Guest Comment: Has the GFC changed our attitudes to working overseas?
As the world emerges from the GFC, it is clear that people have very different attitudes to work and their employment situations than they did before the crisis struck. Stability and security are now far larger priorities, which has had a knock-on effect on the liquidity of global labour markets.
In 2008 and 2009, it was fair to say that gainful employment in banking was at times a week-to-week proposition and a commodity that few were willing to go "long" on.
As far as international movement was concerned, a lot of financial services professionals traded their desks for the open road during the GFC. These "Gucci backpackers" made their way across South East Asia or India, desperate to blend in with the gap year lot (although most failed by virtue of their expensive timepieces). Other bankers went back to their home countries and tried to resurrect their careers.
The real question now is: has this period of uncertainty drained the spirit of some global career aspirants in Australia?
There is no doubt that the traffic of professionals moving nowadays is largely dependent on seniority level and personal circumstances rather than skills.
The right of passage to London which thousands of Aussies and Kiwis traditionally embark on is definitely resurrecting itself as young professionals focus more on life experience rather than just their careers.
This drain on our resources has typically been offset by Europeans and returnee Antipodeans coming to Australia in similar numbers. However, at the moment we observe that the incoming traffic has certainly not picked up at the same rate as the outbound has.
David Barr, director of Robert Walters, Sydney
