LinkedIn report spotlights the biggest trends coming to the workplace in 2022

The past year has changed the course of the workplace forever, and employers are going to have to get on top of this year’s trends if they want to win the war for talent.

Candidates are 67% more engaged with job openings when companies talk about culture compared to this time last year, according to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report. Gone are the days of employees choosing jobs for salaries or convenience — what employees want is to work for a company where they feel heard, valued and comfortable.

“Culture is very important because people know that they have choices, and their choices are beyond the name of the company or the salary that they make,” said Judy Jackson, global head of culture and engagement at communication company WPP, in the newly released report from LinkedIn. “Their choices are around enrichment, their choices are around, who am I learning from? How is my soul being fed? And they are willing to exchange money and location for feeling fulfilled.”

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Job shopping is on the rise — twice as many job postings were viewed in 2021 compared to 2019, according to LinkedIn. And when it comes to what employees are looking for, all priorities point to company values. According to LinkedIn, 63% of workers say their top priority in a new job is work-life balance, followed by colleagues and camaraderie (40%) and culture (60%), all of which outrank compensation and benefits.

Empathy-driven policies and perks contribute to an enviable workplace. In fact, employee well-being and flexibility rank second and third, behind company culture, in critical determinants of what makes or breaks a company in an employee's eyes.

When employees feel cared for, they are not only three times more likely to be happier at work, they’re three times more likely to recommend their employer to friends and former colleagues, according to the report. That trend will only continue as millennials' and Gen Z’s presence in the workforce grows: only 33% of baby boomers crave an increase in mental health and wellness support, but those numbers climb to 51% and 66% respectively for millennials and Gen Z workers.

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“In the workplace, we shouldn’t value and celebrate the people who stay up all night and burn the midnight oil,” Jen Fisher, chief well-being officer at Deloitte, said in the report. “Because that doesn’t really produce great results for the person or the organization. It’s not a sustainable model.”

Gone are the days of the traditional 9-to-5 work-day. Employees not only want flexibility in where they work, but when and how they work, too. Since 2019, there’s been an 83% increase in job posts mentioning flexibility, LinkedIn reports. On individual companies’ own LinkedIn profiles, mentions of flexibility in posts have soared 343% in the same timeframe.

To stay in line with the rise in demand for flexible jobs, employers should be establishing guidelines on how to treat remote workers, creating a level playing field for all employees and reinforcing social bonds among coworkers with virtual events.

“Not since the industrial revolution have companies really had to think about work design, about what tasks get done and where do those tasks get done, '' said Nickle LaMoreux, CHRO at IBM, in the report. “And when and how do you deconstruct work so that it’s done in an optimal manner.”