From managing the war for talent, to implementing hybrid work, to responding to social issues, employers are wearing more hats than ever heading into the second half of 2022.

As we revisit our 2022 Trends, we continue to see employees redefine their relationship to work and demand greater work-life balance from their employers. Despite inflation reaching a 40-year high in June, job growth continues to be strong and many employers are scaling back return to office plans and offering flexible work and perks to attract and retain employees. 

Employers are also expected more than ever to respond to external events and play a role in issues like climate change, economic inequality, and social injustice. According to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, business is by far the most trusted institution and nearly 60% of employees expect their CEOs to take a stand on societal issues. 

This twin set of demands on employers defines the mid-year trends we are observing in the workplace:

• Employers grapple with the overturning of Roe v. Wade
• Return to office: employee sentiment drops and workers are pushing back
• Employers are settling into hybrid work models but struggling to make it work
• In order to attract and retain talent, employers are leveraging ERGs, alternative schedules and non-traditional benefits

Employers grapple with the overturning of Roe v. Wade

Employers are grappling with how to respond to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. With employers responsible for providing healthcare coverage to nearly 50% of Americans, workplaces are evaluating how to support employees without alienating stakeholders (workers, customers, politicians), who may oppose abortion.

Given this tension, employers are carefully considering how and whether to take a public stance. As Erika Seth Davies, CEO of Rhia Ventures puts it, employers should “reframe the conversation as an affirmation of support for the workforce. Reposition this as healthcare and just reiterate that over and over again, as a company that ensures access to healthcare for employees.”

Some immediate actions employers are taking:

• In conjunction with legal and compliance experts, employers are conducting state-by-state self-audits of healthcare coverage, including contraception benefits and access to reproductive care. 
• Employers like Citigroup, Salesforce and Tesla are expanding paid time off and travel subsidies for employees, who may need to seek reproductive care out-of-state. Among many issues, employers are considering the legal, privacy and administrative implications of facilitating access to reproductive healthcare, covering employees not currently eligible for benefits, and relocating employees who request it.
• As part of their internal communications strategies, employers are utilizing ERGs, EAPs and other third party vendors to enable conversation and counseling for employees on all sides of the issue.

Return to office: employee sentiment drops and workers are pushing back

Employees are resisting a full return to office and employers are shifting expectations around the share of workers who will be back in the office five days a week. In fact, according to a new study of 500 American companies, some employers - especially larger employers in industries like insurance, IT, and financial services - have expanded remote work opportunities “to appease workers and tamp down demands for raises.”

• A Conference Board survey of HR leaders showed that only 4% of companies are requiring all employees to return to the office full-time, 90% are allowing hybrid work schedules, and two-thirds are allowing flexible work hours. 
• According to the latest Future Forum pulse survey of knowledge workers, employee experience scores have dropped on all measures and are at their worst for work-life balance and work-related stress and anxiety, especially for fully in-person workers or workers without schedule flexibility.  
• Employers are now emphasizing “access to the office” rather than a “return to the workplace.” After many delayed re-openings due to Delta and Omicron variants, employers are assessing risk and adjusting access to the office up or down, rather than committing to specific, somewhat arbitrary return dates. 

Employers are settling into hybrid work models but struggling to make it work.

While organizations are embracing hybrid work models more permanently, they are struggling with how to implement them equitably, manage the in-office experience, and embed culture beyond the physical space of an office. 

Moreover, hybrid work often translates to collaboration overload, social isolation and increased work demands and hours, and is exacerbating - rather than improving - stress and burnout. Managers’ roles and soft skills around empathy and psychological safety are more important than ever.

• According to WFH Research, employer plans for WFH are stabilizing at 2.3 days per week. Notably working from home is emerging as a “big city” phenomenon with consistently higher levels of WFH in more densely populated cities. 
• While 60% of workers prefer hybrid and 55% are doing so already, the in-office experience is often dissatisfying; colleagues often do not overlap and, according to Calendly, there has been an increase in virtual meetings from 48% last year to 64% this year despite the return to office.
• Gartner reports that only 24% of hybrid/remote workers feel connected to their organization’s culture and workers have fewer ties. Moreover, Deloitte’s Women @ Work 2022 report shows that women’s burnout and stress levels are much higher than a year ago despite shifting work arrangements.
• Companies are increasingly using metrics to detect and mitigate burnout, e.g. working longer than nine hours/day, working with fewer than three strong collaborators. 

In order to attract and retain talent, employers are leveraging ERGs, alternative schedules and non-traditional benefits

In response to the Great Resignation - or Great Reshuffling - employers are developing new methods for attracting and retaining employees in addition to traditional compensation and benefits. There continues to be a growing emphasis on work-life balance and providing tailored benefits that are meaningful to everyone.

• LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends 2022 report shows job seekers prioritize work-life balance above all other factors: 63% of job seekers rated work-life balance a top priority compared to 60% who prioritize compensation and benefits and 40% who prioritize colleagues and culture.
• In order to combat “quick quits”, especially among younger employees, employers are focusing on building internal mobility and supports like ERGs for early career development.
• In a March 2022 Gartner survey, 63% of executives said they would be increasing compensation to address inflation and 15% are experimenting with a four-day workweek or alternative work schedules - a 13% increase from 2019.
• Companies like MGM Resorts are reimagining their employee value proposition (EVP), targeting GenZ employees with perks like media streaming services, Wi-Fi, and pet insurance. Others like Pleo are offering a Flex Benefits annual budget based on an employee’s location and remote/office status, which can be spent at their discretion on options like additional PTO or ad hoc childcare.

Over the past two and a half years, demands on employers to respond, adapt, and step up to events often outside their control have been intense. Expectations are high for employers to create a superior employee experience and, as Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, puts it, “be the stabilizing force delivering tangible action and results on society’s most critical issues.” 

Just as some employers have been quick to reimagine the employee value proposition and adopt new ways of working, some will be quick to lead on social change. In all cases, redefining the future of work and the role of the employer is an inevitable and long-term proposition.

Graphic source: https://parkinsonsdisease.net/caregiver/my-role-wearing-many-hats