Employers appear optimistic heading into 2024. The recently released 2024 National Business Trends Survey by the Employer Associations of America (EAA) revealed that two-thirds of organizations are expressing confidence in the economy, a significant leap from the 49% reported in the 2023 survey. This positive sentiment is mirrored in executives' projections, with 72% anticipating flat to slight increases in sales and revenue for the upcoming year, compared to 53% in the previous report.

One of the latest trends in the workforce is overemployment, a trend in which people hold multiple full-time positions.  This is beyond moonlighting with a small, part-time job.  It’s as extreme as someone holding two, sometimes three full-time positions – meaning they are “on the clock” for multiple employers at once - unbeknownst to the employers.

The initial demands from the UAW included a 4-day workweek.  While that was eventually dropped during negotiations, many expect it will continue to come up in the future. A recent survey conducted by Gallup in collaboration with Bentley University revealed that 77% of respondents expressed that a four-day, 40-hour workweek would have a positive impact. However, once achieved, it doesn’t always have the positive effect expected.

In the competitive landscape of the modern job market, companies are constantly looking for innovative ways to attract and retain top talent. While traditional benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off remain essential, forward-thinking companies are now exploring unique and creative perks to stand out.

Over the past year we’ve had quiet quitting, loud quitting, quiet hiring, quiet firing, and quiet constraint.  Now we have quiet cutting which is the practice of reassigning employees to roles that do not align with their career aspirations, ultimately achieving workforce reduction through voluntary attrition. This allows companies to circumvent the expenses associated with severance packages or unemployment benefits.

Striking a balance between work and personal life has become increasingly challenging. As employers strive to be more inclusive and flexible, the concept of floating holidays has emerged as a valuable tool to help employees maintain a balance.

Half of your employees are looking to leave. Yes, we said half.  50%. This is according to the 2023 Global Workplace Status report.  Is your organization a victim of this statistic? You might not know until it’s too late.

From "Bare Minimum Mondays" to "Put Your Boss on Blast on TikTok Fridays," there's a bold new trend called loud quitting. Instead of resorting to quiet disengagement, employees are now using social media as a platform to voice their frustrations and announce their resignations in a very public manner. This new trend affects workplace morale, productivity, and employer reputation. 

First there was Quiet Quitting, now there is Quiet Constraint – corporate America's current hidden threat at work. According to data from Kahoot!’s recent Workplace Culture Report, over half (58%) of employees say that they withhold valuable knowledge they could share with their colleagues. The Gen Z generation exhibited this behavior more than any other generation, with 77% of Gen Zers reporting that they silently sit on beneficial information in the workplace.

According to FlexJobs’ 2023 Work Insights Survey of over 5,600 people, 96% of workers believe a remote or hybrid work arrangement is best for their mental health. Only 4% of workers thought being in an office full-time is best for their mental health. A decreased stress level was the top reported health benefit of remote work.

About half of workers are not fully engaged in their jobs, according to a study conducted by Gallup. This means they are only doing the minimum required to get by – not good for employers. This drop in employee engagement has happened two years in a row. But why?

ChatGPT, and now GPT 4, and other similar artificial intelligence tools (AI) are proliferating through the marketplace.  Unlike other disruptive technologies that would create new jobs to support it, AI may have the opposite effect.  A study by Goldman Sachs reported that 300 million jobs may be lost due to AI.  It may also be a wage suppressant.

A large share of workers say they aren't taking vacations, often due to the high costs, according to research by Eagle Hill Consulting. 39% of U.S. workers report that they have not taken a vacation during the last 12 months. Nearly half of workers (45%) state the reason as being it’s too expensive. This is another effect of inflation.

Over the years, HR has evolved from personnel to human resources to business partners to HR consultants and more.  However, often HR remains very transactional, with minimal involvement in strategic planning and decision-making.  In part, that is the design of HR as the facilitators of people within an organization to constantly putting out fires as legal compliance grows.  But in 10 years from now, will HR change from transactional to more strategic roles?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way Human Resources (HR) operates. As the HR landscape becomes more complex, HR practitioners need powerful tools to manage and support employees effectively. AI can offer HR practitioners an efficient and effective way to automate and streamline various HR processes. By leveraging AI, HR practitioners can reduce the time and resources required to manage HR processes while improving the employee experience.