Germany’s intelligence service is having trouble recruiting new agents. The reason? The BND’s (Bundesnachrichtendienst) not-so-flexible work arrangement isn’t so attractive an opportunity to potential recruits.
BND president Bruno Kahl shared on Monday that finding enough staff to replace the boomers heading into retirement is proving to be difficult. “We cannot offer certain conditions that are taken for granted today,” he said, according to Reuters.
By conditions, Kahl means a work-from-home arrangement and access to their personal cell phone. Since the pandemic-era lockdowns when companies were forced to allow their employees to work from home, people, especially younger member of the workforce, have leaned heavily towards more flexible work environments.
In the US, labor economists are seeing it happen as a permanent perk for workers across different industries. The reduced commute and more flexible schedule allowing for better work-life balance have also been shown to make people more productive.
But the setup isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario.
“Remote work is barely possible at the BND for security reasons, and not being able to take your cell phone to work is asking much from young people looking for a job,” Kahl said.
But this doesn’t seem to be the case for BND’s counterparts in the UK and the US.
The MI6 is busting the myth about people not having enough time to be with their families if they join the service. On its website, they say that a number of their roles “offer the opportunity to work flexibly.”
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), meanwhile, says that it has a number of working groups “dedicated to finding solutions to enhance workplace flexibilities and promote work-life effectiveness for our workforce.”
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