These trends will shape caregiving, work and life in 2023

as employers proceed with quiet hiring

Despite the current economic conditions, I am super excited about work and life in 2023. The pandemic have had a lasting impact on the current state and future of work. And as we become an organization focused on how you work, care, and live, I think its important to share with you a few emerging trends to expect in the new year in no particular order. Let me know what you think!

Working caregivers will feel considered by their employers but it won’t be enough

Parents and caregivers in the workplace can breathe easier this year. More and more employers are aware that the challenges of caregiving affects performance and productivity. We will see more employers offer childcare, eldercare, housekeeping and more to help caregivers combat burnout.

However, the rising cost of care will have an impact on work, wellbeing, and life. The cost of childcare per child was at an average of $694/week for a nanny in the United States, while the cost of a senior living for a semi private room was $7908 last year. And as care workers remain deeply undervalued and underpaid, we will experience multiple care crisis that will lead to stress, exhaustion, absenteeism, and more in the months ahead.

Employees will demand a better quality of life from their employers

Work is now a bigger part of our lives and with increased workload comes increased request for worklife harmony. Employers will listen and put more consideration into combat the global burnout epidemic with a more simplified and streamlined approach. They will proactively help employees maintain emotional resilience and their performance through built-in rest such as no-meeting Fridays, mandatory PTOs, therapy and counseling, etc. Employers will invest in employee resource groups to stay connected to employee worklife conditions and effectively respond to concerns.

Employers will stop choosing employee benefits, and instead offer choice

As we continue to see a combination of virtual, hybrid, and in-person work, and a big push for equity in accessing benefits, employers will shift to providing autonomy so that employees with unique needs can in real-time connect with a therapist, hire a housekeeper, pay for childcare, or lunch while working from anywhere. This will require a flexible pre-funded wallet similar to what we offer at MH WorkLife that helps employers collapse ineffective EAPs and place that money in a wallet for employees to access worklife solutions such as wellbeing and caregiving needs, remote work assistance, tuition assistance, fertility and surrogacy, abortion and more.

This move saves employers money, ensures effectively deployment of employee resources.

Employees will see an increase in workload as employers start “quiet hiring”

Do you remember how “quiet quitting” was the rave last year where employees did the bare minimum required to keep their job? Well, keep those thoughts because the tables have turned due to current market conditions, and we predict that employers will proceed with “quiet hiring” to acquire new skills and capabilities without hiring new full-time employees. This will include maximizing human capital that is already available to them by stretching and upskilling existing employees. This will no doubt lead very quickly to an exhausted workforce. They will attempt to leverage former hires, contractors, and consultants for faster turnarounds on key projects.

The in-person office is alive and well

Vimeo and Salesforce announced double-digit percentage decrease In their workforce earlier this week. Unfortunately, we will see more layoffs and hiring freezes and employers will need to get the same amount of work done with the same amount of people (see quiet hiring). Managers will want proximity and quick turnaround on projects, new hires who recently experienced layoffs will be forced to compromise on flexibility. This is not the return of in-person work per se, however, we will see a big push for engagement and connection to get the work done, and some companies will choose in-person as a path to achieving that.

Flexibility for frontline and service workers

When we talk about remote work, we often ignore those on the frontlines or service industries such as restaurants, manufacturing, and healthcare. In 2023, employers will look to offer flexibility to these groups of workers through job sharing, job rotations, paid leave, stable work schedules, and more. Employers will also leverage alumni networks, contractors, and consultants in order to offer more schedule control to full-time workers.