{"id":2794,"date":"2022-11-30T17:43:10","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T09:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.lat\/blog\/?p=2794"},"modified":"2024-04-30T11:46:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T03:46:17","slug":"how-employers-can-help-formerly-incarcerated-people-launch-a-new-chapter-in-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.lat\/blog\/how-employers-can-help-formerly-incarcerated-people-launch-a-new-chapter-in-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How employers can help formerly incarcerated people launch a new chapter in life"},"content":{"rendered":"

All of us have made mistakes in life, and some of us have made a mistake that resulted in a criminal record. Many formerly incarcerated people find it very difficult to land any job at all, especially when their criminal record is still relatively fresh.<\/p>\n

In this Pacific Prime Latin America<\/a> article, we\u2019ll look at why helping people with criminal records regain traction in life is beneficial to them as well as society at large, and how employers can successfully tap into this huge talent pool.<\/p>\n

Our recently released Global Employee Benefits Trends Report 2022 also contains valuable insights on helping formerly incarcerated employees unleash their potential in the section on fairness and equality in the workplace, so download your free copy<\/a> today for all the details!<\/p>\n

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\"Corporate<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n

How we all benefit when formerly incarcerated people successfully reintegrate into society<\/h2>\n

Just because somebody is unfortunate enough to have committed a crime at a moment of personal weakness doesn\u2019t mean they are not talented. When people with a criminal record find it hard to rebuild a healthy life around work, not only are they more likely to become repeat offenders due to despair, but society as a whole also loses out on the skills and talents of this great pool of people (in the US alone, over 70 million people have some type of criminal record), not to mention the added burden on society when these people end up living on the dole for years or, even worse, rebuilding a life around crimes.<\/p>\n

The benefits of having people with criminal records rejoin the labor force are particularly obvious these days – in the US for example, there are over 10 million job openings but only around 6 million unemployed workers<\/a>. In the post-pandemic world, tapping into the great talent pool of formerly incarcerated people may well be the key to restarting the economic engine in the US and many other countries.<\/p>\n

For employers who are worried about how existing employees will respond when they find out their new colleague has a criminal record, we want to point out that a recent survey has revealed that a majority of US respondents would be proud to work for an employer that gives these people a second chance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So how should businesses go about it?<\/h2>\n

To be successful in this new initiative, employers must first understand the difficulties commonly faced by people with criminal records and the special circumstances in selecting the right candidates. Failing that, the experience of employing these people may not be as desirable.<\/p>\n

To begin with, it will be more challenging to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of these candidates, because many of them will not have past projects to speak about or previous employers to provide references for. Furthermore, oftentimes the details of a criminal record can be misleading on how a candidate will turn out: minor property or drug offenders have higher recidivism rates, often because they are struggling with addiction. By contrast, people who have spent decades behind bars for a violent crime often have grown and mellowed.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, employers can turn to a variety of sources for an initial fit assessment, examples include:<\/p>\n