8 Employee Expectations in 2022

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Understanding and preparing for 8 employee expectations in 2022 will help businesses hire the most qualified recruits, retain their best employees, and stay on a path to growth and success.

As businesses look to continue on a path of growth and success throughout the year, they will do so based on the hard work of their employees. Much about the daily nature of work has changed very quickly in the past two years, as have the expectations that employees have for their employers. With companies recognizing the challenge of recruiting and retaining the most qualified people, it’s important that they take into consideration 8 employee expectations in 2022.

8 Employee Expectations in 2022

• A raise
• Career growth
• More flexibility
• Hybrid working options
• Strong employer brand
• Improved team culture
• Global hiring
• The right benefits

A Raise

The relationship between employer and employee is economic. Labour is provided in exchange for money, there’s no use denying this reality. The continued growth and success of a business is the direct result of the hard work of its employees, and they should expect to be compensated as such. For long-term employees, a salary increase will likely top their list of employee expectations in 2022.

Company leaders should understand that according to one recent survey 64% of employees would leave their job for another solely because of the increase in the offered salary. When deciding how much of an increase to offer employees, leaders should take several factors into consideration, such as the growth of the company over the past year, changes in both average salary and minimum wage and the increased cost of living currently being experienced by employees.

Career Growth

No employee wants to feel like a cog in a machine. It is important to ensure that employees understand that there’s room for continued growth and professional development with their current employer. 

One effective way to highlight career growth is also the most simple: promote employees when they deserve a new role. In times when a promotion to an entirely new role is not possible, let employees have the leeway to expand their current role, taking on new tasks and projects as they grow. Another good way to promote career growth is by encouraging a learning culture in the workplace. This is where employees are provided the resources to learn new skills and abilities, and are rewarded and recognized for doing so.

More Flexibility

One of the strongest employee expectations in 2022 is more control and flexibility in their daily professional lives. The traditional office schedule and structure was one of the first things that changed in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people adapting overnight to working remotely from their homes. While there are drawbacks to remote work, one of the benefits is the greater degree of control which it provides employees. 

Now that employees have proven that they can remain productive and effective outside of the confines of the traditional workplace, they do not desire to return to the rigid structures of the past. For example, some workers have demonstrated that they work best in the afternoon and evening hours, and have no desire to be forced out of bed before sunrise to make it to the office. For employees with children, this flexibility is not merely a perk, but is now a vital component of their daily lives with their family. People have found that working from home gives them more control over their personal life, and they have every expectation that this continues.

Hybrid Working Arrangements

Linked to the expectation for increased flexibility is a desire to shift away from the rigid and inflexible working arrangements found in the traditional workplaces of the past. Remote work has become more widespread than ever before but it is not without certain drawbacks, chiefly being the increased difficulty to maintain a proper work-life balance. One way to combat these drawbacks is through hybrid work arrangements where a majority of the work is done remotely with certain meetings and days designated for in-person work and collaboration.

Recent surveys show that this is the type of working arrangement that a majority of employees prefer in 2022. It provides workers with the benefits of remote work with opportunities for in-person team building and collaboration, along with more physical separation between personal and professional life. It is clear that a shift away from traditional working arrangements will be one of the top employee expectations in 2022.

Improved Team Culture

With the switch to remote work during the pandemic, many company leaders worried about the perceived detrimental effect on company and team culture. After two years, it’s clear that it is possible to maintain team culture when working remotely, though it does take effort and commitment. Now employees expect this emphasis and culture to carry on and deepen into 2022.

Employees want a team culture where they feel valued and are able to fully contribute. This is built through open communication and feedback at all times. Company leaders must work to show employees that their voice and opinion matters, and will lead to actionable changes in the workplace.

Global Hiring

The field of recruitment has changed dramatically over the past two. With many companies and organizations transitioning to remote/hybrid working and virtual workplaces, it reduces the need for employees to all live and commute in the same geographic space. HR managers and recruiters can essentially remove almost all barriers to hiring, and recruit qualified candidates from around the world. 

Many employees expect to work with a diverse team of colleagues who are the most qualified candidates for the job, regardless of where they live. Creating a global team of workers is not without managerial challenges, but the benefits of a work team with a multitude of viewpoints and experiences will help organizations achieve goals.

The Right Benefits

The benefits and perks that come with a job have always been important to employees, but company leaders have sometimes treated them as a bonus or ancillary to the base salary of a job. Employee surveys, however, found that the right benefits can be more important than the actual salary when a prospective employee is choosing to accept a job role. After two years of dramatically changed working conditions, many feel that the typical benefits package no longer meets their needs.

One major change is that employees expect benefits to help them address mental health and well-being. The pandemic has had serious consequences on people’s mental well-being, with levels of stress and employee burnout rising in every field. Organizations need to step up to help their employees address these needs if they want to retain the best employees. Other benefits should include support for physiotherapy, financial support for remote employees buying work-related equipment and options to go beyond the legally mandated holidays, vacation days and related PTO. An updated benefits package is definitely one of the important 8 employee expectations in 2022.

In the new year, the expectations between employees and organizational leaders have changed. The workplace and its policies must be adapted and updated to reflect the current realities of work for many people, however unpredictable these realities may be. By understanding the 8 employee expectations in 2022, organizations will be better prepared to meet employee needs and create a successful and supportive work environment.