With New Year’s Eve right around the corner, we might be thinking about what will be new in the workplace in 2014.
Will the economy get better? What impact will health care reform have on hiring? What defines a modern “work day”? We put together a few trends that may impact us in 2014 along with some tips.
- Healthcare reform may slow hiring in 2014. CNNMoney.com recently reported that 9 out of 14 economists say that businesses are putting off hiring because of health care reform next year. Employers with more than 50 workers will be required to offer affordable health care to employees. The overall impact of Obamacare is hard to project. Some people believe that companies may be laying off full time workers and replacing them with contingent staff in order to avoid any penalties.
- Boomers will retire. According to Forbes.com, 18% of boomers will retire within five years and 68% of HR professionals say that boomers retiring will have a major impact on the workforce. Companies need to start thinking about succession planning including training those Gen Y and Gen X employees how to do the Boomer’s job once they retire.
- Freelancing continues to grow. The face of a typical workday is changing. The old punch the clock from 9 to 5 is shifting. Many companies are hiring freelancers who are experts in their fields to do specific jobs. On the other hand, workers are embracing the freelance lifestyle which offers flexibility and improved work/life balance.
- Companies are embracing health and wellness programs. Did you know that obesity has a tremendous impact on the US workforce and economy? Consider these statistics…
Full-time workers in the U.S. who are overweight or obese and have other chronic health conditions miss an estimated 450 million additional days of work each year compared with healthy workers -- resulting in an estimated cost of more than $153 billion in lost productivity annually, according to a 2011 Gallup Poll. And medical expenses for obese employees are 42 percent higher than for a person with a healthy weight, according to the Centers for Disease Control. (Obesitycampaign.org)
So what are companies doing? They’re putting their employee’s health and wellness need first. Wellness programs including, Biggest Loser style office competitions, mid-day yoga classes and exercise rooms are on the increase in workplaces across the US. And with the Affordable Care Act, some companies will be able to offer rewards and incentives to healthy employees.
- Social media recruiting trumps the old fashioned resume. With the flood of resumes that companies receive, many businesses and recruiters are turning to social media to help narrow down the best fit candidates. In fact, Jobvite.com reports that 94% of employers are using social networks for recruiting.
From all of us at Complete Payroll Processing, we hope you have a healthy and safe New Year’s Day. And if there is anything that CPP can do to help you plan and hit the ground running in 2014, please give us a call.
Sources used to write this article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2013/10/24/the-top-10-workplace-trends-for-2014/
http://www.obesitycampaign.org/obesity_facts.asp
