For HR teams and the workforces they manage, 2023 may have felt like a Super Mario Bros. level — a winding, scrolling road filled with gaps and obstacles to navigate on the way to achieving end goals.

Take, for example, the macroeconomic environment, which produced uncertainty in the form of massive layoffs and persistent, though stabilizing, inflation. Compliance with state, federal and local laws grew more complex with new pay transparency requirements, enhanced protections for pregnant and nursing employees and a revitalized labor movement. Generative artificial intelligence shook up jobs of all shapes and sizes.

But the year had its positive developments, too. For one, the shift to a more employer-friendly talent market opened up access to needed talent. “We went from this really tight job market in 2022, whereas now, we’re getting more inbound applications now than [we] have in the last three to five years,” said Wes Burke, CHRO at Care.com.

Now moving into 2024, HR professionals oversee an ever-expanding range of functions within their organizations. The following trends represent some of the industry’s biggest short- and long-term challenges, according to sources who spoke to HR Dive.

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