It’s no secret that 2020 was a bit of a dumpster fire, as the pandemic changed the way a lot of people work we work and scrambled original job predictions for 2020. No one really could have seen the changes brought on bu the pandemic and how quickly we were able to transition to a more remote workforce.

It appears that the Covid-19 pandemic is still the reality for early 2021 and likely will be through the remainder of the year. As so, here are several predictions experts are sharing regarding how this ongoing pandemic reality will affect the workforce in 2021.

Firstly, Remote work is here to stay. As we still maintain safe working practices and social distancing we will still be seeing remote work in most fields. Many who form bonds with coworkers are seeing this become more and more difficult as our social beings are suppressed, but unfortunately returning to the office will most likely be a slow process that won’t occur until most are vaccinated or numbers begin to significantly decline. Some companies have even expressed feelings towards staying remote permanently as many others do enjoy the increased flexibility and time home with family.

We also predicate a continuation of layoffs and job seeking. The pandemic has still taken a financial toll on many companies, and some that were once able to make it through lockdowns and initial waves are now starting to really suffer from the prolonged effects of the pandemic and are in turn shutting down or continuing to lay off employees. Because of this we will continue to see many jobseekers competing for available positions. Job seekers this year may be more familiar with these new remote hiring processes and Zoom calls and they may also be more apt to going the extra mile for a position. For example, hiring a resume writer, actually including a cover letter, taking a pay cut, and more. We do still predict this process to take a bit longer than usual as employers filter through a much larger amount of applications and the hiring process taking a bit longer with virtual inconsistencies.

Many experts also predict an increase in employee burnout. As employees are lacking social interaction, worrying about job-loss, and feelings of being overworked, many will likely begin to burnout faster than normal. This means employers and managers need to give as much compassion as possible in order to keep employees happy and at peak performance. We especially see this burnout already in the massively overworked healthcare field and do continue to see this be a trend throughout the remainder of the year as we attempt to distribute vaccines on a widespread scale.

Finally, we are beginning to see a new trend in the workforce with older generations retiring and younger 2021 online-learning graduates entering the force. Many older generations, specifically the Baby Boomers are entering into retirement age and are making considerations for retiring early due to challenges and burnout from the pandemic. This makes room for younger generations who are currently lacking real-life experience due to online learning to get paid less to earn this experience. Many of those new to the workforce will have to keep an open mind during the hiring process and really have ways to sell themselves to stand out from the highly competitive job market we are currently facing.

While 2020 was a mess, we do have hope for 2021 and entering into 2022 as we get a handle on the pandemic. Many workers have been asked to handle something that was previously thought as unmanageable and have been doing so successfully. We praise all of our frontline workers that continue to see an increase in demand and praise our essential workers for being there when needed most. If you are currently seeking a new position, visit our website to see what’s currently available and let us help you tackle 2021.

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