In our most recent webinar, Marc Moschetto, Founder and CEO of KickMotor LLC. and Danica Weappa, Director of Marketing at Greenshades, present Look Back Look Ahead, a discussion of the biggest trends that impacted us in 2022 and what to look out for in 2023.
The agenda consisted of four major topics:
- Introduction & Overview of Greenshades
- Looking Back: The Top Events That Shaped 2022
- Looking Ahead: The Top Trends to Watch in 2023
- Be Prepared: Getting Ready for Whatever Comes Next
Watch the on-demand webinar here:
Read the webinar recap here:
1. About Greenshades
For more than 20 years Greenshades has been supporting mid-sized businesses with their tax, payroll, and HR needs.
Centered around compliance, Greenshades offers a complete cloud-based solution from payroll and onboarding to benefits management and year-end forms.
Unlike outsourced payroll services, Greenshades delivers all the benefits of an automated platform but allows you to configure and control your payroll process and the platform to best fit your unique business needs.
2. Looking Back
The top 3 trends that impacted the world of work in 2022:
The “Non-Recession” Recession
- Record high inflation and historically low unemployment (3.7% in October, a 50 year low!) are leading to an increase in the “True Rate of Unemployment” (TRU).
The Ludwig Institute, an economic research firm, developed a way to track the “True Rate of Unemployment”, which takes into account the “functionally unemployed”, workers who do not have a full-time job or make a living wage, but want one.
Public Layoffs & Personal Fallout
There have been massive late-year/holiday season layoffs in the tech sector; 11,000 at Meta, 10,000 at Amazon, and 3,700 at Twitter
The “bad bosses” actions are making waves, not just in the HR community but mainstream media and business news. Some viral “bad boss” moments included Better.com CEO’s termination video via Zoom was leaked and Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
Gallup recently ran a poll and concluded that only 21% of American workers are engaged at work.
The term engagement is often overused, so often it loses impact. Forbes offers an insightful look into engagement -
- Out of 100 people in your business:
- 21 are rowing toward your company goals
- 19 are actively rowing against them
- 60 are just along for the ride and creating drag
Quiet Quitting
Essentially, the phenomenon is employees doing the “bare minimum”. Employees are not going above and beyond or working outside the confines of their job description/working hours, but not doing so little that they would be let go.
Gallup estimates that 50% of US workers are quiet quitting at work.
Quiet quitting is more popular among younger workers like Gen Z and Millennials. About 30% of workers are aged 25-40, while only 8% are aged 54 and over.
Fueled by the perception that the employer/employee relationship is out of balance. Since the pandemic, especially young people value and expect a work/life balance, which has prompted quiet quitting.
Overall, economic stress is crushing the U.S. worker.
- 68% of Americans do not have money set aside for emergency use.
- 87% of Americans indicate that they were “anxious” or “very anxious” about inflation.
- 44% of employees report experiencing “a lot of daily stress” at work.
3. Looking Ahead
The top 3 trends to look for in 2023:
HR Tech Investments Go “Back to Basics”
As employers look for ways to improve the everyday lives of their employees, we are projecting a strong “back to basics” movement. Companies will be focusing on their internal processes and nailing down the core elements of the employer/employee relationship.
Investments in timely and complete payroll, accurate and simple time & attendance, and convenient & straightforward onboarding will help foster a supportive workforce. Technology investments will follow these needs.
Work from Home Policies Evolving
Work from home fatigue hits employers and employees alike, but from different angles.
Breaking out of “Zoom Doom” will help remote employees as they still need camaraderie, collaboration, and connection.
Continued economic strain may flip the employee/employer power dynamic as employers could make returning to the office a condition of employment. There is a possibility that finding middle ground and compromising is the answer. Employers must consider that holding offsite meetings or bringing employees to headquarters might bring on location-specific tax implications.
Gigs Go Mainstream
After the pandemic, the gig economy accelerated and nearly 36% of respondents to McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey have become independent workers (extrapolates out to 58,000,000 Americans!)
The amount of independent workers could be contributing to the recruiting crisis facing businesses.
- Don’t shy away from “boomerang” employees, as they are a great way to tap into expertise and help flatten the learning curve.
- Leveraging contract workers is one of the best ways to alleviate hiring challenges and close skills gaps.
- Keep an eye out for policies that could impact how employees and contractors are classified and what that means for your business.
How do we define Employee vs. Contractor?
Here is the defining criteria according to Forbes Magazine:
- The nature & degree of the worker’s control over their work
- The worker’s opportunity for profit or loss based upon their own managerial skill
- Investments made by the workers and the employer
- The degree of permanence of the working relationship
- The extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business
- The degree of skill & initiative exhibited by the worker
4. Be Prepared
Creating Agility and Resilience in 2023:
- Prepare for What’s Next
- Seek tech that is flexible and configurable
- Look for partners, not vendors
- Keep pace with changing fiscal and regulatory policies
- Prioritize payroll & HR platforms designed to support
all employees, regardless of location or classification - Automate. Automate. Automate.
How Greenshades Helps You Keep Pace with Change
- Ongoing series of educational webinars
- Market research & analyst reports
- Quarterly Market Sentiment Survey
- Greenshades.com “Resources” page
- Team of consultants & industry experts standing by:
Contact Us:
Call 888.255.3815 or email sales@greenshades.com.
This was a great discussion! We highly encourage you to watch the on-demand webinar for more in-depth insights.
Want to learn more about Greenshades and how we can help? Contact sales@greenshades.com or visit go.greenshades.com for information.
Visit go.greenshades.com and click on the resources tab, where we will inform you about future webinars.
