HR news this week: Organisational challenges, skills and caregiver responsibilities

This week in HR news: the challenges facing HR in 2023, long COVID’s impact, upskilling, and caregiving misconceptions.

Next year’s challenges

As seen in the Human Times 5 December bulletin, Personio listed its prediction for the biggest HR challenges for 2023.

The top five they listed were:

1. Quiet quitting
2. Organisational effectiveness
3. Hiring high quality talent
4. Growing your people
5. Automation and data

Personio also offered five solutions for these problems, as follows:

1. Focus on priorities and goals
2. Foster productivity
3. Recognise company data
4. Be transparent with employees
5. Utilise HR

Mark Johnson recently reported for HR Leader why coaching should be on HR’s radar for 2023: Why coaching should be part of your employee retention strategy in 2023.

Long COVID rears its head

As published by Bloomberg on 5 December, long COVID is impacting the UK labour market.

According to the ONS data that was referenced, 217,000 people are inactive (not working and not looking for work) due to long COVID.

The statement by the ONS said that as of July: “23.3 per cent of people aged 16 to 64 years with self-reported long COVID (symptoms at least four weeks after a confirmed or suspected coronavirus [COVID-19] infection that could not be explained by something else) were economically inactive”.

According to the ONS, worker inactivity has seen a 600,000 people increase since the beginning of 2020. Long-term sickness has been reported as being the main reason for this.

Daniel Ayoubkhani, data and analysis for social care and health at the ONS, said: “Today’s analysis shows that working-age people are less likely to participate in the labour market after developing long COVID symptoms than they were before being infected with coronavirus (COVID-19).” 

He continued: “Furthermore, this relationship between self-reported long COVID and inactivity for reasons other than education or retirement is strongest among people aged 50 years or above. Long COVID may therefore have contributed to the decreasing levels of participation seen in the UK labour market during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Skills without school

Harvard Business Review published an article on 5 December outlining five ways to gain skills without turning to the obvious education institutions like schools and universities.

The sources listed on the site were:

• certifications
• online learning courses
• internships, rotations, and volunteering
• stretch assignments
• mentorship

HR Leader recently covered that recruitment company Hays offers a variety of free online courses.

Caregiving myths

SHRM discussed misconceptions employers have about caregivers on 6 December.

The five myths are:

Employees who want flexible work don’t want to advance their career: SHRM said that according to a Stanford study: “Those working offsite were actually 13 per cent more productive, but they were promoted half as often. Proximity bias is very real.” Breaking misconception and training managers on how to deal with remote working may prevent this issue.

School and childcare: SHRM encourages employers to be more mindful of the challenges involved in childcare, such as costs and logistical problems.

We’d know if there was a problem: SHRM referenced a study by the Rosalynn Carter Institute which revealed that almost one-third of caregivers have left a job due to responsibilities. SHRM says employers can help by being proactive in policy, rather than waiting for issues to arise.

Caregiving isn’t discussed often so it mustn’t be a concern: SHRM says just 56 per cent of caregivers have disclosed their responsibilities with their employer. SHRM notes stigma can be broken through leaders discussing their own responsibilities and creating transparency with staff.

Paternity leave is the key to inclusivity: SHRM suggests there should be a broader focus on other aspects of care, such as caring for sick children, elderly loved ones, or those with disabilities. Paternity leave keeps the focus narrow.

HR Leader recently covered “pawternity leave” and how some employees are pushing for pet care leave.