3 Career Trends Unfolding in the Modern Workforce
Article by Nicole Fallon | Found on Business News Daily
It’s no secret that the job market has changed a lot in recent years. Employers now value cultural fit almost as much as skills. Job seekers know that they have the upper hand as employers compete for the top talent. And employees have no problem walking away from organizations that no longer align with their goals, regardless of how long they’ve been there.
Most workers and employers are aware of these realities, but what else is happening in the modern workforce that could influence career or hiring decisions? Based on recently released surveys and reports, here are three career trends unfolding in today’s organizations.
Workers are returning to their former employers
When most people quit a job, they probably don’t expect that they’ll ever work for that company again. But Spherion and Research Now found that nearly 30 percent of American workers have returned to a previous employer after they’ve left, and another 41 percent would be open to returning. “Boomerang” employees, as the study called them, say that salary is the biggest draw, but they would also consider coming back if a former manager or colleague asked them to. However, if the move feels like a step backward or if the culture wasn’t right the first time around, employees will pass on the opportunity to come back.
Employees are learning to be more careful about what they say at work
Despite company cultures of openness and honesty, sometimes a slip of the tongue or an offhand comment can kill your career. A study by authors Joseph Grenny and David Maxfield, published on HRVoice.org, found that 83 percent of employees have witnessed a colleague say something that had catastrophic results in the workplace, and nearly 70 percent made a “catastrophic comment” themselves. According to the survey, things like brutally honest feedback, office gossip and discussing taboo topics have cost employees promotions/raises, their reputations or even their jobs.
Working women want to go abroad
Global companies often send employees out to their international offices to meet with clients and business partners. But employers are missing big opportunities to engage their female workforce in these assignments. According to research by PwC, 71 percent of millennial women want to work outside their home country during their career, but women only account for 20 percent of the internationally mobile population. Even working parents, whom companies might believe would prefer to stay close to home, say they’d want to work internationally (about 40 percent of men and women). PwC advised companies to better align their global mobility, diversity and talent management strategies to close the gender gap for assignments abroad.
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