Top HR Trends In 2022 Workplace
When it comes to running a successful business, staying on top of trends in workplace operations, human resources, and productivity will help you stay ahead of the curve.
While we are well into 2022, staying on top of these trends throughout the year will give you success, no matter your industry or business type.
Staying on Top of Workplace Human Resource Trends
With the Great Resignation and the shifting tides of the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted the workplace, it’s natural for workplace HR leaders and business owners to be wary of the potential impact of economic, social, and political events on workplace HR tactics or just general trends.
Staying on top of these trends will be vital to your success in managing your office. This is largely due to (as we will learn later on in this post) a significant increase in care towards the well-being of your workers. Social, economic, and political events will always impact your business, employees, and company culture to some degree; but now more than ever, employees are dealing with a lot and are more likely to be impacted by these events.
One additional workplace trend that you should consider is implementing the Chief People Officer as a new company executive position.
Key Trends to Address in 2022
Employee Well-being is #1
Employee well-being is trending to be a big influence on workplace HR in 2022 due to the Great Resignation. Not only is this largely due to the demands that the pandemic placed on workplaces as a whole, but also the long-lasting effects of the pandemic on personal and professional satisfaction and happiness.
While we have known concerns for well-being to be on the rise in recent years, there’s just something different about this year. Well-being isn’t just a benefit that a company could have; well-being will make or break a good company (eventually).
There are 5 factors HR leaders need to consider when looking at well-being. These include:
- Financial well-being
- Mental health well-being
- Social well-being
- Physical well-being
- Career well-being
These factors aren’t all up to the company, but the way you address these levels of well-being will determine how willing your employees are to work for you, stay with you, and grow with you. HR leaders should be moving away from the one-size-fits-all benefits solution for workers; the goal is to create a culture of care that meets the needs of all workers.
Raising wages is one way to attract and retain employees; however, studies also suggest that it’s more than that. People don’t want to work long hours or be treated poorly, regardless of the pay. In fact, 62% of employees identified well-being as a key factor in deciding whether to apply for a job or not. By reducing stress alone, companies could improve the 41% of employees who find stress negatively impacting productivity.
Hybrid Work Will Continue to Rise
With more technology being released year over year that supports the shift to remote work, expect employees to want a remote or hybrid option. So it’s no surprise that hybrid work is a huge HR trend for 2022. This will also contribute to the desire for well-being as this work format grants employees more freedoms, flexibility, and trust.
If you’re considering remote friendly, an HR manager will still want to deploy employee monitoring software for hybrid employees. This allows your manager to continue to track at-work behaviors, monitor for insider threats, and seek areas for improving productivity.
Studies find that 83% of workers prefer a hybrid work model and that 63% of high-growth companies have already adopted a “productivity anywhere” workforce model. Work from anywhere, work from home, or remote working (whatever you call it) is mostly focused on owning results, no matter where or when your work happens. The freedom to work where (and, sometimes, when) your employees want will continue to be important, and even become the main driver of job satisfaction.
There are company benefits that come with more hybrid workers, too. This includes a wider talent pool, fewer overhead costs, and a happier workforce.
5 HR Trends for Human Resource Management in 2022
We identified hybrid work desires and employee well-being as the two most important future workplace trends for an HR department to pay attention to in 2022.
Now, here are 5 other major trends to be on the lookout for in 2022:
Flexibility
Just like allowing more remote employees or hybrid employees, your employees are expecting flexibility. Flexibility may come down to alterations in job schedules, modifications for allowances, and giving less rigid requirements for things that don’t matter. We have more parents in the workforce, as more families move into work and are forced to also rely on other people’s schedules.
Increasing worker flexibility, will not only give your employees the freedoms that they need to navigate the world of work, but also a clear idea of what is really important to a job and what can give a little.
By telling your employees that there is a bit of leeway when it comes to certain things (i.e., being able to show up in a window of time rather than by a certain time) then they will be more willing to make it work. On top of this, many workplaces won’t have much choice in this matter. The bottom line is that our employees are prioritizing other aspects of their life and do not prioritize the stress of keeping a job when it doesn’t suit them.
Support & Trust
Extra employee support will go a long way following the pandemic and economic stressors of the last few years. While unconditional support is not reasonable, employers should go out of their way to make sure their employees are doing well, are prepared for their jobs, and find space to explore within their roles and the company.
Support can look like added PTO, paid lunches (even remotely), more company casual times (even remotely), improvement in benefits, more pay, and hiring additional support staff for employees.
Trust and support go hand-in-hand. Trust is one of those things that might not be as obvious to track when successful; but when it fails, it is extremely obvious. Trusting your employees allows them freedom when it comes to time tracking, task management, decision making, client management, and more.
You can tell when an employer trusts their employees and when they don’t; in essence, having more trust also means that you understand what the outcomes or behaviors of that employee might be and you’re okay with it.
Inclusivity
Inclusivity will continue to play an important role in our workforce whether you’re ready for it or not. Inclusivity (not to be confused with cancel culture) tells employees a lot about a given workplace and can make or break a strong company culture.
When you’re more inclusive, there are added benefits to the company; for example, companies can reap a wider breadth of knowledge, skill, and talent from people who break from the mold. Additionally, a more inclusive company will be giving back positively to the community and providing more people with opportunities to work in your industry.
Benefits
Employee benefits are a major workplace trend in 2022. With the rise in the gig economy and contract work, you might find that more potential new hires are okay without added benefits; however, this honeymoon period won’t last long.
Now as the younger generations are getting older, more are looking to companies with pension plans, medical, and retirement savings to help support the growing need for savings and support. HR executives should consider benefits to stay competitive and to improve employee retention.
HR Technology
While not new, technology for managing people will improve the state of HR management in the coming years. Now HR technology includes artificial intelligence and people analytics, which grants HR leaders and HR professional teams insight into behaviors, trends, and potential threats to business management and improving the company’s bottom line.
HR tech refers to things like employee monitoring software, engagement software, and employee management systems. With these tools, you can get access to improved HR analytics to identify employee wellbeing, organization changes, and performance management.
While they may seem like they are adding to the machine of Big Brother, remember that they will only continue to improve your company culture and employee engagement when used right.
Steps Employers Should Take Moving Into 2022
When it comes to HR trends, it’s important that employers look at these trends so that they can better plan their workplace. With more employees looking for hybrid work and companies focused on employee wellness, adding these to your conversations in the workplace is already a success.
The bottom line is that employees are looking for a better employee experience in their workplace. Money is not as big of a driver as before; instead, it is nuanced like financial well-being, which can mean a lot of things. Ask your employees what they would like to see regarding these items and then seek ways of implementing them for greater success.
While you and your HR team might not be able to provide for all areas of success in, say, well-being, you can set up a plan that works towards addressing each of those factors. Ask your employees what they are lacking and what they would like to see more of. This is a great conversation to have while doing their performance review. You can even use the data pulled from your employee monitoring software to either stay alert to a potential problem or work through problem areas that are causing stress.
By focusing on these workplace trends, you may see improvements in employee productivity, employee engagement, and employee satisfaction.
By SoftActivity Team.