What is the definition of a "good job?" Well, one thing is certain, and that's the fact there is a growing gap between most organizations' idea of a good job and the worker of today's idea.
In the U.S. alone, nearly 4.4 million workers quit their jobs in September 2021, while officials reported there were more than 10 million job openings. Summarized below are five interconnected workforce trends that will gain momentum in 2022:
- What work looks like and who decides shifts. For many, mental health is an issue that exceeds concerns for physical safety. Employees see the trickle-down effect work has on their overall well-being and want change. Positive stories abound that provide social proof that employees are taking back their lives. People see friends and acquaintances leap to work options that align with their personal priorities but still meet their economic needs. There is a growing desire to break away from the controls, constraints, politics, bureaucracy and stress characteristic of most organizations. As contingent work opportunities grow, exponential numbers of people will seek nontraditional methods to achieve economic goals in ways that support their well-being.
- Employers embrace the economics of emotion. Executives seek to influence how employees think and behave. However, factoring in how workers feel for many organizations is crossing a bridge too far. The reality is that emotional capital translates to hard economics as an organization's internal, emotional signature can be as valuable as its external brand. Emotionally intelligent cultures shape an organization's emotional signature, which in turn enables positive work experiences. Emotions are behind most complex business dynamics and personal relationships. How people feel about things drives how they think, decide and behave. Emotional salary, emotional signature and empathy are top considerations as organizations redefine how they think about work.
- Digital transformation goes human. Most digital transformation investments go to waste due to human factors. The problem is that digital transformation goals have been more about automating processes than enabling and enriching humans. Once employees view digital transformation as improving their work lives versus threatening their employ-ability, organizations will begin to see a better ROI. Transformations will shift from a focus on machines delivering isolated productivity gains to machines linking people, processes and technology in ways that enrich humans.
- Hyper focus on empathetic leadership. To meet worker expectations in the new work economy, leaders must possess awareness of employee needs. Empathy is the basis for bringing out the best in every uniquely individual worker and is why empathic leadership capability is critical today. To free up time to develop leaders, organizations must look to remove work from leaders' shoulders. The prime candidate is in downsizing the leader's traditional role in coaching and development. Employees deserve better as most organizations have failed to provide employees with a consistent, equitable and democratized experience. Marketplace vendors and tools for supporting individualized employee development and coaching will breathe new life into the employee coaching and development experience.
- Individual brand management emerges. Workers are putting their employability over workplace longevity. Employees will embrace doing what employers have been promising but not delivering in terms of employability. As more do-it-yourself branding and social networking resources emerge, we will see employees taking ownership for their own growth and development. We will see the most motivated and externally connected workers voting with their feet if they feel their employability brand can become more relevant and distinctive elsewhere.
Brent A. Kedzierski is the former head of learning strategy and innovation for Shell International. While at Shell, Kedzierski was an award-winning, innovative learning and development executive who envisioned, designed and operationalized many of Royal Dutch Shell's most critical global learning transformations of the 21st century.
For more information, contact Brent Kedzierski at brent@humanwrks.com or visit www.humanwrks.com.
