Over the past several decades, we have all experienced the ebb and flow of employment trends. Not enough jobs. Not enough workers. Not enough resources. 

In my experience, it’s workforce disruptors–technological advances, environmental changes, political and economical events, and global circumstances–that move and shake up the workforce.

In 2008, we saw the job market take a downturn when the stock market crashed. And in the aftermath of 9/11, employees were prompted to reevaluate their life priorities. But nothing has disrupted the way we work more than the pandemic.

And the workforce will never be the same again.

Covid-19 caused everyone to shift, pause and pivot (along with every other overused verb we now associate with the pandemic). It also provoked changes in work habits, daily routines and a reassessment of everything we do and how we do it. The pandemic even introduced a new widely used acronym: WFH. 

Prior to Covid-19, I only had a handful of clients who were comfortable with occasional remote work -- and my private equity and hedge fund clients were adamantly opposed to the idea.  

However, the pandemic didn’t give employers an option and, suddenly, everyone was working from home while employers crossed their fingers with the hope that the work would get done.

What should come as no surprise was still a bit surprising for some. The top-performing employees were still performing at full throttle and the low performing were still underperforming. 

Fast forward to March 2023. Here we are in a tight labor market with no indications that it will change anytime soon. Employers are courting a post-pandemic workforce who recognize that having the flexibility to determine where they work makes a tremendous difference. 

It’s a challenge to find high-caliber employees who are interested in making a move – and they will only make a move if it makes sense for their career, their wallet and now, even more so, their lifestyle. 

So, is it fewer workers or fewer hours being worked?

The Harvard Business Review findings suggest that the pandemic experience led people to reassess their life priorities and recalibrate their work-life balance in the direction of fewer work hours. Maybe this reassessment was specific to high-earning men but more likely it was a wider consequence of the pandemic, but high-earning men were most able to quickly adjust their hours to this new preference. 

So in one instance, if married men are interested in reducing their hours, then maybe their spouses can now pursue career paths that demand longer workdays and higher earnings? 

Another shift/pause/pivot thanks to Covid-19.

In my opinion, the reduction of hours doesn't mean a reduction in productivity.  It means working smarter, not harder.  Take a moment to read the article. There’s a lot of data but I believe it shows that the landscape of the workforce has changed for the better. The article reaffirms that workers, especially highly-skilled ones, value a flexible work schedule.  

To maintain a competitive advantage on recruiting and retaining high caliber talent, employers will need to offer flexibility and remote work options because the movers and the shakers you want to hire want the option to WFH.

To read more about employment trends, check out this Harvard Business Review article.