Like most of us in the HCM field, I’ve been closely following the job market. I’ve read hundreds of articles on the challenges of retaining and hiring talent for every type of job from restaurant and retail workers all the way up to senior executives. Of course, Diversity and Inclusion have been at the heart of it all, and so many strategies and tactics abound for attracting and retaining workers such as unlimited vacation, or extra vacation, significant cash incentives such as the program just approved by Seattle for its police department, some even having no vaccine mandate which is proving to be a useful recruiting tool. Every tool in the book is being used to recruit and retain during the unprecedented worker shortage we have been experiencing. I’ve seen more articles on The Great Resignation than any other single HCM topic over the past 18 months.
All of a sudden, literally overnight, the climate seems to have changed. I’m now seeing articles on workers being afraid of losing their jobs. Reference this article on the staggering number of people afraid of losing their jobs just published by HR Executive. Although there has been much talk of a recession since inflation started climbing, this job loss fear hasn’t come to the surface until just yesterday. Perhaps the signing of the recent spending bill has caused people to believe a recession is coming or the massive layoffs by several large companies including Oracle.
Only time will tell if preparation for a recession will overtake the demand for workers of all types. Fasten your seatbelts, that bumpy ride may be getting even more turbulent!