2023: The Year of The Great Retention!

Throughout the Pandemic, the labor market underwent a series of strange metamorphoses.? At the height of the proliferation of the Covid, fear and uncertainty were the norms on a global scale.? Millions of people were frightened of a lethal airborne disease that was spreading like wildfire throughout the world.? Not only were personal lives shaken, but world economies were rocked by a new and scary reality for the introduction of the 2020s when companies literally shut down and governments ordered citizens to “shelter in place” by remaining at home and cutting off their social ties.

Beginning in the second quarter of 2020, many corporations were either forced to shut down completely due to a lack of available workers or they were forced to shed millions of jobs in the wake of economic uncertainty, as a means of preparing for corporate survivability going forward.? However, many jobs were deemed as “essential” as some workers had no choice, but to show up and work through the Pandemic conditions.? These types of essential workers were typically emergency personnel and food service workers.

Across the globe, people were subjected to having to wear face masks that covered the nose and the mouth in order to prevent the spread of the Covid virus and from ingesting the germs of the virus themselves, which could have been potentially fatal.? Throughout 2021, the world’s leading scientific manufacturers worked feverishly around the clock to counteract the widespread proliferation of the disease with an effective series of vaccines.

Throughout 2021, the highly touted “K-Shaped” economic recovery started to take shape and workers slowly started returning back to the workforce.? But, many workers were still fearful of face-to-face interactions with their co-workers and colleagues.? On the cusp of opportunity, technology firms, such as Zoom and Microsoft, capitalized on this growing need for business interactions that went beyond the telephone and email correspondence, by providing technology for virtual face-to-face interactions.? World economies embraced the virtual technology approach to doing business, as the world economy started to rebound and recover back to profitability.

As Covid was mitigated even further in 2022, economic expansion of employment opportunities abounded, as the labor market tightened considerably for available workers. Unemployment claims fell to record levels, as there was soon at least two positions available for every available worker.? Workers who were employed seized upon this opportunity of when potentially better jobs were available and an unprecedented employment movement took hold that became known as the period of “The Great Resignation”.

During the phase of “The Great Resignation”, workers enjoyed the hot market employment opportunities, as employers competed for top talent with signing bonuses, enhanced work benefits, and increased salaries for eager workers.? Workers truly held the winning cards in a play to either vacate their current positions for better paying opportunities or negotiate with their current employer for a bigger and better slice of the employment pie.??

In the fourth quarter of 2022, economic headwinds of uncertainty started as the Federal Reserve attempted to halt the escalating inflation percentages of 9% on consumer goods and services - the highest rate of inflation in over 40 years - by raising key interest rates on borrowing funds for loans, credit cards, and other financial services vehicles.? However, the tight labor market has demonstrated an amazing resiliency that flexes muscles of strength heading into 2023.

So, what’s on the employment horizon for 2023?? As the Federal Reserve continues to put a stranglehold on slowing down the labor market, many economists fear that the United States and the rest of the world will be navigating through choppy, recessionary waters of uncertainty.? During the fourth quarter of 2022, several large organizations have begun to initiate widespread layoffs, due to the slowing growth and the introduction of pronounced and progressive interest rates by the Fed.? Although thousands of workers have been losing their jobs at several corporations, the employment market for opportunities has barely been impacted.

Moving into 2023, I have coined the next phase of the employment cycle into what I call, “The Great Retention”, as millions of workers will continue to seek employment opportunities at companies that are all too eager to attract and employ those specialized human capital assets.? What recourse do companies have to retain that talent and ensure that it does not walk out the door?? At unboXt, a leader of tapping into employee motivations and a proven leader of reducing attrition, the solution will come down to employee engagement and empowering managers to become better leaders to not only retain human capital talent, but to also capitalize upon it and retain that talent into becoming a happier, more productive employee for the organization.

Shannon Thompson

Director of Demand Generation

unboXt, Inc.