Since 2020, the U.S. workforce has fundamentally changed. A combination of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation or the Great Reshuffle, and a fraught political landscape, have led to workers seeking a myriad of tangible and intangible benefits from employers. This economic trend over the last two years continues to show record numbers of Americans quitting their jobs to switch companies, occupations, or fields.
From hybrid and fully remote work environments to an emphasis on autonomy, wellness, diversity, and inclusivity, employees today have deal-breaking standards when deciding to take on a job position. Not to mention varying contingency plans in case another global crisis occurs.
In response, employers are adjusting to the changing landscape, getting rid of long-held habits, forming new ones, and navigating how to lead (and survive) in their industry. And they, too, are looking for new qualities and attributes in potential job candidates.
Across the country, millions are navigating this unforeseen and uncharted territory. New graduates, job seekers, thought leaders, CEOs, co-workers, and more are asking vital questions — what does this new workforce look like, how do we succeed in it, and what does the future hold?
An Employee’s Market
Ashley Luts Hill (19) is a university recruiter at Intuit. She was one of a panel made up of PLNU business alums who spoke at an event in May called “The Future of Work in San Diego.” From her time at the tech company and her previous employment at Ken Blanchard Companies, an international management training and consultancy, she’s witnessed a significant amount of changes in the workforce.
Some of the key trends she’s seen are what you might expect: remote and hybrid work are here to stay, flexibility is highly valued for its contribution to a greater sense of well-being, and employees are looking for safe spaces to share their honest feedback with employers.
However, another important trend she’s seen could be especially interesting to entry-level talent: the workforce is currently a candidate’s market.
“[Employees] are in the driver’s seat,” she shared. “There’s a high demand for talent, and they’re going to have their pick.”
“[Employees] are in the driver’s seat. There’s a high demand for talent, and they’re going to have their pick.”
According to CNN, unemployment claims in the U.S. are at 3.5% this year, falling to their lowest level since 1968. The number of job openings has been at a near-record high as well, at 11.4 million in April according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means there’s currently no shortage of opportunities for employees across industries. And because of this, job seekers are experiencing the freedom to choose positions that fulfill all of their requirements.
One of the primary requisites job candidates are looking for is autonomy — the ability to work where they want, when they want, and how they want. They are looking for employers that trust them to get their work done. In addition, they want meaningful work, growth opportunities, and an employee-centric culture. And while not at the top of their lists, employees are also looking at compensation and switching jobs more frequently for higher salaries. Recently, Luts Hill has seen a lot of compensation analysis. Even publications like Forbes say Gen Z is expecting nearly double the compensation that they’re probably going to receive.
“I haven’t seen that quite yet,” she admitted. “But we know Gen Z is super transparent about their salaries. There was a massive Google doc going around where everyone listed their company, salary, and role. They talk about it with each other because they think sharing will lead to them being paid more fairly, which is true.”
Her advice to new graduates is to reflect on what’s most important to them and hold out for it. The right fit is out there, but you have to be patient rather than accept the first offer that comes through.
She also recommends informally interviewing people at the company you’re interested in to get a realistic understanding of what it will be like working there.
“Make sure you’re equipped with all the resources and knowledge you can have before accepting an offer,” she urged. “Because what you don’t find one place, you’ll probably find somewhere else.”
An Employer’s Advantage
According to Luts Hill, the companies that stand out are the ones looking to tackle this new phase of work with a learning mindset — especially those looking to re-open and bring employees back into the office.
“What we’ve been doing at Intuit is figuring out what’s best for the three parties — the individual, the team, and the organization. You have to accept it’s going to look different for everyone. We can expect to see a lot of listening, a lot of learning, and a lot of trial and error as organizations work to figure this out.”
Also, companies that are open to honest employee feedback have seen more success. They create safe spaces for people to share their thoughts and then follow up with action.
“The ones that are successful create an ongoing dialogue so there’s a symbiotic goal of a solution that works for everybody,” she said.
At the same time, companies are looking to protect themselves should anything catastrophic happen in the future, like another pandemic. They are looking to hire problem solvers and critical thinkers — people who are adaptable, agile, and resilient in the face of adversity.
“For example, the people Intuit is looking for are going to have to solve tomorrow’s problems,” Luts Hill said. “Problems we don’t even know will exist yet. Those skills and a forward-thinking attitude are going to help them. We want people who can rise to any challenge.”
Employers are looking for top-qualified candidates, and they are implementing new habits and processes to adjust to the new work environment. To have a competitive advantage, many companies are offering flexible schedules and staggered working hours, according to Luts Hill. Some are even considering moving away from a 40-hour work week toward a 32-hour one because most employees are valuing a working-to-live mindset rather than living to work.
“The ones that are successful create an ongoing dialogue so there’s a symbiotic goal of a solution that works for everybody.”
“There’s no correlation between more hours of work and higher productivity,” said Luts Hill. “Statistically, people are more productive for five hours of the day. Employers understand that productivity isn’t linear so a lot of them have the mentality, ‘if you get your work done, if your results are the same, then do it how you see fit.’ The idea behind the 32-hour work week is 100% of the pay, 80% of the time, and 100% of the productivity. Which really just means managing the work day better.”
She believes that businesses, especially in tech, will start trying out some version of this. It will require trials though, to find what works best.
After the Great Resignation, many companies have also focused on wellness and internal career paths to retain talent. They’ve also prioritized transparency and a streamlined recruitment process.
“An area that can still be worked on, however, is on-boarding,” Luts Hill said. “In the virtual world especially, onboarding sets the precedent for your experience and it can be a make-or-break situation.”
As the world starts to stabilize after the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the biggest challenges she sees companies facing is how easy it may be to fall back into old ways and no longer feel an urgency to create honest conversations, safe spaces, and transparency with employees.
“Those cannot stop,” she reiterated. “They need to continue in order for employees to be the best version of themselves.”
Belonging and Purpose
Danny Kim, a former career coach for PLNU and current senior director of people at Raindrop Agency, also spoke at the Future of Work event. He believes that people can’t do their best work unless they can be their truest selves.
“I think that takes a lot of intentionality and trust, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” he said.
At Raindrop, he’s worked to build a culture that creates a high level of psychological safety.
“If you feel your team can trust you and they have your back, you can do almost anything,” he said. “Of course, you have to be competent and good at what you do, but beyond that, I see an opportunity to right now elevate people to the next level.”
“If you feel your team can trust you and they have your back, you can do almost anything. Of course, you have to be competent and good at what you do, but beyond that, I see an opportunity to right now elevate people to the next level.”
Kim is particularly passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace, how it adds to psychological safety, and how employers respond to these needs with policies and practices. And he’s not the only one.
Around 50 percent of the job candidate questions he’s heard at Raindrop have to do with DE&I. Potential employees want to know: what is the company doing, is DE&I important to them, and what solid action has the company taken?
“I think the next generation is looking out for not only themselves, but they’re also asking, ‘Do my friends belong here?’ ‘Do I feel like my friends are in a place where they, too, can be their full selves?’”
Kim believes that employers should be doing everything they possibly can to create a diverse mindset in their workplace. Because he sees DE&I as just one aspect of creating a culture of belonging.
“My job is to create a safe space to hear and meet people where they are. Our DE&I team is committed to elevating the voice of marginalized communities. That is our goal. That is my mandate. Even as a Christian, my job is to make the circle wider, not narrower … Companies need to be cognizant of the areas in which they’re not fostering belonging or creating space for people to learn, grow, and move each other forward.”
In addition to a sense of belonging, many job seekers today are looking for work that connects to a deeper purpose.
Zab Dominguez (21) is a brand specialist at 1% for the Planet, a global nonprofit organization that works to help businesses give part of their profits to protect the environment. As someone who grew up in Maui, Hawaii, Dominguez was taught to take care of the land he lives on, and this type of work resonated with him. Since his freshman year, he saw the position as a dream job.
“I remember, I thought, ‘That’s the standard. I want to work for a company where I really believe in what they’re doing.’ And that made my job application process very easy. If I didn’t believe in what the company was doing, I didn’t apply. Because of the example their company had set.”
“I remember, I thought, ‘That’s the standard. I want to work for a company where I really believe in what they’re doing.’ And that made my job application process very easy. If I didn’t believe in what the company was doing, I didn’t apply. Because of the example their company had set.”
As a freshman, Dominguez had the opportunity to meet the CEO and the founders, one of whom also founded Patagonia. They inspired him to pursue purposeful work in marketing. His values aligned with what he heard from the founders: that a company can hold themselves and others accountable for their actions, how they treat people, and how they treat the planet.
When he applied to work there, he dug deeper to get to know the company and make sure their actions matched their promises.
Dominguez looked at how the company handled hard conversations and how they received feedback from their employees. He found they regularly elicit anonymous staff surveys, implement checks and balances, and hold one-on-one meetings. They were transparent overall and direct about questions regarding his salary.
“But we known Gen-Z is super transparent about their salaries. There was a massive Google doc going around where everyone listed their company, salary, and role. They talk about it with each other because they think sharing will lead to them being paid more fairly, which is true.”
In addition, they offer full benefits, a lot of paid time off, and flexible work schedules for employees who need it. After Dominguez considered these aspects of the job, he found it to be the right fit.
Finding meaningful work that resonated with his values and beliefs was central to his decision. But it wasn’t a quick process. Because of the company’s in-depth, competitive process, it took Dominguez three weeks of interviews to finally land the role. His advice for people looking for jobs is to wait for the one that you feel called toward.
“I always tell people, ‘Be picky. Be as picky as you want. Don’t settle for a job that you don’t like that much,’” he said.
What’s to Come
National news organizations have discussed the possibility of a recession. Earlier this summer, more and more layoffs were happening with companies across multiple sectors — including Netflix in entertainment, Coinbase in tech, Peloton in fitness, and Wells Fargo in banking.
Luts Hill sees this as an issue with capital markets, investor-backed companies, and their inability to keep up with demand. She says while we’re still in a candidate’s market, it’s also wise to be wary of the next big thing. People are attracted to venture capitalist-backed companies because of the benefits, compensation, and forward movement. So there’s opportunity there, but not without risk.
“Considering that growth was so huge for those companies and they couldn’t even predict they would lay people off two months later — it’s a little concerning and it’s definitely going to have its waves.”
The pandemic showed how easy it was for things to turn south suddenly and without warning. Bree Howe (20) was one recent alum who experienced this firsthand.
Howe had been working at Sony when she was about to graduate in 2020. But because of the uncertainty of the economy, she and many others weren’t able to continue a future at the company. This forced her to pivot and instead, she found real estate to be a stable market that was booming even through the pandemic. She began working at Berkshire Hathaway and now Bellcore Commercial where she developed her marketing skills in ways she couldn’t have imagined.
This experience taught Howe resiliency, and that no matter where you are, you will grow your skills in necessary ways. Her advice to graduates is to be open to change when they face adversity. Because no matter what happens in the future, faith is strengthened all the more through perseverance.
“You may not see it at the time, but this is preparing you for the next step that God has for you, whatever that may be,” she said. “Find purpose-driven work. And don’t be afraid to get turned down because it just might be a blessing.”
