(NewsNation) — The workforce climate has been changing for the past couple of years, ever since the pandemic hit, and it’s expected to continue to change into the new year.
Jessica Kriegel, chief scientist of workplace culture at Culture Partners joined NewsNation to take a look at the top workplace trends for 2023.
Shifting Balance of Power
From the great resignation to massive layoffs, the balance of power between employers and employees shifted in 2022. Kriegel said that trend will continue in 2023, though things may start to stabilize.
“Employees had the power, they were not putting up with bad workplace culture, and they were moving to another organization that was a better fit for them,” Kriegel said of the great resignation.
But layoffs followed, giving employers more power over workers. In 2023, Kriegel predicts things will stabilize, but employers will still have to think about what is needed to attract better talent.
“That means focusing on the purpose, what is the mission that the organization has? What contribution are we going to make to the world? What meaning do we have in the work that we do? Because employees are looking for that. They want to know more than where am I getting my paycheck? They want to know what purpose am I helping to accomplish in this world?” Kriegel explained.
More Feedback Loops
Kriegel said leadership has to come from the top and one key element is feedback, even when it means uncomfortable conversations.
“One stat said that if companies give their employees more frequent feedback exchanges, they’re more likely to have 14% higher retention,” Kreigel said.
Creative Retention Policies
Feedback isn’t the only way to keep employees happy. Kriegel said keeping workers from looking elsewhere may require thinking outside the box.
“There’s one organization, for example, Keep Financial, they’re organizing a system in which employees can take a loan for some personal event, like putting a down payment on a house. And then if they stay with their employer for a certain period of time, the loan gets forgiven,” she said.
Kriegel said she expects to see more of those creative perks in 2023.
Four-Day Workweeks.
Companies have been testing a shorter workweek, and early results show productivity doesn’t suffer.
“With people working from home, there’s no reason that we can’t be working longer hours for four days a week, rather than eight hours and five days a week,” Kriegel said.
Kriegel added that employers need to make sure they’re creating a culture where workers and bosses have matching expectations. And, she said, in the event of a recession it’s essential for companies to remain calm and not lead with fear of layoffs.
Laying off people during a recession and having to rehire them when business picks up may actually be worse for a company’s bottom line, she explained.
“So just stay calm, stay calm,” Kriegel said.