Seven Trends Likely to Emerge in Human Resources in 2022

From the Great Resignation to the chaos of vaccine mandates, the past year has been a rollercoaster for human resources (HR). Although some core issues—such as when the pandemic will end and when the labor market will stabilize—remain unclear, HR Dive's predictions are built on lessons learned over the past 12 months. The pandemic has lasted nearly two years. Here are seven trends showing how the ongoing impact of COVID-19 is reshaping the workplace landscape in the long term.

Keyword: Flexibility

The remote work revolution driven by the pandemic, combined with the challenges of talent shortages, has pushed even the most traditional workplaces toshift toward flexible models. Employers are increasingly confident that work can still get done even amid dramatic changes in how it is performed. This has given HR more room to experiment, whether by allowing employees tochoose their own work hours, introducingfour-day workweeks, or exploring other paths.

Even companies that cannot adopt certain hourly adjustments can pursue flexibility in their own way. Anthony Klotz, the professor who predicted the Great Resignation, previously told HR Dive: "You can get creative with scheduling, such as innovatively ensuring employees have ample notice before shift changes, or designing a schedule so that if an employee takes two days off, they can piece together a ten-day break, etc."

Employers Will Decide Vaccine Policies on Their Own

Since COVID-19 vaccines became available, employers have been weighing how to promote vaccination in the workplace. The Biden administration announced a federal emergency temporary standard (ETS) in September requiring large employers to ensure full vaccination of employees, but the standard was blocked in court. The U.S. Supreme Court on January 13issued a stay, preventing its enforcement.

Shaun Kennedy, a partner at the law firm Holland & Hart, told HR Dive that the stay is "by no means the end of the federal mandate," "but it does seriously hinder the government's ability to implement a broad mandate under the current framework." The Supreme Court's stay means the government cannot implement the ETS in its current form, leaving employers in a wait-and-see position until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuitissues a ruling. Kennedy said this could take six to eight months—and even after a ruling, the policy could still be reviewed by the Supreme Court, further extending the process.

What is the bottom line for employers? At this stage, vaccine policies should be viewed as individual corporate choices. "I expect some companies to push forward with vaccine or testing requirements," Kennedy said. "There will also be companies that take advantage of the stay on these mandates to relax their requirements. It really depends on each company's culture and philosophy."

Industry reactions are already emerging, and not without pain. For example, Citigroup took ahardline stance, placing office employees who had not uploaded their vaccination cards by the January 14 deadline on unpaid leave (the company said it planned to terminate them by the end of January). United Airlines, an early adopter of vaccine mandates,faces employee lawsuitsalleging failure to provide reasonable accommodations and retaliation. On the other hand, construction industry employers have beenfar less enthusiastic，Construction workershave shown stronger resistance to mandates.

Pandemic Highlights Importance of Timely Care and Well-Being Support

Although COVID-19 vaccine issues may persist into 2022, the employee benefits space also needs to address other healthcare concerns. For example, observers have been speculating aboutthe role of virtual care in improving healthcare access, as patient populations have had more exposure to the concept during the pandemic. Adam Stavisky, senior vice president of benefits at Walmart U.S., said the importance of timely access to medical care will become even more pronounced in the coming year.

Stavisky said in an email: "Increased interest in virtual care has prompted us to expand our telehealth options to include primary care, physical therapy, and digestive health. We are also making it easier for more employees to find great doctors by using data to identify physicians who better align with current scientific practices."

The retailer was one ofmany employers expanding virtual care options in 2021, especially in mental and emotional health. Beyond these dimensions, companies also plan to address financial well-being in the coming year. "Whether it's technologists working on e-commerce experiences, hourly associates stocking shelves, or any role within the enterprise, our employees have access year-round to a range of high-quality physical, mental, and financial well-being benefits," Stavisky said.

Performance Reviews Increasingly Continuous and Informal

Over the past two years, managers have seen a more human, more casual side of employees—from dogs barking in the background of video calls to employees showing patience while juggling childcare or eldercare. This evolution has broken down hierarchical barriers and fostered flexibility and informality in other aspects of work, including performance management.

Rosette Cataldo of Workhuman told HR Dive that the traditional annual performance review process can be "painful." As the company's vice president of performance and talent strategy, Cataldo has seen more companies move away from the standard process—where managers review a year of performance, write summaries, use self-assessments, and sometimes give ratings—a process she described as "not very human."

The forward-looking approach more companies are adopting involves providing continuous "quick, two-minute feedback," Cataldo said.

Additionally, the evaluation mindset is shifting toward more empowering coaching strategies, whichhave been shownto boost engagement and productivity. "Imagine if I said to you: 'Instead of having you evaluated, let me give you an opportunity to reflect so I can coach you.' Think about what that means. 'Then we can jointly plan your actions for 2022,'" Cataldo described the process.

Learning Space: Focusing on Microlearning

Autonomy is now crucial to employees. Employers can meet this need by embracing what Kay Green, founder of learning software company EDesign Consulting, sees as"two major trends": "microlearning and on-demand learning."

Green told HR Dive in an email: "Engaging in learning at the time and place employees prefer, and the ability to learn in small 'chunks,' has changed the face of training. It has also changed how companies approach training, because it opens the door to creating micro-courses on any cultural, process, or industry information the organization wants employees to align with."

DEI Space: Parental Leave and Pay Transparency to Take Center Stage

Mandy Price, CEO and co-founder of Kanarys, believes parental leave will become a focus as companies set DEI goals for the new year. "Since January 2021, the pandemic has forced women to experience a 'shecession.' Nearly3 millionwomen have left the labor force," she wrote in an email to HR Dive.

As the pandemic has highlighted the challenges facing working parents and caregivers, Price said HR should expect ongoing discussions around parental leave and paid family leave, especially after budget cuts to the "Build Back Better" spending plan. "Employees are demanding more family-first policies," Price said.

Some companies are already leading in parental leave; for example, Pinterest recentlylaunched neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) benefits, and extended parental leave for birthing parents to nearly six months.

Price also sees pay transparency on the rise. She said that to achieve positive change in the new year, "companies need to publish salary ranges for every position; clarify roles and responsibilities, and use market data to set salary bands to eliminate bias and reduce subjectivity; conduct pay equity audits to identify and address existing pay gaps and improvement opportunities; [and] train managers to proactively engage in compensation conversations with employees." She added that company leaders also need to work with HR experts to understand the root causes behind gaps.

Organized Labor Movement on the Rise

The PRO Actmay be stalled in Congress, but following the#Striketoberwave, and with employers facing a tight labor market, employees are still organizing.

Several Starbucks locations have recently unionized, andmore storeswill hold votes. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ordered are-run electionat Amazon's closely watched Bessemer, Alabama, fulfillment center, with the votescheduled to begin next month. Additionally, Google was recently ordered by a federal judge torelease documents related to internal anti-union activities。

In other words, employees are feeling more empowered, and the NLRB is paying close attention. Employers might want to gauge employee morale and revisit theNational Labor Relations Act。