2023 is just around the corner – so what workplace trends should we be prepared for? Indeed and Glassdoor have just released their annual Hiring and Workplace Trends Report, featuring smart insights on the future of work. This year’s report focuses on how a handful of recent shifts are likely to continue evolving, transforming how we think about work and what the employer-employee relationship looks like.
Let’s take a look at the five top takeaways from the Indeed/Glassdoor report – plus, what they mean for you.
- Tight Labor Supply Will Continue to Impact Hiring
The immediate challenges of the peak pandemic years may be behind us, but don’t expect hiring to rebound to pre-2020 norms. Although those particular pressures may shrink, other, long-term labor supply issues will make hiring a continued challenge in the near future. One key factor driving this shrinking labor pool is the shrinking number of work-age adults across many developed countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, several EU countries, China, and Japan.
HR teams will be at the forefront of figuring out strategies for hiring and retention throughout this labor supply crisis. In many ways, organizations are likely to look to HR as leaders and problem-solvers. Whether it’s figuring out the unique labor situations of individual franchise locations, developing strategies to maintain a commitment to DEI even with a tightening labor market, or improving the employee experience overall, HR can help ensure that their companies are still ones where people want to work and stay for a while.
- Remote Work Is Here to Stay
Remote work has become a staple of the working world over the last few years, and to the surprise of many, it’s been incredibly effective – and it’s not going anywhere. Both job postings and job searches mentioning remote work are still up significantly from pre-pandemic levels, as more people prioritize some form of remote, hybrid, or flexible work. While surveys have found that only around one-third of jobs are truly well-suited for remote work, many companies are leaning into it to fill in-demand roles in fields like software development, marketing, finance, and more.
HR has been leading the way for the past few years, helping their organizations figure out the best ways to make remote work truly effective. We’ll see more of this in the year ahead, with the focus shifting from “emergency” policies to shaping longer-term guidelines around scheduling, flexibility, and determining which roles are best suited for remote or in-person work.
- As Workers Seek Higher Pay, Benefits Set Employers Apart
It’s simple: better pay is still top of the list for today’s job seekers. Among employed U.S. workers between the ages of 25 and 54, “higher pay” was the top reason for seeking a new job. Combine that with ongoing wage gains and inflation, and workers are expecting higher pay at a minimum. To stand out, companies are re-evaluating their overall employee value proposition, including benefits – both traditional ones like PTO, retirement, and health insurance, and “newer” ones like commuter benefits, flexible scheduling, and mental health support.
While budgets are set outside of HR, the HR team is the one most likely dealing with the on-the-ground effects of these decisions. This also positions HR, however, to be the best advocates for employees and job seekers. HR can work with other company leaders to develop benefits that will have a real, positive impact, improving employee satisfaction and giving the company a way to stand out in a competitive market.
- Happiness and Wellbeing Matter
It’s been a tough few years for everyone. Those stresses, combined with new priorities and new labor market information, has led to more employees prioritizing a positive culture, more support, and a greater sense of satisfaction and purpose in their work. Stress can lead to decreased satisfaction and more turnover, while positive changes can have a major positive impact on retention. In fact, an increase of just one star in a company’s Glassdoor rating corresponds with a 6 percent drop in the likelihood of U.S. employees starting new job applications, and that number goes up to 15% in Germany, 19% in the U.K., and 25% in France!
In HR, your team is likely to be the primary point of contact to hear about employee satisfaction (or dissatisfaction). Similar to discussions of tangible benefits and pay, these insights allow HR to get a clearer picture of how happy employees are and what the main points of contention are. In turn, HR can then ensure that these concerns are placed in front of leadership and decision makers, and help craft policies geared towards building a positive culture – which HR, in turn, is then likely to be in charge of implementing.
- The Changing Workforce Is Pushing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to the Forefront
DEI continues to grow in importance, both due to external pressures and to demographic shifts. Millennials and, especially, Gen Z, are more diverse than any previous generation, and they’re also more invested in DEI. 72% of workers between ages 18 and 34 would consider turning down or leaving a job if their manager did not support DEI initiatives, but that percentage decreases with each older age bracket. However, 62% of workers overall would say the same, and 74% consider corporate DEI investment as “somewhat” or “very” important when considering new job opportunities.
DEI affects all aspects of a company, but HR tends to shoulder the most of it – in some cases, DEI may be part of HR itself. Whatever the organizational structure looks like, HR is still going to be the “ears to the ground” for feedback, while also taking on the work of ensuring that these policies are implemented.
By Ruben Moreno
About the Author
After a 25-year career in Corporate Human Resources and HR Executive Search, Ruben Moreno and his two partners co-founded Blue Rock Search based on a simple but ambitious vision of creating a firm that would “Change Lives and Organizations One Relationship at a Time.” Ruben leads the Blue Rock HR and Diversity Executive Search practice specializing in the identification, assessment, recruitment, and onboarding of Chief HR Officers and Chief Diversity Officers and their respective teams — inclusive of leaders in Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, HRBP’s, Learning & OD, HR Technology, HR Operations, and HR Analytics. Ruben has helped place hundreds of HR Executives and built deep relationships within the CHRO community across multiple industry verticals. His clients consider him a trusted partner who takes the time to understand their business and add value beyond executive search.