence and the support UNCDF gave us before we opened integrate our personal schedule into it. For instance, I have a
the coworking space because new and innovative ideas always certain time to go to the gym and pick my daughter up.”
take time to garner broader support,” Pastorizo-Sekiguchi Pastorizo-Sekiguchi spends three days of the week at work
says. “So having the stamp of approval from early adopters and the other two with her family. “There is a need for a
like MDF and UNCDF affirms the important work that we are more flexible workforce and better work-life integration;
doing as Fiji’s first full-service virtual and in-person coworking whether you have a family or personal time, work should
community.” revolve around how your life is structured. Your work schedule
The coworking space has been accommodating its members should accommodate your personal schedule,” Pastorizo-
during this unprecedented time by offering new combination Sekiguchi believes.
packages in response to clients’ needs.
They are introducing new packages for SMEs as well. With editor@islandsbusiness.com
the steady introduction of new products, one wonders how

TELEWORKING REALITIES

Continued from page 10 STEM-based fields, “lower levels of technical skills across
both genders in the Pacific labour force (when compared with
has been largely academic. Large, multigenerational house- the incoming migrant workforce) means that both men and
holds, spotty electricity and Internet supply and the persis- women will need to upskill if they are to benefit from these
tence of a hierarchical and highly-supervised culture in many more secure, higher paying jobs in the future.”
workplaces means a move to remote or hybrid work arrange- Education and vocational education and training programs
ments is some way off for many. in our region aren’t graduating technologically fluent workers.
“An ILO rapid assessment of the impacts of COVID-19 on em-
Gender and the future of work ployment and business found that three out of ten enterprises
A recent report by the Asia Foundation, Women and the Fu- surveyed in Fiji reported needing new skills from workers due
ture of Work, found that globally, women were at greater risk to operational changes,” the Asia Foundation report states.
of losing their jobs (on average 1.8 times higher) or having Meanwhile the challenge of youth unemployment has been
their hours reduced as the sectors hardest hit in the pandemic met in small part by seasonal and temporary work schemes,
were the highly feminised ones, such as those related to the which are providing much-needed income and on-the-job
tourism sector. training, but also has challenges in terms of local brain drain
If this ‘occupational segregation’ continues, the gap be- and incidents of underpayment/poor treatment (see story on
tween women and men through “emerging transitions and the page 16).
future of work” will likely widen says the ILO. Women working
in routine and repetitive work will more likely be replaced The other virtual workplace
through automation, although the education, healthcare, and At the other end of the spectrum, several Pacific tourism
social assistance sectors, where women predominate, will markets and resort operators attempted to tap into the high-
grow. end digital nomad/work from home market, with packages
The divide has been the subject of discussions at the CSW65 aimed to lure them to ‘workations’, where they could operate
meeting underway in New York this month, with Fiji’s Perma- for short periods from accommodation equipped with a full
nent Representative to United Nations, Dr Satyendra Prasad, spread of amenities, while their children and families were
telling a side event that the public sector could learn from offered ‘learning experiences’.
private sector initiatives to reduce gender gaps and promote In Tahiti, the Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora, InterConti-
women to management roles. nental Tahiti Resort & Spa, and St. Regis Bora Bora all offered
“This may include a suite of training initiatives, and policy such packages. In Fiji, the Nanuku Auberge Resort followed
development work and mentoring to ensure more women suit. However repeated surges of COVID, border and quaran-
enter leadership roles. A focus on STEM education, girls in sci- tine arrangements and other barriers such as Fiji’s restrictive
ence and develop the qualifications for skilled employment in work permit laws, meant these programs had only very mod-
the green economy and other emerging STEM fields given the est success.
climate change threat before us,” Ambassador Prasad said.
The ILO says while men are currently better placed to editor@islandsbusiness.com
take advantage of new jobs in green building, IT, and other

Islands Business, March 2022 13