Educators (teachers and educational assistants alike) are preparing to leave because of in-school violence/disrespect and a lack of support and training around those things.
Executive-level leaders pine for more meaningful work and are thinking about their legacy. They’ve made money, now they want to make a difference. Are they willing to leave their current field to do this? You bet they are.
Frontline workers in the (broad) social services field are burned out, feeling underappreciated, and will absolutely move for better balance and – certainly – better pay. Into their new roles, they bring a ton of skill, experience, and empathy. Their passion for the field of work is not waning, but for specific workplaces or work circumstances? Absolutely.
(Some) employers in the financial services industry: your people are looking to move outside of your organization if you don’t start actioning promised internal career paths and/or provide more informal/formal learning opportunities.
Finally, across all industries and at all career levels, people are investing in professional career services before they need them: resume and cover letter writing, LinkedIn profile optimization, interview skills prep, core value exploration, and more. No matter the situation, people want to be ready to call their own shots.
I’m a career consultant in Waterloo Region (though I work with clients across Canada and the USA). The above observations are not pulled from the constellations, but rather echo very closely the patterns I’ve seen emerge throughout the pandemic. These bear the weight of evidence, I promise. I share them for a few reasons:
1. Perhaps you recognize yourself here: you are not alone, nor are your feelings “off the mark”, and
2. Maybe employers reading can use these real-world observations to fuel change in their own organizations whether it’s having more informal employee conversations to hear people’s needs, re-evaluating talent development strategies, or envisioning new ways for executive-level leaders to explore personal impact and legacy within their current roles (i.e. retention strategies)
2023: Looking Ahead
If the trajectory continues the way it has begun this year, here are a few things I foresee in 2023:
People will be furthering their education/training to either shift careers entirely or to fast-track their career progression outside of their current organization
Employees will more and more test the external job market whether they’re planning to make a move or not; people are getting more intimate with their actual value and worth
People are going to more proactively build relationships with recruiters/executive search firms
Employees will listen to feedback in performance reviews, but will also be more active in these conversations (see second point); accountability will go both ways
Job seekers will be savvier negotiators upon receiving job offers
Balance will still reign supreme – if it’s not in place, people will get more and more comfortable finding it elsewhere (and in some cases, people will take less traditional paths, like taking two part-time jobs in different fields, as an example); people need financial security but are much less tolerant of total unhappiness at work
These are exciting times. There are challenges, no doubt – for both the job seeker and the employer. But challenge is always the precursor to “better”. 2023 promises to be the year of the empowered job seeker, the empowered employee. And this isn't about employer vs. employee - quite the contrary. The landscape is changing and I think it’s going to pave the way for really exciting, ground-breaking work all ‘round. Let's toast to that!
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