Employers in 2022: Jacks of All Trades?
Tina McHugh
Senior Research Associate
Published July 19, 2022
As we revisit our 2022 Trends, we continue to see employees redefine their relationship to work and demand greater work-life balance from their employers. Despite inflation reaching a 40-year high in June, job growth continues to be strong and many employers are scaling back return to office plans and offering flexible work and perks to attract and retain employees.
Employers are also expected more than ever to respond to external events and play a role in issues like climate change, economic inequality, and social injustice. According to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, business is by far the most trusted institution and nearly 60% of employees expect their CEOs to take a stand on societal issues.
This twin set of demands on employers defines the mid-year trends we are observing in the workplace:
Employers grapple with the overturning of Roe v. Wade
Employers are grappling with how to respond to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. With employers responsible for providing healthcare coverage to nearly 50% of Americans, workplaces are evaluating how to support employees without alienating stakeholders (workers, customers, politicians), who may oppose abortion.
Given this tension, employers are carefully considering how and whether to take a public stance. As Erika Seth Davies, CEO of Rhia Ventures puts it, employers should “reframe the conversation as an affirmation of support for the workforce. Reposition this as healthcare and just reiterate that over and over again, as a company that ensures access to healthcare for employees.”
Some immediate actions employers are taking:
Return to office: employee sentiment drops and workers are pushing back
Employees are resisting a full return to office and employers are shifting expectations around the share of workers who will be back in the office five days a week. In fact, according to a new study of 500 American companies, some employers - especially larger employers in industries like insurance, IT, and financial services - have expanded remote work opportunities “to appease workers and tamp down demands for raises.”
Employers are settling into hybrid work models but struggling to make it work.
While organizations are embracing hybrid work models more permanently, they are struggling with how to implement them equitably, manage the in-office experience, and embed culture beyond the physical space of an office.
Moreover, hybrid work often translates to collaboration overload, social isolation and increased work demands and hours, and is exacerbating - rather than improving - stress and burnout. Managers’ roles and soft skills around empathy and psychological safety are more important than ever.
In order to attract and retain talent, employers are leveraging ERGs, alternative schedules and non-traditional benefits
In response to the Great Resignation - or Great Reshuffling - employers are developing new methods for attracting and retaining employees in addition to traditional compensation and benefits. There continues to be a growing emphasis on work-life balance and providing tailored benefits that are meaningful to everyone.
Over the past two and a half years, demands on employers to respond, adapt, and step up to events often outside their control have been intense. Expectations are high for employers to create a superior employee experience and, as Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, puts it, “be the stabilizing force delivering tangible action and results on society’s most critical issues.”
Just as some employers have been quick to reimagine the employee value proposition and adopt new ways of working, some will be quick to lead on social change. In all cases, redefining the future of work and the role of the employer is an inevitable and long-term proposition.
Graphic source: https://parkinsonsdisease.net/caregiver/my-role-wearing-many-hats