This is the time to join the movement to build up the State of Israel’s economic-occupational resilience
The Corona virus crisis has created a unique state of emergency at the national and international levels, and has trickled down from the medical to the socio-economic plane. Given that there are over a million unemployed, hundreds of thousands of freelancers whose livings have been dramatically hit, businesses on the verge of financial collapse and a partially-functioning economy, the crisis has affected the entire Israeli economy. Social distancing policy and limitations are expected to remain with us in the long-term, along with the fear of a new outbreak of the virus within the next year, have created significant obstacles for households’ ability to earn a living capable of supporting their basic welfare. The lack of constant, comprehensive, up- to- date data concerning these obstacles makes it difficult to promote effective solutions quickly and efficiently.
Increasing household employment resilience is the essential leverage for recovery from the crisis and for future growth of the Israeli economy. Households who enjoy high accessibility to a range of solutions to handle the occupational obstacles will make it through the socio-economic crisis in better condition and will be prepared for a quick, comfortable exit from the crisis as employees, as product and service consumers and as entrepreneurs. A strong sense of social solidarity with a socio-economic safety net will allow all of us in Israeli society to respond to the medical security instructions and to reduce the damage caused by the virus’ spread.
Within the framework of the convention we commit ourselves to act on the basis of the following principles
- Focus on households – To recognize the massive damage to the economic-occupational resilience created by the Corona crisis, each household according to its unique characteristics. It is our duty as a society to rebuild this resilience.
- To act from clear intentions to help on the occupational level – to take steps which are carefully aimed at directly aiding households to develop their abilities and to grow within the frameworks of their current workplaces or to find alternate ones in order to improve their social, emotional and financial situations.
- To create an infrastructure for broad-based cooperation through promotion of the principle of solidarity – to adopt an approach which provides operative tools and clear socio-economic value to employers, social organizations and authorities in the market to create and implement interventions to strengthen the occupational resilience of their workers and of other households in their communities.
All of this will happen through cooperation based on the principle of solidarity within whose framework each party simultaneously gives and takes value. It will be carried out with transparency and caring, through mutual civil trust and support as the essential driving forces behind market growth for all participants.
- Leveraging technological capabilities for the benefit of the process – to use technological innovations which maintain the right to privacy, in order to identify the needs of households in the constantly-changing environment in the best possible manner, to prioritize interventions and examine their de facto effect on the welfare of households in Israel.
Why support the convention?
Because we can create a situation in which everyone benefits.
We believe that successful interventions are those which will work to strengthen the individual occupational resilience of households. Through improvements at the micro level we will create broader recovery at the macro level. The benefit from improving household occupational resilience will positively affect their overall welfare – financial, social, health-related and emotional. The current discourse if often focused on an attempt to lower the rate of unemployment while increasing growth at the market level without placing the households and the differences between obstacles they face in the center.
We support a change of approach and placing the household at the center. As a result, interventions which focus on solutions to the obstacles standing in the way of households wishing to return to work, including health-related, financial, transportation, family and other obstacles, will facilitate a more comprehensive, effective response to the employment problem.
Pro-active projects which focus on removing the obstacles for households in order to return to work and gain skills adapted to the current labor market will ensure the creation of economic value and personal success for all those involved – households, local authorities, organizations and businesses.
The first step in our project involves a comprehensive mapping of the existing obstacles, while taking into account the broad variety of households, based on financial branches, nature of the business, geographical areas, composition of the family unit, and more. The more households share information, the easier it will be for us to achieve a precise mapping of the problem centers and identify characteristics of those households who require the various solutions available. In accordance with the mapping, it will be possible to recruit institutions and organizations to prepare more specific interventions. Sharing data on a large scale over time will facilitate assessments of the scope of the problem and make it possible to check whether the solutions offered in fact lead to an improvement or to a solution to the problem. If the solution offered does not solve the problem, continual monitoring of the households’ status will make repeat versions possible until the best solution is found.
A call to the public
At the moment, we find ourselves busy looking after the individual safety and financial stability of the family unit. However, even at the cost of going beyond our comfort zone by sharing information about the difficulties we face, we can begin to create systemic solutions which suit our needs and those of the people around us. By joining this convention and filling in a simple questionnaire, you will be able to receive a status report and guidance to improving your current situation. The more you choose to share information over time the easier it will be to more precisely adapt the solutions to your needs. In addition, you will be supporting millions of Israeli families and assist in increasing solidarity while contributing to society. Because only together can we overcome this crisis.
A call to the private sector
The financial success of any business, whether small, medium or part of a large international concern, depends on the professional abilities of its employees, on their sense of commitment and no less important than this, on their welfare. Mapping those obstacles which make it difficult for the employees to carry out their jobs to the best of their ability during a recuperation period will make it possible for the employers to take steps to improve the employees’ ability to contribute to the company’s economic growth. “Surgical” steps, which will blend an ability to deal with obstacles in the short term with improvement of the human capital and occupational resilience for the long-term good, will serve both the employee himself and the employer in handling this sort of crisis and others in the future.
Through active support of this convention, as business leaders, you demonstrate your commitment to returning the occupational resilience to the households of Israel.
A call to policy makers
Through an appreciation of the intense pressure placed on the government and various authorities to provide a quick response, and with the understanding that without specific information it is difficult to initiate optimal solutions, we call the decision makers at all levels to join the convention and make use of the mapping it will produce. Your commitment to the precision of the interventions and to transparency in the considerations for enacting them in any situation will prevent the waste of precious resources and ensure their use to achieve the greatest good while increasing the public’s trust in the authorities’ actions.
A call to local authorities
Local authorities are central stakeholders in the residents’ quality of life. Through daily, direct contact with said residents, they have “their finger on the pulse” and during this period are experiencing the intensity of the fears and hopes. The authorities have the autonomous ability to create legislation and enact activity in a variety of fields which directly influence households. It is within their power to create cooperation with communities and local business elements and to recruit them for the effort. We call upon the local authorities to join the convention and make use of the tools offered in order to improve their work for the good of the residents.
A call to non-profit organizations
The complex reality in which we are all functioning now has not passed over the non-profit organizations which are collapsing under the weight and are experiencing difficulty fulfilling their chosen goal, to support Israeli society. The decline of occupational resilience among many Israeli families is liable to lead to a significant growth in the amount of aid-seekers who turn to the organizations at the same time as a reduction in donor support occurs. As organizations spread out in the field who work for the welfare of the State of Israel, you can contribute to improving household occupational resilience by providing access to the mapping questionnaire among the populations you serve.
At the same time, your ability to intelligently use the mapping already carried out will serve you as a tool to serve those aims you set for yourselves and will assist in directing limited resources to those places where they will have the greatest effect. A view of the overall picture along with all those elements working in the economy will create partnerships and supplementary solutions in cooperation with other organizations in the public, business and non-profit sectors.
