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As 2023 has ended, companies, candidates, and recruiters are defining their course of action for next year. The ever-evolving labor market has many surprises in store; good thing you’re still in time to prepare and adapt to the workplace and hiring trends for 2024. So dive deep into this article and get ready for what’s coming.
Even though many economists foreshadowed a recession and a sense of doom hovered over the job market, 2023 ended up avoiding the projected crisis. Despite some tech layoffs that happened during the past months, most of the workforce stayed resilient and found their way back on track even after getting laid off.
Speaking about companies and employers, in 2023, they changed their approach compared to previous years. Instead of continuing the “hiring and talent wars” due to the labor shortage and great resignation resulting from the pandemic, they focused on being more strategic and attracting profiles with specific skills that propel projects and are difficult to find.
Although there are optimistic projections for 2024, Indeed’s Hiring Lab Director, Nick Bunker, affirms next year’s outlook will rely on the direction of demand for workers. This means even if employers are hiring less, the reduction in layoffs and increasing efforts in employee retention will balance the market.
Regarding unemployment, by the end of last year, some economists projected a 5.5% rate for 2023; fortunately, this year’s last quarter will likely close with a 3.9% rate. For 2024, specialists expect a rise to 4.4%, but if inflation and other factors play in favor, it’s likely that the real rate will be more optimistic.
Speaking about the labor market, the last few years will be remembered for their many twists and turns. From employees’ standpoint, the focus on getting more transparent workplaces and healthier work environments led to workforce trends, such as quiet quitting, that reflect their discontent with jobs that don’t care about their well-being.
On the companies’ side, their efforts were focused on maximizing recruitment budgets and adapting to new technologies, such as Chat GPT. Despite both employers and employees still adapting to these workplace and hiring trends, 2024 is already on course, and it’s better to be prepared for any uncertainties. In the past weeks, Glassdoor and Indeed released their hiring and workplace trends report for 2024.
Although some of these are already on the go among many companies, the data unveils the following are likely to reach their peak soon. Here are the eight trends that will impact the workforce the most during 2024:
As mentioned above, the balance for the 2024 outlook depends to a greater extent on how volatile the workers’ demand will be. Even though job postings and openings were high, there was a shortage compared to recent job market peaks. As the year starts, there is still uncertainty about hiring decreasing and if employers will reduce their demand.
While a gradual decrease will mean the job market is becoming steady compared to previous years, a quick drop will cause a spike in unemployment. In fact, that “prolonged contraction” is Indeed’s Hiring Lab concern since it will lead to layoffs. Nevertheless, it’s also suggested that hoarding labor could put a curb on unemployment rates as openings will decrease without affecting them.
Though this is no new finding, projections indicate that younger generations will completely overtake the job market over Baby Boomers, especially in full-time schemes. Although this is a “natural” transition, 2024 will likely be the year in which Gen Zs stop being considered as kids to become an important share of the American workforce.
Since the beginning of 2023, it was expected that companies would hire 15% more recent graduates than in previous years. Still, the coming year will be the pivotal moment of the transition, as Gen Zs will take over from the baby boomers the third biggest share of the workforce, behind Gen Xs and Millennials.
The higher employer and worker demand led to higher salaries as companies were competing for candidates. This meant job seekers kept the upper hand when negotiating better salaries and work conditions over the past years. As the US labor market is currently cooling down, wages are growing at a steadier pace, closer to the rate of inflation.
Non-cash and above-the-law benefits will be more measured too. Although some corporate perks, such as fertility and adoption assistance, parental leave, and mental healthcare, will continue to rise. Nevertheless, benefit plans with 401k plans, dental insurance, tuition assistance, commuter assistance, gym memberships, and mobile phone discounts will decline.
Even though this hiring and workplace trend started by the start of 2023, as salaries and wages settle down, salary transparency will gain much more ground in the United States. Employers and hiring authorities will have to be more aware of states’ transparency laws and the workforce inquiry for companies to have more clarity and communication about payment.
This trend will impact both the hiring process and the workplace since it’s expecting managers to be upfront about the pay for new roles and current employees.
Employee wellness will continue to be a game changer in 2024. Since the pandemic hit, the workforce has made it clear that although payment is a crucial aspect for them, there are other elements related to the work-life balance that matter immensely. Companies betting on this aspect have a clear advantage for retaining high performers or adding top talent to their teams.
Flexible work schemes, childcare support, financial advice, and mental health care are some perks that tip the balance for many candidates. The atmosphere in the workplace is another element that contributes to employee happiness, so be sure to maintain a healthy culture and environment in the office.
Another workplace trend that will remain a triumph during 2024 is the importance of company culture as an employee-attracting and retaining element.
Even if the labor market is becoming more stable, the fact that employers are aiming for more specific and scarce profiles keeps this aspect center stage, especially when job-seekers focus on companies that can guarantee a peaceful state of mind.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are fundamental values for fostering a positive workplace culture. When looking for a new employer, most of the workforce focuses specifically on companies that esteem diversity and inclusion. This is a major hiring challenge since companies must look after and showcase their employer’s reputation.
Artificial Intelligence platforms are spreading rapidly through many industries, such as legal and recruitment, automating processes, boosting productivity, and changing workers’ demand and the labor market itself. AI technologies have taken on the spotlight of the future of work discussions due to their great, but still unknown, potential to reconfigure roles and create new positions.
Although many people are still skeptical about the true impact and longevity of AI, especially because there’s a belief that the trend of workers displaced by AI will rise, what’s likely to happen during 2024 is a considerable upsurge in job descriptions that mention generative artificial intelligence.
The last but not least important hiring and workplace trend for 2024 will be remote work. Since the pandemic and as the years go by, more and more companies will jump into remote work. Most job-seekers will continue to look for this benefit, and they won’t hesitate to use their leverage to gain it. What started as a “temporary solution” to widespread remote working is becoming a permanent feature of the labor market.
The laptop lifestyle is consistently gaining more interest from workers, especially from those who are reconsidering their current work-life balance. Mid-sized and small companies can make the most out of this scenario as they can’t compete with major corporations’ salaries; they can attract talent by offering flexible work schemes while bigger companies call their workforces back to offices.
Not only the workplace and decision makers will be impacted by some of the future of work trends. Although recruiting practices have become more efficient and specific, some 2024 workplace and hiring trends, will introduce some recruitment challenges for in-house and third-party recruiters.
Most of these trends are set by the workers’ demand and the technological developments involved in the recruitment process. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of any behavior or comments you receive from a candidate’s experience. If you want to be prepared for the new year, here are the top recruitment trends for 2024.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, recruiters and talent acquisition departments have been forced to adopt a more efficient, streamlined, and proactive recruitment process. Indeed CEO Chris Hyams pointed out that the future of hiring should be simpler, faster, and more human. The sense of urgency companies had in the past few years is behind as employers now aim to optimize their recruitment budgets by looking out for specific profiles that fit their goals.
As AI technologies rise, people analytics and data-driven practices have gained a bigger value throughout the recruitment process. This allows companies and hiring managers to make more informed decisions about their workforce and how they build it. In order to optimize time and resources, employers will start measuring candidates’ likelihood, productivity, turnover rate, and other metrics by using predicting tools and talent management tracking platforms.
Thanks to social platforms such as LinkedIn, candidates and recruiters can interact more directly. This was a common practice when filling executive roles, but a recent LinkedIn survey unveiled that engaging passive candidates will be a game-changer trend for recruiters who want to fill lower roles and entry-level positions with top talent. By engaging through social media, talent acquisition professionals are also able to emphasize employer branding and find out more about the candidates’ values and experience.
gpac recruiters are defined by working as an extension of the companies they serve. They’re more than order-takers; they perform a strategic role as advisors, and they’re aware of their clients’ values and business goals.
This approach is expected to be another significant recruitment trend for 2024. As some processes are getting automated, recruiting is becoming more about talent strategy than execution. To stay up to date with companies’ and candidates’ demands, recruiters must anticipate needs, solve problems, and spot opportunities.
Despite the uncertainty and challenges, next year will present a favorable outlook for you to capitalize on your chances and fulfill your professional goals. Just make sure to be in the loop of these hiring and workplace trends for 2024.
Contributed by Luis Arellano
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