8 Workforce Trends and Predictions Employers Should be Mindful of in 2023
2022 just ended and we already have a new year ahead of us. Do you remember what work was like 6 years ago? It’s more difficult to recall than one would think. In our world, change is the only thing that remains constant. It applies to all aspects of life but is most especially relevant in our workplace.
There are many things that have happened during the past few years that triggered these changes. One of those is the advancement of technologies. Video Communications and collaboration software such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Trello and Slack made it possible for teams to work remotely and communicate with ease and convenience.
Another event is the shift in age group generation of the employees. This caused a change in the ever-shifting employee expectations. These days, you can’t expect your employees to keep their job merely for the sake of having a job. According to a survey done by Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), there's an imminent mass exodus termed the Great Resignation, or the turnover tsunami, wherein workers choose to leave their jobs, prompted mostly by dissatisfaction and belief that there are better opportunities ahead of them.
After a few years, we can finally say that we live in an (almost) COVID 19 free world. This paradigm shift brought about the hybrid and remote workplace set up which had great benefits such as increased organizational and operational efficiency, but at the same time proved to increase employees experiencing burnout and loss of motivation. However, this change also caused the recent Great Resignation.
This new year may be the right time for you to be informed on new and employee favorable workplace practices. In this article we discussed some workforce trends that you could expect for 2023.
Workforce Trends and Predictions Employers Should be Mindful
More Gen Z employees in the workforce
Born between 1997 and early 2010, the oldest member of Gen Z is now 23 years old and ready to join the labor force. As a result, Gen Z will likely have a significant impact on today’s workplace as we know it – from how we use technology, think about company culture, the way those issues regarding workplace discrimination and diversity, equity and inclusion are addressed, and how companies deal with the most pressing social and political issues
Gen Z will offer a fresh perspective to established teams of Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers, and millennials. It’s also worth noting that they are comfortable with technology, being born in the digital age surrounded by gadgets.
Hybrid work will stay and be reinforced even more
The pandemic had caused offices to shut down for indefinite periods. Now that we’re on the tail-end of a global health catastrophe thanks to aggressive inoculation efforts worldwide, more and more employees will have to show up at the office again. However, that does not mean remote work will fall out of fashion. What will likely happen is the introduction of hybrid work.
About 80% of employees want to switch to a hybrid work setup even after the pandemic. Hybrid work could mean dividing teams into offices and remote workers, depending on personal preferences and a job’s flexibility to a specific work arrangement. An even better approach is allowing employees to navigate between the office and remote setups with reliance on personal judgment.
Companies will have a hard time recovering from the Great Resignation
In August 2022, 3 million Americans left their jobs and over 30 percent are actively searching for a new job right now, or plan to soon, according to a new survey report from the Society for Human Resource Management. Called the Great Resignation, this trend is projected to continue for 2023. One possible reason is how the pandemic has triggered people to reassess their priorities. Family time and well-being are now more of a priority, and employees are willing to leave their jobs for companies that can offer those flexibilities.
For businesses, this trend poses real challenges. Labor gaps will have to be filled and hiring practices must be improved.
Companies would give more emphasis on worker retention
With the great resignation currently in effect, according to a survey by Indeed, 87% of HR professionals see worker retention as the top priority in the next five years. Employers need to be more proactive with their worker retention efforts since turnovers are costly: a resignee’s financial burden to employers can reach up to 33% of an employee’s annual salary.
With all of these factors taken into consideration, Companies is expected to put more efforts on valuing their workers. Companies could start by offering attractive remuneration packages to their employees. Companies could also perform “stay interviews” to get a feel of a worker’s experience. Stay interviews are one-on-one sessions, with the aim of communicating and setting an agreement with an employee whom you suspect is on the verge of calling it quits.
5.Companies would invest more in employee upskilling
Another factor that causes employees to leave is when they feel that there would be no career growth for them in the organization, with 70% of them leaving for a company that offers better development and training. If they feel that they are not getting the training and development necessary to advance their position in the company, they’ll likely look elsewhere. Upskilling helps address this issue.
Upskill is beneficial for both employer and employee. Upskilling is beneficial to the organization since skilled employees have more to bring to the table. Upskilling at the same time improves employee productivity as well as their working experience, which, in turn, supports the company’s retention goals.
Companies would focus more on employee well-being and mental health
The Zoom burnout is real. It’s not some made-up condition invented by employees who want to skip work for a week or two. According to an Indeed survey, over half (52%) of respondents are experiencing burnout in 2022 — up from the 43% who said the same in Indeed’s pre-Covid-19 survey. If your employees start feeling uninspired by the job they once enjoyed, it’s probably a sign of burnout. It can happen to anyone regardless of the extent of their responsibility within an organization.
Burnout is a new key contributor to employee turnover. To effectively avoid it, companies are expected to encourage work-life balance. If you can, allow employees flexible work schedules and a mix of location and remote work setup. So long as they deliver their deliverables, when and where they do it prove irrelevant in the tight labor market come 2023.
Increase in freelancer/ gig economy
Gig economy/ Freelancing gives what most jobs could not offer: flexibility. Since you’re not tied to an office-based 9-to-5, you have, to a certain extent, full control on how to manage your time and create a proper work life balance. This is something businesses can maximize via remote or offshore staffing.
The gig economy has grown bigger in 2022, participated upon by 35% of the U.S. labor force. This increase in the gig economy market is projected to continue in the upcoming years as well.
Continuous role of cloud technology for hiring and HR management
HR management has multiple benefits to reap from cloud technology. For starters, it’s made remote hiring possible. Even training can now be completed in the cloud. Plus, tracking and updating employee information and credentials can now transition from paper to digital.
Cloud technology has proven to be quite helpful to companies. A survey found that 57% of organizations will use an HR Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) in 2023.
The Only thing that is constant in this world is change.
And when change happens, you should always be prepared and always ready to adapt with urgency. Adaptability has been a key trait of companies that survive for multiple generations.
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