How will 2022 shape up?

One subject that will get a lot of airtime is, “the great resignation”. A term coined by a US commentator - Anthony Klotz. You may also hear about a possible boom period throughout the 20’s…

What is certain within the UK workforce is that there has been a shift in the mindset and appetite of employees to secure a greater sense of work life balance. What is meant by this is a way of earning money that enables people to live and work with a blurred boundary rather than a perception or divide that defines the two as separate entities.

A portion of the mature workforce is heading towards retirement, some acting upon the decision to leave their industries prematurely because of the effects of the pandemic and the need to fulfill lifetime ambitions. Millennials and Gen Z workers are flourishing presently because of the diversity and demand for companies across all industries scaling-up. Changes in IR35 legislation has had an impact on the contractor marketplace thus dividing the opinion of those people who have legitimately operated as a business and governed their financial affairs for many years. Some have continued to operate within IR35 boundaries and others have chosen not to thus increasing the number of interim assignments. Government intervention and initiatives are driving new hiring strategies and training opportunities through schemes like Kickstart thus creating even greater demand for unskilled and entry level workers.

So as the reset switch was pushed in September last year (2020), is there no surprise that we see record levels of jobs being advertised, salaries being increased due to skills shortages and growing demand whilst publication after publication is advocating the need to offer distributed job opportunities or “hybrid” operating models?

All those that contribute to the economy stood on the start line in September and as we can all acknowledge, some companies will start off quicker than others, some will adapt and take risks, some may not fair well, some will get acquired by other companies and the list of possibilities goes on. With this in mind, a performance pyramid is beginning to take shape with those high achieving and innovative companies at the top and those still established themselves fighting with the masses to make their way up.

From our research last year, we observed that 80% of people who took our economic outlook survey stated they had a positive experience throughout the Pandemic from their employers yet over 50% of people were either looking for a new job or will be doing so in the following 3 months. Additionally, over 50% of people also thought that they would be in a different job in 6 months’ time. This stretches throughout Q4 2021 and Q1 2022.

Is the Great resignation an actual – Get up and leave or is it a reshuffle of the Talent pack? Is it an economic cull to restore a sense of order to highlight the innovation, flexibility and the calibrated emotional connection organizations’ will have formed with their workforce?

2022 will see an increase in M&A activity, it will report skills shortages and the gaps between the competence levels of those starting out their careers compared to those who operated before them a number of years ago. This should not be a surprise as there are significantly fewer people qualified or were even born to backfill jobs left by those exiting the industry. The were 50% fewer babies born in 1980 compared with 1960.

Throughout the pandemic, certain industries have lost valuable years to upskill and professionally develop their workforce. The chances of natural career development have been stunted. Specifically in subjective topics like Project Management and jobs that require higher levels of EQ to execute the task in hand.

There are wide-ranging reports of demands for salary increases; especially, in areas where there are recognized skills shortages yet is it reasonable to think that companies can raise salaries across a business and make significant wholesale changes? When an individual demands more money, the person is not asking for the company to meet their demands, the request is to make wholesale changes in order to accommodate the new person. Everyone needs to be treated more or less equally or you will damage your culture, brand, and competitive value. Without this, there is no job in the first place. Afterall, it is the entire workforce which creates these elements, yet one person can negatively disrupt it.

Emulating the 1920’s and the boom years which followed the great war, there is a sense that economic conditions are somewhat similar. If that is the case, will we see a leveling up of emerging countries seize their time to compete and challenge the dominance of the “West”?

Mature and performing economies will continue to invest and innovate and with this in mind, will there be a resurgence in the contractor marketplace to balance out demand and delivery? As its recorded and recognized, people within the age bracket of 30 – 45 reach certain milestones and achieve a sense of actualization, so will Generation X and Generation Y rebuild the contractor workforce, and will this be their decade??

Feel free to join in the discussion, what are your thoughts?