It’s a Great Time to Be an Employee
by Bruce Tap
Why is it a great time to be an employee?
Right now, there are rumors of a recession or a business slowdown. But unlike the Great Recession of 2008/2009, the unemployment and job outlook right now looks promising. In fact, most experts argue that the remainder of the 2020s will be an era of increased opportunities for employees. The importance of employee recruitment and retention in this era cannot be understated. To give you a sense of the environment that most businesses are facing when it comes to attracting employees, let me give you a few statistics:
- For every person looking for work right now, there are two positions available.
- There are more than 11 million jobs available right now in the United States.
- In a recent survey, 77% of corporate executives surveyed indicated that hiring and talent retention would be critical to their company’s growth in 2022 and beyond.
- 10,000 Baby Boomers retire each day, seven days a week. This phenomenon will continue until 2029. At this time, almost all Baby Boomers will have left the work arena.
Are there enough Millennials and Gen Zs in the pipeline to replace the Baby Boomers? There are not. As a result, the rest of this decade will be challenging for those employers looking for talent. In other words, there is going be a war for talent during the next several years. Employers will undoubtedly have to pay more to attract talent, but there will also be a focus on building organizations and cultures that will attract and retain employees. Hence, as the title suggests, it will be a good time to be an employee.
The Three “Shuns”
Three concepts will be important in solving the employment crisis of the 2020s: Automation, Immigration, and Appreciation.
Automation
Many companies try to implement automation when there are worker shortages. Many employees are fearful of automation because it leads to job loss; however, when there are not enough workers, it makes sense to look at automating some of the simplest jobs as well as jobs that involve lifting and other ergonomic challenges.
Immigration
Immigration may also be a tool in the job shortage tool kit. While this is a politically sensitive topic, many business leaders will probably make the case that relaxing immigration quotas will be a smart thing to do in the long run. If there are both skilled and unskilled jobs that cannot be filled by U. S. citizens, it makes sense to make it possible to fill these positions with foreign workers. This will also alleviate the imbalance that we have in some of our social service funding mechanisms. Simply put, we need more workers to pay into social security and Medicare to take pressure off these programs.
Appreciation
Finally, there is appreciation. Employees are going to stay with the organizations that treat them the best. The best, however, will not be just wages, although they are important, but a whole gamut of benefits. In addition to wages, these benefits will include health and other insurance, improved working conditions, paid time off, schedule flexibility, and a host of other privileges, perks, and incentives. In a very real sense, there will be a war for talent and the companies that win this war will be the ones who appreciate their employees and show them that appreciation on a regular basis and through a variety of enhanced benefit packages.
As Fastco heads into this decade, we are ready to win the war for talent. That is why we are trying to improve our health benefits. That is why we are doing things like employee surveys. That is why, finally, we are trying to increase our celebrations and recognitions of employee successes and contributions. Employees are the key to our company’s success. And every day, we should let them know.