Understanding the world of work right now
This week, we published a rundown on everything you need to know about the labor market, what jobseekers are looking for, and how to retain workers.
COVID disrupted the working world in innumerable ways, leaving us with the Great Resignation and an ever-changing labor landscape. With President Joe Biden signaling the end of the pandemic this week, where does that leave the workforce? How do employers adapt? Why are some workers willing to quit while others aren’t?
Here are the top five things you need to know about the moment we are in.
- COVID-19 disrupted the workforce. During the worst of it, 2020 brought sky-high unemployment. As the country tried to climb back to normal, workers who stopped looking for work slowly began looking for jobs again. Though, there are still fewer workers employed now than right before the pandemic relative to the total eligible working age population. Whether COVID is over or not, the effects of the past two and half years are still with us.
- Inflation biggest concern. Even as COVID has scarred the labor market, the issue is receding as a top worry among Americans. Now, the big concern is inflation. How does this impact employees? As prices go up, the real value of their paycheck goes down. If inflation persists in the long term, more institutionalized tactics to combat inflation can come into play, like indexing salaries to inflation. Though we aren’t there yet, understand that employees are feeling the squeeze from higher prices.
- Workers look for good pay, benefits, and choice. Disruptions aside, workers’ top priorities when looking for a new job are what you might expect: good pay, stable paycheck, and benefits. After those preferences, workers begin to look to perks that hinge on flexibility. These add-ons have become more common during the pandemic, as remote work popularized flexible work schedules or a 4-day work week for some. The ‘standard’ 9-to-5 falls to the bottom of the list. Flexible is in, standard is out.
- Age changes employee needs. Age changes what people are looking for in a job. Younger workers value a stable paycheck and above-average pay more than older workers. Benefits rank higher for older workers than younger ones. But, all workers, regardless of age, ranked a 9-to-5 as a low priority, something that was particularly true for younger employees. As other Ipsos research has shown, where someone is in their life drives what they value in their workplace. At-home care responsibilities, like having young children or aging parents to look after, influence what workers need from their workplace.
- To retain workers, consider life stage and education. More than one in three workers would consider quitting if forced to change their work location. Workers who have kids under 18 at home, people under 34, higher income workers, and those with a college degree are more likely to quit if forced to change their work situation. Flexibility and listening to the needs of workers are a must.
Whether the acute phase of the pandemic is behind us or not, COVID and the Great Resignation have shifted what it looks like to work. Managers need to understand where their workers have been, what they need, and where they are going.
The same plans won’t work for everyone. Organizations that understand this and consider the needs of their employees and business will be better positioned to succeed.
