Big Ideas for 2022: The Outlook of the transforming Job Market
This article was originally created as a response to 'Big Ideas for 2022 with Alison Rosenthal & Dave Pell' by LinkedIn New's Hello Monday podcast and the comments made by Andrew C. Belton were featured by LinkedIn News here.
When the pandemic first began, many people and companies needed to create a completely new infrastructure to maintain their lives and businesses. This has created many opportunities for advancement and innovation. Many people started roles with new companies, accepted promotions, trained new teams, created new products, pursued higher education, etc. It is important that we continue to make these advancements regardless of what the ‘new normal’ will look like.
Hustle culture is a highly divisive topic and it is important to consider how it is impacting the people and industries that are promoting it. I liked the comment made about ‘surge capacity’ - the ability to adapt to stressful situations. I think this has caused many people to face burnout during the pandemic. I’ve seen it become prevalent in previous employment and it can have a widespread damaging impact on employee morale if it isn’t appropriately addressed by companies that are experiencing it. Sustained decreased morale can create costly turnover and inefficiency, so companies need to emphasize promoting a healthy work-life balance for employees moving forward and avoid forcing hustle culture where it may not be appropriate. Their willingness to be honest with their situation and adaptable with regards to change will make a difference.
I found the comments regarding a change to higher education to be interesting because I believe that there is a significant disconnect between the specific skills desired by employers in contrast with what new graduates are able to offer as they start to seek employment. A shift to the pursuit of specialized certification programs would be one way to combat the issue. It will continue to move in the direction of being dependent on the industry.
In 2022, I predict that the job market will continue to become more competitive. ‘The Great Resignation’ has started a revolution with employees being more willing to move on to new opportunities that feel right for them. Many companies have struggled to retain talented employees and are being pushed into re-evaluating flexible work arrangements, staffing structures, competitive wages and benefits. Companies that don’t make adjustments to accommodate existing employees will struggle with retention as well as attracting new employees. The transformation of the job market continues.
What are your Big Ideas for 2022? Do you agree with my thoughts on the continued transformation of the job market with 'The Great Resignation'? Contact Andrew C. Belton with any comments or questions: info@symmetricalmm.com
Find this topic interesting? I also conducted a study about Recruiting and Retaining Millennials and wrote about a recent trend as Only 50% of the college Class of 2020 had traditional full-time jobs 6 months after graduation.
Written by: Andrew C. Belton, MBA
Also, LinkedIn created an excellent list of 29 predictions that they made for 2022. It is definitely worth a read and it can be found here.
