how the world of work turned in 2021 — and where it’s taking us next.
Congratulations — you made it. After a second year in a row that felt like 10, a moment’s pause for a pat on the back is more than in order.?
We made a lot of progress this year, but the path to recovery was anything but smooth. First there were no jobs and seemingly plenty of workers. Then the jobs came, but the workers stayed home. Maybe you went from working from home to back to the office only to return home again part time. Where will you be in January 2022? That’s anyone’s guess.?
To help you chart the right course for another year of workforce transformation and uncertainty, let’s take a look back at the year that was, and what that might tell us about where we’re headed next.
the economy began to recover but workers stayed on the sidelines
If you build it, they will come, right? Not quite in 2021. While the year’s early medical breakthroughs that made in-person work possible triggered job creation, filling them became another story entirely.
Between new virus variants, childcare concerns and career reevaluation, many workers remained hesitant about returning during the pandemic’s more promising, yet still uncertain, second year.?
However, it wasn’t just the unemployed making waves throughout the workforce. A record number of employees also quit their jobs in 2021 in a confounding mass exodus that quickly became known as the Great Resignation. A similar ethos united both these movements, a statement that became impossible to ignore as the months went on with no end to the worker shortage in sight: The old ways of working no longer worked — and talent was determined to fix them.
talent is in the driver’s seat, bringing new preferences along with them?
All these factors quickly thrust job seekers into the spotlight. With more openings than there were job seekers, those that were actively looking for work did so from a position of considerable advantage. That meant only accepting offers at organizations in touch with the times — and aligned with their preferences.?
To understand which benefits are most alluring to get workers back to the workforce in 2022, let’s examine the areas that employers prioritized in 2021. Of the 41 percent of employees who told us their employers made updates to their benefits offerings, these were the top four of note:
The fact that these new job seeker preferences topped the list is promising. It’s clear that the employers who did update their benefits packages, did so with current job seeker expectations around work-life balance in mind. The low adoption numbers, however, show there’s plenty of room for improvement heading into 2022.?
gen z is at risk of getting left behind
Rebuilding the workforce in 2022 will require more than a blanket approach to benefits. Each generation experienced the year differently, some struggling to adapt more than others.
It may come as a surprise then to learn that Gen Z walked a tough road in 2021. Surely the youngest working generation, with little to no preconceived notions of the old ways of working and superior digital literacy would be most equipped to weather the current workforce transformations. And yet, the numbers don’t lie: Nearly 50 percent of older Gen Zers said that someone in their household lost a job or suffered a pay cut as a result of the pandemic. And, more recently, an Adobe survey found Gen Z to:
Entering the workforce and navigating their crucial early career years during a pandemic has been a challenge unique to this generation. And with half of them reporting they plan to look for a new job in 2021, employers can’t afford to let their future workforce slip through the cracks.?
the world said hi to hybrid
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Flexible working arrangements are a top priority for many workers today — no matter the age. If 2020 was the year of remote work, then 2021 was the year of the hybrid model.
It was a natural progression. Many companies went remote during the height of the pandemic, allowing companies to experiment with work-from-home models, many for the first time. While the long-term feasibility of such an arrangement varies between industries, a majority of the companies who experimented with remote work found it to be a resounding success.
However, while it’s true that 83 percent of executives said their company’s switch to remote work was successful, and over 70 percent of employees expressed a desire to have flexible work continue, that didn’t necessarily mean that full-time remote work was the answer.
Sixty-five percent of workers, for instance, reported they were craving more in-person time with their colleagues, and 62 percent of executives felt their teams would need at least two to four days in the office in order for company culture to thrive.
So with the office once again becoming feasible, many employers chose to adopt, what they thought would be, anyway, the best-of-both-worlds approach. However embracing this new model, much like remote work in 2020, was not without its growing pains.?
hybrid hiccups: temporary growing pains or cause for concern?
For better or worse, fully remote and fully onsite workforces are able to focus all their energies on optimizing a single model. Leaders of hybrid workforces, on the other hand, have double the work on their plates, needing to address the needs of both on and offsite teams simultaneously.?
No sooner had employees put away the pajamas for good, that issues started to emerge. Onsite teams missed the flexibility. Remote teams risked alienation from their colleagues and grappled with fears of being passed over for promotions in favor of those getting real, non-video face time with their managers. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, executives were privately expressing a desire to return to how things were before the pandemic, casting further doubts about the long-term feasibility of the hybrid experiment.?
Still, given the many benefits provided by hybrid work, expect this model to continue into 2022. Job seekers have made flexibility a clear preference, and despite headaches during these early stages of adoption, employers understand they’ll need to provide it in order to attract today’s top talent.?
diversity and inclusion maintains momentum
Another surprising byproduct of hybrid work is the effect it could ultimately have on workplace equality. When given the choice, women generally choose to work from home more often than men. If hybrid work continues to become the norm, and this prediction plays out, businesses could be faced with severely imbalanced workforces.?
And yet, from the standpoint of diversity and inclusion overall in 2021, we witnessed businesses continue to take action. Companies like JLL launched initiatives to remake their board of directors, a successful effort that resulted in 75 percent of its members now coming from underrepresented groups. Pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson also made headlines, pledging to increase the number of Black vice presidents and managers in their workforce by 50 percent by 2025.?
??Of course, there’s still much work to be done, but all signs point to 2022 being another year of progress on this front. A company’s commitment to diversity is valued by 70 percent of job seekers when evaluating offers, and with the talent shortage expected to continue into the new year, it’s clear that employers can’t afford to let their D&I efforts fall behind.??
the great realignment: bringing it all together in 2022
2021 was another rollercoaster year, and if reading this recap brought back some residual whiplash, you’re not alone. We’ve come a long way from where we were in March of 2020, but for all the progress we’ve made — and in some cases, due to the very fact we made it — there are now new challenges to overcome.
The good news is that you don’t need to have all the answers — no one does. But accepting that shared experience of uncertainty is the first step to achieving the openness of mind we’ll all need to solve next year’s challenges.
This is the mentality that will drive 2022, one of acceptance, repair and eventual evolution — a Great Realignment in the world of work. Whether it’s incorporating new benefits, adopting new working models or including all generations and demographics, there are a lot of pieces to bring together, but if 2021 showed us anything, it’s that employers and employees are up to the task.?
Instead of feeling frustrated that your company's new approach to working, scheduling or staffing hasn’t panned out, rejoice in knowing that you now know it for sure. The Great Realignment will require companies to throw out what isn’t working in favor of what does, discoveries that, in many cases, can only be made through trial and error. The same rings true for employees and job seekers. There’s never been more diverse scheduling and working arrangements available than there are today. 2022 will continue to provide opportunities to workers to experiment with the working models that work for them, as well as get a taste of the benefits and perks that matter most in the new landscape.
An open dialogue, then, between employers and employees will be critical to determining whatever shape takes place from this new patchwork approach. Employers will need to be diligent about scheduling regular meetings and conducting surveys to gather employee feedback. Employees must continue to be open about sharing their experiences and preferences with employers to ensure the changes being made work for all.?
It won’t be easy, but there's a lot to get excited about as we look forward to working through this new realignment. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity for both employees and employers alike to remake the workforce for the future. But that’s about as much as we can say with any degree of certainty about where we’re headed in 2022. Where we’ll be this time next year after 12 months of tinkering, trial and triumphant error, we just don’t know. But that’s what’s wonderful. Here’s to enjoying the ride!
Vertical Leader, Strategic Clients Services and Operations Manager at Randstad Digital
2 年This line hit hard "If you build it, they will come, right? Not quite in 2021. While the year’s early medical breakthroughs that made in-person work possible triggered job creation, filling them became another story entirely."