From silent resignations to loud layoffs, will the career trends of 2022 continue?
Chandra Sahu, 25, left an investment banking job during the so-called great resignation last year, eager to find a job that offered more flexibility. The New York City resident said she searched for a job that met her “top priorities,” allowed her to demonstrate her “agency and creativity,” and landed on a startup.
“I wanted to work in a space where you work closely with a team, where you still have that quick energy that you get on the bench, but super focused on a user and a troubled space,” Sahu said.
Being able to pursue her interests outside of work was also important to Sahu. “I’ve really tried to prioritize making room for habits in my life and ultimately leading me to the kind of life I want to live,” he said.
Employers may go through a ‘culture shift’
Prioritizing the quality of life for employees is one of the biggest career trends of 2022, said management consultant Christine Spadafor. “For many companies, this is going to be a culture change,” she said. “It’s really looking at employees more holistically.”
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“It means putting a human face on human capital,” added Spadafor. “It’s not just about thinking about the work that they do, but more about thinking about their financial well-being, the meaning of their social well-being with friends and family, their physical well-being, and what has drawn a lot of attention, and understandably, also it’s the well-being of his mental health.”
Employees seek stability
However, after the Great Resignation, many workers went through what has been called the “big regret“—Admitting they should have stayed where they were, a 2022 employment dilemma that some experts say may change in the next year.
“You’re seeing a little more hesitancy to make moves; people are … maybe digging a little bit,” said William Crawford Stonehouse III, founder and president of Crawford Thomas Recruiting in Orlando, Florida.
Despite an onslaught of layoffs at large, high-profile companies, many employers need to retain productive workers. “The unemployment rate is still so low that if you talk to 10 media [size] business owners in America right now, they’ll all tell you there’s a position where they absolutely would hire someone on board if they could find the person,” Stonehouse said.
Workers continue to demand flexibility
Chandra Sahu’s job gives her the flexibility to work remotely. Without commuting to work, she has more time to pursue other interests.
Sahu said she wasn’t worried about finding a new job when she left investment banking in 2021. She was ready for a change. The startup she joined was acquired by social media company Pinterest earlier this year. She landed a coveted product manager position there in less than six months and still finds time for yoga, reading and other interests every week.
“It’s been amazing to step back and figure out how to guide my life around the decisions I want to make, while still having the kind of rigor in my work that I think I really love,” she said.
Sahu’s job changes may reflect another trend that some workplace management experts call a “career correction.” Instead of “calm down quitting smoking” — or doing the bare minimum at work — workers are intentionally shifting from a culture that quickly praises working long hours to one that more values employees’ lives outside of work.
The data is so robust that people want a little more flexibility.
tina paterson
consultant and author
“People are certainly trying to exercise their right to find employment anywhere that meets their needs – their family needs, their job needs, their location needs, all of it,” said Christie Smith, Global Talent & Organization Practice Leader. from Accenture.
Buzzwords highlight dilemmas in the workplace
Since “shock change”, when a new job is very different than you’ve been led to believe, and “boomerang employees” who return to the jobs they left, to “race damping” adding new skills and reactivating your network after “loud layoffs“At high-profile companies, this year’s buzzwords for common workplace dilemmas may fade.
However, a new perspective for employers will endure. “The trend will continue to be an emphasis on talent,” Smith said. “The right skills, and getting them, are the best way to get that talent into the right positions within organizations.”
Remote work is here to stay
Recognize employees’ need for flexibility It will be essential to fill the roles.
“Totally in the office is a thing of the past, and leaders who cling to that model are going to lose the war for talent,” said Tina Paterson, a Melbourne, Australia-based consultant and author of “Effective Remote Teams.”
“Great employees always have options, and the data is so strong that people want a little more flexibility, whether it’s hybrid or fully remote, in terms of where they work,” he added.
Sahu echoes the sentiments of many other younger workers, saying that senior managers can show that they understand and value the needs of their employees through their own actions.
“Making space for your kids or your hobbies, or your life that’s protected, tells other people that that’s a regular habit that a successful leader can have,” he said.