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September 03, 2015
6 Workplace Hot Topics and Trends
The economy has been undergoing some major changes in recent years and does not show any signs of slowing down. These changes have effected both the individual as well as the job market and the economy; with many businesses working hard to adjust. While they change year to year, here are the current most talked about trends affecting your workplace:
1. Healthcare Reform
The relatively new healthcare reform has surely ruffled the feathers of many politicians as well as companies, to say the least. This new reform, also know as Obamacare, is requiring businesses with 50 employees or more to provide affordable healthcare to its workers. Small businesses will be able to get a credit for up to 50% of their health care premium costs if they buy insurance. Many are unsure of the impact that Obamacare will have, but many predict that companies will begin to layoff a portion of their full-time employees so that they can avoid the penalty.
2. Gender Pay Gap
The pay gap between men and women has been a topic of conversation for years. Women have notoriously earned less than men since entering the workforce in the 1960's. While still an issue in today's economy, the gender pay gap is, in fact, decreasing. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, the wage gap amongst millennial aged workers and younger has gone from women earning 67 cents (for every dollar made by a male) in 1980 to nearly 93 cents today.
3. Baby Boomers Retirng
Nearly 50% of the workforce is comprised of the baby boomer generation, many of whom plan to retire within the next 5 years.1 This fact will undoubtedly have a major impact on the workforce and the economy over the next few years. Millennial aged workers are already flooding the market with numbers that are rising steadily. Many companies are worried about succession planning and being able to train younger employees to do the jobs of their baby boomer population before the boomers retire. At the same time, many new opportunities will be created for younger generations who are more loyal to their companies.
4. Companies Providing Wellness Programs
More and more companies are starting to see the value in wellness programs and are starting to provide them for their employees. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has almost forced companies to start thinking about providing wellness incentives in a way to promote healthy behaviors at work. There have been a lot of studies around the correlation between an employee's health and their productivity. For example, employees who eat healthy and exercise at least 3 times a week have 15-25% higher job performance than those who don't.2
5. Continuous Job Search
People are constantly looking for new jobs and opportunities; most of which do so before even leaving the job that they have now. Millennials, especially, are used to going from job to job to find the right fit. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that many younger people have roughly eleven jobs between the ages of 18 to 34. Our current digital age has made the job market more even more hectic, providing never before seen opportunities.
6. ROI for College is Looked at Closer
It is no secret that the price of an undergraduate education has been rising every year. Increasingly more students are being forced to take out student loans and in a slowly recovering economy, jobs a still few and far between for recent grads. This dismal state of education has forced many colleges to prove their ROI. This means that many universities are now required to offer affordable online alternatives for students who cannot afford to go in person as well as pay their students for previously unpaid internships.
Resources:
1. http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/report/chapter1/main.htm
2. http://www.zanebenefits.com/blog/increased-productivity-and-healthy-employees