Pareto Weather Report: Workforce Trends That Are Taking Storm

As July 19th quickly approaches, we at Pareto wanted to share with you the current workforce trends we are seeing, particularly as we look at returning to work. From the desire for a better work-life balance to embracing technological change to controversy over returning to work without being vaccinated, we’ve got you covered. Discover the full forecast below.

Hybrid Work-Life Balance, The Key To Attracting Top Talent?

Recent data found that over ⅔ of Brits report that a healthy work-life balance is now their most significant determining factor when choosing an employer, overtaking an attractive salary and benefits package for the first time in seven years!

What does this mean for employers and hiring managers looking to attract the best candidates to their business? 

Indeed, employers need to react to this market trend to compete for the best talent. Therefore, talent acquisition teams should take a proactive approach and start by emphasising a flexible working structure during their candidate outreach and job advertisements, as well as considering new strategies to allow for remote working. 

An April 2021 Survey by Randstad detailed that there is a “disconnect” between what employees want and what employers offer, highlighting the need for leaders to keep their ear closer to the ground in order to remain attractive to a wider range of future employees.  

Currently, work-life balance sits in eighth place, when evaluating the offerings of UK employers, further highlighting the idea of a “disconnect”.   

Victoria Short from Pareto, commented “As we slowly navigate away from the crux of the pandemic, it’s clear that people are weighing up what is more important to them when it comes to finding a new job. The pandemic has given many of us more time to think and become savvier."

While work flexibility continues to be an ongoing debate between employees and employers across the globe, recent research carried out by Pareto revealed that only one in six (17%) said that they now viewed commuting, business travel and physical meetings as “completely outdated”. Almost half (49%) said the pandemic had not changed their view of commuting or travelling to physical meetings - while more than a third (34%) reported missing them, viewing their commutes as a valuable time to decompress and switch off from work.

According to a Randstad survey, 54% of respondents said that their employer will allow a hybrid work schedule enabling staff to work some days from home and others at the office to provide a welcomed sense of normality. 

Embracing Change: From Remote Work To Smart Work

Without a doubt, the pandemic has significantly impacted how businesses operate and has sped up the global trend of digitalisation. As a result, it has also allowed us to improve our technology, connectivity and mobility.

Agility is often talked about as an essential skill for the future workforce, but what we see today is people taking advantage of workplace flexibility and making different choices about how, when, where and why they work.

The International Labour Organization reported that 81% of the global workforce was under full or partial lockdown in April 2020. Remote work may have been previously understood as a perk, but this perception has shifted due to the nation working from home.

Many believe that we are living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution as innovation has profoundly altered the skills we require, the way we work and where we choose to live. 

So what does this mean for businesses looking to hire?

Technology is changing business needs and transforming jobs, creating entirely new categories of work. Therefore, the infrastructure used to accommodate these shifts must change. In order to prepare people for the workplace, it is essential to facilitate reskilling, upskilling and training as the needs of our industries shift.

As the UK’s largest sales assessment and training provider, we’re on a mission to provide a pathway for talented candidates to enter the market. Through our graduate programmes such as Pareto Innovate, targeted explicitly at upskilling gifted graduates so that they can enter your business at a high level and provide serious ROI. 

Causing High Pressure: Returning To The Office Without A Vaccine?

As the world moves closer to a post-pandemic era, signs of a rejuvenated workplace are increasing. Despite continuing lockdowns and some restrictions remaining across most countries - a sense of optimism is assuredly growing. In an April article, Randstad shared their industry insights concluding that the UK workforce is ready to return to the workplace, but not without a vaccination. 

The survey data indicated that the global workforce is anxious, with a strong desire to accelerate the vaccine and recovery effort. 

For organisations to return to a pre-pandemic state, most of the survey respondents believe that their work environments need to be much safer than they are now. Despite being highly rigorous in implementing safety protocols and enabling remote work, most companies still risk having an outbreak occur in their workplaces, while COVID-19 remains widespread in public.

For this reason, many believe that being vaccinated is an essential marker in their checklist for returning to work. Furthermore, a majority of workers say they won’t feel safe in the workplace until others around them are vaccinated, with many preferring to work from home until the vaccine is widely distributed. 

Whether having most workers vaccinated will help workplaces return to their pre-pandemic state remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: it offers assurances to staff and future employees looking to join your business.