December is a time for reflection and anticipation, as we close out one year and begin another. With that in mind, we sat down together and started talking, taking stock of the past year before gazing into the tea leaves to see what 2023 has in store — not just for us but for HR as a whole. We expect the following topics to rise to the surface over the next 12 months.

We paid particular attention to ideas that we feel are most salient in terms of employee happiness, employee concerns and the direction companies will need to take to keep their top talent happy.

The patterns we’re paying attention to fall under four categories: corporate leadership, work/life balance, compensation, and massive global trends.

The evolution of corporate leadership

In our consulting work, we’re often asked to help with employee development at a leadership level. As is ever the case, the times are changing. They were permanently altered in 2020. Now, coasting into 2023, they don’t show any hints of reverting back to the old ways.

So, what does leadership development mean for a decentralized workforce? We expect to see further evolution toward guiding businesses through these complex and sometimes choppy waters.

Parallel to that, we expect to see the demise of the hoodie-wearing tech CEO at the helm of a company — specifically the one who lacks personal skills. Whether businesses accept it or not, there is a very real need for leaders to embrace empathy and deliver high-quality management.

On the flip side of that, we’re seeing more trends toward inclusive leadership development. There’s no longer a one-size-fits-all model for what a leader must be to succeed. There’s space for all kinds, provided that whoever is leading does it with empathy and great people skills.

As leadership roles evolve in this way, we think we’ll see a stronger focus on filling critical vacancies with current staff. Less external hiring, more leadership knowing their organization’s talent and filling open roles with employees that are great at their positions and familiar with the company. Taking such a tack provides examples to other employees so that they can grow with the company.

Balancing the scales between home and work

When companies successfully pivoted to absorb the uncertainty of 2020, their resilience was rewarded with the flexibility to keep doors open during a chaotic pandemic. Now we continue to reckon with that shift away from a centralized workplace location.

The division between home and work is more ambiguous than ever. We’ll continue to see companies wrestling with this issue. If economic conditions tighten as many forecasters have predicted, this topic may be less of a challenge. But if the vise loosens, employees will ask for the option for remote work quickly.

As the call for remote work continues, we anticipate seeing more existential questions come up. These inquiries might extend toward sorting through how to fully embrace happiness at home and at work. What are the mental skills needed to establish a convergence like that? Things like that matter, especially when we weigh them against other complex questions, like the viability of remote work.

As dialogue heats up over these topics, we’re seeing another hefty quandary: how to support employees who are managing elderly parents in any fashion.

Elderly parents are one thing, but some employees are dealing with parents who have neurodegenerative diseases. The question for companies with employees facing either is how do we support these workers so they’re not forced to choose between work and family life? How does a business allow their workers to be part of their parents’ aging and end-of-life journey so they can feel they did as much as they could for their parents?

The economy and how it relates to employees

We anticipate seeing further developments in relation to employee pay. This breaks down into topics diverse and complex, such as pay transparency and the feasibility of cryptocurrency in lieu of the dollar.

Employees are eager to know that they’re being paid fairly, but there’s more to it than that — they also want answers on how to move to the next level in their career. What does that look like for various positions?

We anticipate seeing clearer communications developing over the next year on pay, along with well-demarcated career ladders, which are becoming critical for even smaller organizations.

Read the full report here