Survey: What are the reasons employers prefer secular employees over ultra-Orthodox ones?

August 2, 2015   

מהן הסיבות של בעלי עסקים בשוק העבודה בישראל לאי העסקת חרדים? חברת 'עוקץ מערכות' יזמה סקר כדי לבדוק. הסקר בוצע באמצעות העברת שאלונים ל-350 בתי עסק וחברות, כאשר מנהלי משאבי אנוש, סמנכ"ל כספים ו/או הגורם האמון בקרב הנסקר על גיוס עובדים התבקשו להשיב עליהן. The period for sending questionnaires and processing the information was March-July 2015. Those surveyed were asked whether they would prefer to hire a secular employee over an ultra-Orthodox employee with the same skills. Processing their answers shows that approximately 42% prefer a secular employee over an ultra-Orthodox employee with the same skills, while 58% responded that they did not. Those surveyed who responded that they would prefer to hire a secular employee over an ultra-Orthodox employee with the same skills were asked to clarify what the main reason for this was. toThis gave them the opportunity to choose an answer from 4 options: Approximately 25.8 percent of those surveyed responded that the most significant reason they would prefer to hire a secular person is the fear of a lack of skill in the core areas relevant to the position and the business environment in which the business operates.   The most common reason for preferring seculars: "secular" perceptions that see the Haredim as a culturally, socially, and politically distinct group plus a burdensome birth rate, when Approximately 34.61% of the surveyed group responded that this was the most significant reason.   Approximately 14.91% of those surveyed responded that they would prefer a secular employee due to concerns about the lack of proficiency and command of English and computer operation on the part of the Haredim. About 15.61% will choose a secular candidate due to concerns about the Haredi candidate's lack of social integration into a work team consisting of secular employees.  Ami Bergman, co-CEO of Oketz Systems: "From many conversations I have with officials at companies that employ Haredim, it appears that the particular concerns some of them had faded after they discovered that this is a dedicated, skilled workforce with significant ambition and a real desire to integrate into an employment framework.". ""There is no longer any room in Israeli society for division and discrimination on such grounds, which have been proven time and again in recent years to be unfounded in reality.". ""The basic assumption that, as a problem, they are not computer literate or speak English has also been proven wrong.".