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Introduction
Working trends are considered to be the developments and changes that are found in a place of employment. These are that event that has an effect on the working of an organisation. Normally the trends that are found to exist within a workplace are based on the changes present in the general industry in which the organisation functions.
SHRM is a well-known organisation, which has been involved in the conduction of the Workplace Forecast Survey for the past ten years. With the passage of time, there has been the development of various factors, which have been seen to be recurring for many years. It has been observed that many of the issues that have been stated in the previous surveys by SHRM have resurfaced over the years in succeeding surveys. The period of recession, which was observed to begin in 2007, had a great impact on some of the Surveys that was conducted by SRHM. The issue which was trending during that period is being considered by HR professionals to shape the workplace in the future also.
The following is the top ten lists of trends that have been found out by SRHM by their survey:
The high cost of health care cover of employees.
Implementation of legislation of health care.
Shortage of workers who are skilled.
The high rate of Baby Boomers, who are leaving work at the same time.
The impact of the Presidential Election.
Lack of technology, science, math and engineering graduates.
Decline in the savings of employee retirement.
The rise of gasoline and fuel prices.
The threat of an impending recession in the country.
The high rate of market volatility and uncertain economic conditions.
The top 5 trends going to affect the organisation in the coming years
High Cost of Healthcare cover for employees: High cost of health care has been of growing concern for everyone. Even though there has been a deficit in the national budget, the cost of healthcare has been increasing on a daily basis. Organisations are responsible for providing their employees with health benefits and other emoluments that help the employees. In the modern day society, there has been an increase in various types of diseases and the cost of treatment and medicines have also increased at an exponential rate. Thus, for an organisation to try and cover all the Healthcare benefits of the employees, they have to pay a higher premium amount (Burbridge, 2009). Thus, the higher cost of healthcare places an economic impact on the organisation. In the army organisation, it is the duty of the Government to provide complete healthcare packages for the military men and their family members. Thus with the increase in the cost of Healthcare, it has become more taxing on the Government to meet the cost demands of the Health Care demands.
Shortages of skilled workers: This is one of the major problems that is faced by any organisation. Skilled workers are the essential building block for any successful organisation. With better pay scale and better job opportunities, it is now easy to lure away skilled employees from an organisation to another organisation. The job market has abundant of fresher, but they lack the expertise and knowledge. The organisation shall have to conduct training sessions for the new employees from their budget (Parke, 2010). The training session helps the new recruits to get a feel of the organisation. Although to get proper productive results from the new employees it shall take some time and effort on the part of the organisation.
The high rate of Baby Boomers, who are leaving work at the same time: There has been a steady increase in older workers in the workforce of an organisation. The same has caused a situation wherein the young generation of workers are not able to move forward in their respective careers due to the presence of the older workers in the organisation. Generation X is the ones who are under pressure due to this situation. It is being forecasted that the Boomers are blocking the path of advancing for the Generation X, whereas millennial shall leapfrog over the Generation X at the moment the Boomers decide to retire. Thus, the Generation X are looking for a better job opportunity and once they find a path that leads them to career success they join other organisations. The boomers shall affect the organisation as and when they decide to retire as a large number of vacancies shall be left at a moment’s notice.
The rise of gasoline and fuel prices: There has been a surge in demand for energy, both on the domestic and international market. This demand has caused the prices of energy and gasoline to rise steadily. It is being predicted by many HR officials that the rise in the price of gasoline and energy shall have a major impact on the functioning of an organisation. As the organisation pays for the prices of gas upon submission of the proper bills, it affects the budget of the organisation. Moreover, the functioning of an organisation is dependent on the consumption of power. Thus with the increase in the price of energy, an organisation shall have to pay more for the energy that they consume.
The high rate of market volatility and uncertain economic conditions: Although there has been a steady recovery in the economy during the period of recession, yet there has not been a clear indication for business owners, stakeholders and investors that the economy is stable. There has been a rise in the number of jobs, but still there are many who remain jobless in the present market condition. The uncertainty of the market conditions is being predicted by HR management as one of the major factors that shall affect organisations shortly. The uncertainty and volatile nature of the economic condition are keeping investors and new projects away from the market (Goodwin, 2010). It is concerning the organisations economically, as, without new projects; there can be no investment and revenue generation for the organisations. Moreover, the HR management is also predicting that the threat pertaining to another recession is also having a significant impact on organisations.
The trends are not having a significant impact on organisations in the near future
Implementation of legislation of health care: HR management is not stressing much on this trend being a factor that has a significant effect on the functioning of the organisations shortly. The Cost of Healthcare has a significant effect on the functioning of an organisation, but the implementation of the legislations that pertains to health care has a nominal effect.
The impact of the Presidential Election: The Presidential Election is one of the single most important events in the country. It shall decide the Commander in Chief for the Army. It will not have much of an effect on the army as the policies and rules and regulations of the operation of the army shall remain the same.
Lack of technology, science, math and engineering graduates: There has been a steady decline in the number of science, math, technology expertise and engineering graduates in the nation. Due to the phenomenon is known as brain drain, the nation has been able to draw top talent to each field to the country to fill up the vacancies.
Decline in the savings of employee retirement: With the increase in the cost of living, it has become increasingly difficult to accumulate any savings for any individual. The daily rise of prices has forced the hands of the individuals to spend more on their day to day life activities (DeVries, 2008). Although this has a significant impact on the lives of the individuals HR management does not think this shall have a great impact on the functioning of any organisation.
The threat of an impending recession in the country: The uncertainty and volatile nature of the economic condition are keeping investors and new projects away from the market. There is a looming threat that the economy might just slip back down to recession once again. But it has to be noted that the economy has stabilised and has been growing at a steady pace ever since the period of recession thus the threat of another recession should not have an impact on the functioning of organisations.
Conclusion
The above report has helped to summarise the trends that will have an impact in the coming future on the functioning of the organisations and how they shall affect the organisations. The trends that won’t have a significant impact have also been summarised.
References
Burbridge, M. (2009). HR professionals share talent management views. Strategic HR Review, 8(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/shr.2009.37208dab.006
DeVries, G. (2008). The Top 10 Wellness Trends for 2008 and Beyond: Benefits professionals must review wellness plan designs to ensure optimal results. Compensation & Benefits Review, 40(4), 60-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886368708317553
Goodwin, K. (2010). Practical advice for HR professionals. Strategic HR Review, 9(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/shr.2010.37209dab.002
Parke, C. (2010). Practical advice for HR professionals. Strategic HR Review, 9(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/shr.2010.37209eab.002
