OBSERVER FEATURE | Is unemployment really a choice? Namibia’s uncomfortable workplace question

As unemployment remains one of Namibia’s most stubborn economic problems, a growing chorus of employers is asking a provocative question: are some Namibians unemployed because they cannot find work or because they are unwilling to do the work available? The answer, however, is far more complicated than either side would like to admit.

There is a question increasingly being whispered in boardrooms, shops, restaurants, factories and offices across Namibia: Is unemployment always the result of there being no jobs, or are there people who are unemployed because they are unwilling to work?

It is a politically and socially uncomfortable question.

For many employers, the complaints are familiar. Young recruits arrive late. Customers are treated with indifference. Telephone calls are not returned. Employees disappear during working hours. Productivity is low. Staff leave after relatively short periods for marginally better offers. Some employees appear to do just enough to collect a salary.

And yet, standing on the other side of that argument is a brutal statistic: 320,442 Namibians were unemployed in 2023, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s 2023 Population and Housing Census Labour Force Report. That translated into an unemployment rate of 36.9%, up from 33.4% in 2018.

So, can we seriously argue that unemployment is a choice?

Probably not.

But neither can we dismiss the concerns of employers as imaginary.

The numbers tell a disturbing story

The unemployment crisis is particularly severe among young Namibians.

The NSA puts unemployment among people aged 15 to 34 at roughly 44%, with young women significantly worse off than young men. Youth unemployment was about 48.2% among females, compared with 41% among males.

The gender gap exists across the broader labour market too. Female unemployment stood at 39.6%, compared with 34.6% for men.

And the problem extends beyond those officially classified as unemployed.

Namibia’s combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force, which includes people who are unemployed as well as those who are available and willing to work but not actively looking, was 54.8%. Among young people it reached 61.4%.

Those figures make the proposition that millions of Namibians are simply choosing not to work difficult to sustain.

There simply aren’t enough jobs.

But something else is happening.

Employers say qualifications are not enough

A recurring complaint from Namibian employers is that academic qualifications do not necessarily translate into workplace readiness.

Employers increasingly say that young recruits may have certificates and degrees but lack practical experience and some of the so-called soft skills required to function effectively in a workplace.

Communication. Adaptability. Teamwork. Problem-solving. Emotional intelligence.

These are increasingly important in a modern economy.

One recruitment professional put it bluntly: employers can train people on the job, but attitude, resilience and teamwork are considerably harder to teach.

This is where Namibia’s unemployment debate becomes uncomfortable.

There are unquestionably Namibians who desperately want employment and cannot find it.

But there are also people who find employment and fail to retain it because of absenteeism, poor discipline, weak customer service, lack of commitment or unwillingness to learn.

Those are two different problems.

We should not confuse them.

The customer is often the forgotten victim

Perhaps nowhere is the debate more visible than in customer service.

Walk into some businesses and the experience can be extraordinary. Walk into others and the customer seems to be an interruption to the employee’s day.

The attitude can range from indifference to outright hostility.

It is not uncommon to hear customers complain about employees chatting among themselves while customers wait, phones being answered casually, enquiries not being followed up and basic requests being treated as unreasonable demands.

But employers must also look in the mirror.

An employee earning a salary that barely covers transport, food and accommodation, working unpredictable hours under an abusive supervisor, with no prospect of advancement, may understandably have little emotional investment in the organisation.

That does not excuse bad behaviour.

But it helps explain it.

The Labour Act cuts both ways

Namibia’s Labour Act 11 of 2007 is sometimes portrayed in business circles as protecting employees at the expense of employers.

That is an oversimplification.

The Act protects workers from unfair treatment, but it does not create a legal right to be lazy, incompetent or chronically undisciplined.

Section 33 requires employers to have a valid and fair reason and follow a fair procedure when dismissing an employee. In dismissal proceedings, once dismissal is established, it is presumed unfair unless the employer proves otherwise.

That protection is important.

It prevents employers from arbitrarily throwing people onto the street.

But it also places an obligation on employers to manage properly.

If an employee is consistently late, fails to perform, mistreats customers or refuses reasonable instructions, the answer should not automatically be dismissal — nor should the employee assume that the Labour Act gives them immunity.

There must be proper performance management, counselling, disciplinary procedures and, where necessary, dismissal in accordance with the law.

But is there a cultural problem?

This is perhaps the most controversial part of the debate.

There have been concerns about work ethic in Namibia for years.

Across different sectors, employers have complained about poor productivity, weak work ethics, absenteeism, staff turnover and employees lacking basic communication and workplace skills.

The fact that similar complaints are still being made today should make us uncomfortable.

The danger, however, is turning a legitimate workplace problem into a sweeping judgement about an entire generation.

Namibians are not inherently lazy.

Indeed, thousands of Namibians work exceptionally hard , often under difficult conditions — in mines, farms, construction sites, hospitals, schools, fishing, retail, hospitality, transport and small businesses.

The real issue may be that our economy has failed to create enough pathways from education into meaningful work, while our education and training systems have not always adequately prepared young people for the realities of the workplace.

That distinction matters.

A young person who has never had an opportunity to work cannot reasonably be condemned for lacking workplace experience.

But a young person who has been given an opportunity and repeatedly refuses to meet reasonable workplace expectations must also accept responsibility.

The employer has responsibilities too

There is another side to this debate that employers sometimes prefer to avoid.

What kind of workplace are we creating?

Are employees being paid fairly?

Are they being trained?

Are managers capable of managing people?

Are young employees given mentors?

Is there a career path?

Are workers respected?

Are businesses creating environments in which employees feel that their contribution matters?

It is unreasonable to demand loyalty from employees while treating them as disposable.

The employment relationship is not a one-way transaction.

The employer provides remuneration and an opportunity to work. The employee provides time, skills, commitment and productivity.

Both sides have obligations.

So, is unemployment a choice?

For the majority, no.

A 36.9% unemployment rate is not a national population suddenly deciding that work is beneath them.

It is evidence of an economy struggling to absorb its working-age population.

But there is another truth we should not be afraid to confront.

Being unemployed is not the same as being unemployable.

Namibia needs more jobs. It needs faster economic growth, industrialisation, entrepreneurship, investment and skills development.

But young Namibians also need to understand that getting a job is only the beginning.

Showing up matters.

Learning matters.

Customer service matters.

Reliability matters.

Taking pride in one’s work matters.

And employers have obligations too: decent working conditions, fair pay, training, mentorship, career development and respectful management.

The solution therefore cannot be to blame the unemployed or to blame employers.

It must be to build a culture in which work is valued, employers create decent opportunities, workers take responsibility for their performance, and the state creates an economy capable of employing its people.

Namibia does not have a shortage of people who want a better life.

It has a shortage of productive opportunities and, in some cases, the skills, attitudes and workplace cultures necessary to turn those opportunities into lasting employment.

That is the conversation we should be having.