The global workforce is transforming at breakneck speed, with the pandemic and labor shortages leaving businesses struggling to keep up. To make sure they can still perform well in this environment of rapid change, employers will need to focus on their individual strengths. They will also need to provide opportunities for employees to grow into new skills or embark down career paths that allow them more opportunity than ever before.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the way people work. Studies show that 64% of the global workforce was negatively impacted by this strain. These include 28% who lost their jobs and 23 percent whose hours were cut or reduced due to furloughs, while still others took pay cuts. As employers adjust themselves towards emerging talent demands in order to stay competitive with other businesses (and keep employees satisfied), it’s important they remember one thing: regardless of employees are working full time or part thereof; every single person needs basic healthcare coverage.
Here are the biggest influences directing work changes in 2022 to help businesses move forward:
Global Workforce Trends
The “work” world has continued its trend to evolve in tandem with technology, thus creating a state of constant motion; the result is transformational. However, one common thread has grown stronger and that is people power performance. Employers are basing their decision-making in data and leveraging those insights to better understand their employees’ needs This insight extends to ascertaining what drives their productivity, allowing them to support and empower their people. Greater growth and innovation lie ahead because of this increased visibility, fostering a stronger sense of connection.
The Trends That Are Shaping The 2022 Workface
Redefined Employee Visibility
As businesses continue to explore fully remote, on-site and hybrid workplace situations, there will be a need to look for better opportunities to both understand the needs of a far-flung workplace and increase employee visibility. Recent studies have found that Covid-19 has significantly impacted worker’s locations. Three quarters or the global workforce has made changes, or are making plans to change where or how they live, with a significant percentage among Generation Z.
In addition, a survey has shown that, of small and midsized US employers, 66% already have a hybrid work model in place.
People data will shed insight into the ebbs and flows of performance and engagement to foster connections in the absence of physical proximity. This will help managers to support a high-performance hybrid or remote team. This new dynamic is naturally built to a much high degree on trust. Interestingly, researchers have discovered that employees who have trust in both their team leader and their teammates are 7 times more likely to feel strongly connected to their organization.
Workplace Culture Will Be driven By People & Purpose
As employers explore ways to implement new work models to ensure inclusions, one of the best measurements of workplace culture will be connection. US workers who feel strongly connected to their employer are 75 times more likely to remain fully engaged, according to recent studies.
Employers will need to heighten their focus on their people and reflect on the purpose that unites their workforce, especially now with connection driving engagement.
The perceived limits of workforce flexibility will stretch as employers embrace and encourage people-centered initiatives to build a thriving workplace. Equity, inclusion, and diversity strategies will evolve to drive measurable progress.
Resiliency Will Be Powered by Expertise And Reliable Data
Operational and compliance considerations will grow and thus add to an already complex regulatory environment with employees remaining hybrid and remote. Nearly 20% of US companies with 25 to 99 employees are already having challenges with regulatory and compliance issues, which could conceivably increase as regulations change. Leaders will rely more heavily on real-time data to guide decision-making and tackle compliance.
Businesses will require quality data as a key to giving them confidence to act. For example, to be able to manage return to the workplace policies (including vaccinating tracking and testing), employers are using timely people data.
Growth Will Be Accelerated Through Greater Innovation
The evolvement of business models amid global shifts will ultimately continue their use of technology to expand capabilities and drive efficiency. This will eliminate task work and refocus efforts on strategic growth initiatives.
With the fact that roles are evolving, a surge in skills-based hiring will further drive innovation. A recent study has found that one in four workers have either taken on a new role of changed their role due to the labor market shifts created by the pandemic. Interestingly, the percentage increases to 36% for workers from Generation Z. With employees being forced to re-skill they will continue to prioritize their skills and pursue opportunities that allow them to apply their unique strengths.
To accelerate performance, employers will have to focus on these individual strengths, and provide opportunities for employees to develop a new career trajectory or develop new skills. Employers will also rely on technologies to identify workers with the skills required, for example, from pools of workers who may have been applicants for positions in the past.
