By Emily Wellborn
As the COVID-19 public health emergency expires this year, what pandemic-era staffing trends can we expect to stick around, evolve or disappear?
1. Tech Industry layoffs don’t mean hiring is slowing down.
We relied on companies such as Microsoft, Zoom, and Google as we shifted to remote work almost overnight, leading to huge growth for the tech companies supplying these services. As we returned to the office and our communities, it no longer became necessary to constantly be online, and Silicon Valley needed the staffing infrastructure it rapidly developed in 2020 leading to more than 95,000 tech layoffs this year. Couple 24-hour reporting on these layoffs and a possible global recession, and it’s easy to think that companies are conserving their hiring effort.
These layoffs were sudden and heartbreaking, but hiring is not slowing down.
It’s the opposite. Despite months of job growth slow-down in the last few months, the US Department of Labor announced more than 517,000 new jobs emerged in January alone. With new jobs on the market and managers needing to keep up with the economic demand, companies are eager to get positions filled fast.
2. Finding the right fit means more remote opportunities, schedule flexibility, and work-life balance.
Hiring managers are stretching to find the right fit and accommodate organizational change across several fields, giving workers never-before-seen alternatives for work-life balance. Supervisors are offering more remote options, contract opportunities, staff development – such as training and education – and even hybrid work schedules for front-line workers. Employees are now capable of adapting their schedules to their needs and developing new skills as a company investment.
3. Cross-training is trending.
Remember quiet quitting as employee satisfaction dwindled? Now, quiet hiring has emerged as companies work to fill organizational gaps. It’s the process of utilizing all aspects of a company’s talent and avoiding layoffs by temporarily redirecting employees’ roles as priorities shift. This process opens a pathway for employees to express their full value to their workplace without adding on additional responsibilities, preserving career satisfaction. It also leads to conversations around career advancement and compensation.