Labor market post-corona

We are quietly moving toward a new normal. What topics are keeping the labor market busy post-corona? Find out what challenges Human Resources, and by extension our companies in general, are facing this fall.

Businesses are running empty

The Great Workforce Study from Accent Jobs shows that 4 in 10 employees are changing jobs this year. Same results are confirmed in global research by Microsoft. Companies must fight more than ever to attract employees and keep them on board. But what is causing this high turnover in companies? One big reason is increased job insecurity due to the corona crisis. Mandatory work from home also plays an important role. In addition, turnover is largely due to exhausted employees. Increased home working is causing more stress than initially thought. For example, research by Microsoft showed that the time we spend on digital tools such as Microsoft Teams has more than doubled and continues to rise. The number of emails we send and receive is also increasing exponentially. Although no figures are yet available for Belgium, a study in the Netherlands found that 56 percent of the working population will drop out due to burnout in the next six months if they do not receive support. This is double the 2019 rate.

Everyone freelancing in 2021

The labor market is under pressure. That's for sure. The war for talent has never been greater. And yet we all keep fishing in the same pond. Don't we urgently need to start fishing in a bigger (different) pond? After all, talent is no longer only in permanent contracts, but also in independent status. More and more people are choosing to start freelancing because of the flexibility, variety, choice of projects and work-life balance. Despite the quality supply of freelancer experts, many companies are not yet choosing to embrace these freelancers. Is this a case of "unknown is unloved"?

Hybrid working: here to stay?

A third topic that remains very interesting post corona is the debate about working from home. Working from home brings many benefits such as reducing traffic congestion or a better work-life balance. But working from home is not all roses. It also creates a lot of new challenges. Communication between different teams and departments is difficult and teams remain stuck in silos. Lack of connection between different teams and colleagues, in turn, negatively impacts innovation within companies. So putting out a good strategy for hybrid working is necessary for optimizing operations and preserving your company's DNA.

Open hire

Every HR manager is aware that the war for talent is raging through the job market. This requires some creativity for employing new recruitment processes. Meet: Open-hire! Open hiring is an innovative recruitment technique where employees are hired without an interview, resume or screening. Everyone is welcome, regardless of education or work experience. Employees simply place themselves on a waiting list. When space for an additional job becomes available, the first person on the list gets to prove themselves on the job immediately. The phenomenon originated in 1982 at Greyston Bakery in New York. Ghent University is currently conducting research to determine whether this new technique can also be applied in the Flemish labor market.

Sources:

https:/ /www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work
https:/ /bettermindscoaching.com/blog/more-burn-out-by-corona
https:/ /divergent.be/innovation/open-hiring/
https:/ /www.mediarte.be/nl/dossiers/welzijn/burn-out/thuiswerken-in-tijden-van-covid-het-perfecte-recept-voor-een-teleburn-out