The way this year plays out in the world of work will be interesting to watch, especially as we leave pandemic behind us. On one hand a lot of the old ways are being thrown out of the window with radical departure from the office-bound culture. On the other hand, advanced new technology – especially AI – is altering many job roles beyond recognition.
Lean workforce due to the pressure to control costs, a competitive talent pool and the speed of digital transformation have impacted businesses globally. A CEO today has to make tough yet meticulous choices while carefully navigate the post-pandemic landscape to keep the head above water.
Here are five of the more intriguing trends that experts say are going to emerge in 2023 and will continue to evolve in the coming years.
Quiet hiring
The term “quiet quitting” gained prominence last year – it refers to employees refusing to go above and beyond in the role, simply doing the minimum required. When employees “quiet quit” organisations keep people but lose skills and capabilities. However, experts say in 2023 savvy companies will flip the script and embrace “quiet hiring” to acquire new skills and capabilities without adding new full-time employees.
This could manifest as encouraging internal talent mobility by deploying employees to the areas where the organisation most needs them. Or, to compensate people for their evolving roles, workplaces will offer a one-time bonus, raise, additional paid time off, a promotion, greater flexibility, and more.
Pursuit of non-traditional candidates
Organisations have long talked about the strategic value of expanding and diversifying their talent pipelines, but generally fail to do so. However, with more employees charting nonlinear career paths and companies having trouble meeting their talent needs through traditional sourcing methods, that could change this year.
People are exploring major shifts in their careers ever since 2020 and this trend has continued. Organisations therefore are looking beyond traditional credentials in a candidate to fill the roles. This has drastically changed the hiring process. Therefore, it is imperative to rethink about making the hiring decisions just based on qualifications.
Upskilling existing employees to take roles that may not be on their traditional road map is another trend that has taken momentum. And why not? It’s always good to create new path of growth for talented employees who have the aptitude and attitude to diversify their skill sets and prove themselves in new roles.
Meaningful CSR
In a 2022 Gartner study of more than 30,000 people, 87 percent said companies should take a public position on societal issues. The study found that when corporations do take a stand, they can expect an increase in the number of employees who go above and beyond at work (less quiet quitters!).
The incoming Gen Z is going to push companies to help make the world a better place, and they certainly won’t stand for so -called “greenwashing” – the act of making others believe the company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is. Unlike their predecessors, Gen Z want to actively participate and not just pay lip service to activities and campaigns that promise to make the world a better place for them.
As the demand for authentic corporate social responsibility grows, we’ll see companies commit to more meaningful action towards sustainability, improving communities and overall making meaningful impact. At least I really hope so.
Leaders striving to forge closer employee bonds
At roughly this time last year, in many parts of the world Covid was spiking again and although some employees had already started returning to the office many companies halted and sent staff home again. A lot has changed since then, and many people are back in offices while adopting a hybrid working system.
And while according to a survey by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) many employees are happier with the arrangement, 65 percent of businesses say it has been “challenging” to boost morale and create a cohesive company culture when a chunk of their team is remote working.
In 2023, this will surely be addressed head-on. Leaders will look closely at how to make hybrid working work better for everyone through actions like organising frequent full team meeting days and cultivating a more appealing place to work so when people are in, they are glad to be so.