Flex time, work-life balance, and ‘green collar’ jobs: Workplace trends coming to Czechia in 2023

The workplace and workforce are both changing. Labor shortages and rising prices are seeing more seniors coming back into the labor pool. At the other end of the spectrum, Gen Z workers are bringing a whole new set of job expectations and requirements. Women, who left the workforce in large numbers during the pandemic, also seek more flexibility.

A study from workplace solutions firm ManpowerGroup examined the trends for the next year based on responses from 13,000 managers and 8,000 employees from eight countries. While the trends are firmly rooted in the West, they are also already present or coming to Czechia.

Last year, 75 percent of companies worldwide struggled with talent shortages. As a result, more and more employers are reducing or eliminating their college education requirements for jobs and placing more emphasis on work experience.

“It seems that the experience a person has gained during their work cycle is more important than formal education,” Jiří Halbrštát, manager for marketing and recruitment of ManpowerGroup, said, according to news server iDnes.

The population is aging globally and the number of economically active people is decreasing, while the demand of companies for labor is increasing. The Czech Republic had avoided the issue so far, but that may be changing.

The number of employees has remained stable in Czechia for 10 years due to labor migration from abroad, but this trend is slowing down, according to Halbrštát.

Despite the global economic slowdown, companies are still actively seeking talented staff. Due to the aging of the population, this will likely lead to the return of people of retirement age to the workforce.

Some Western companies are already seeing the return of people of retirement age. While the trend is growing, so far only 19 percent of hiring managers worldwide are looking to take on retirees.

The Czech Republic has about 2.4 million retired people, of whom 150,000 are working. “We believe that there is great potential here,” Halbrštát said, adding that Inflation is also causing retired people to seek a return to work.

During the Covid pandemic, millions of women left the workforce during the pandemic and many still have not returned as old ways of working seem compatible with new priorities for living.

Organizations need to reimagine when, where, and how work gets done, offer pay equity, and advance reskilling. These steps will not only bring women back but help ease the global talent crisis, ManpowerGroup states.

Women want more flexible office hours, including fewer days in the office. But many women are not interested in working from home all the time. Some 41 percent of women say that sociability and connections are among their top reasons for returning to work.

Women are not alone in wanting changes to work schedules. Interest in a four-day work week is growing across all age and gender groups. Almost two-fifths of employees would be willing to trade 5 percent of their salary for a shorter work week, according a ManpoerGroup consumer survey. Globally, only one in 10 firms offers a four-day work week.

The vast majority of workers, 64 percent, say they would consider looking for a new job if they were required to return to the office full-time and one in three would take another role in the next month if it offered a better blend of work and lifestyle.

But at the same time, over 80 percent of workers and employers believe in-person collaboration generates the most creative ideas and drives camaraderie within the workplace.

Generation Z, which includes people born in the mid-1990s and later, will make up over a quarter of the workforce in 2025.

“Their demands on employers and on balancing personal and work life are much different than those of previous generations,” Jaroslava Rezlerová, CEO of ManpowerGroup CR, said.

According to Manpower’s survey, Gen Z is interested in “green-collar jobs” that help to promote and protect the environment. The pace of green-collar job creation will accelerate in 2023.

Halbrštát said that it is becoming clear to companies that they have to offer something more than money to attract this group. “The younger generation in particular is looking for a deeper meaning, and involvement in social or environmental issues,” Halbrštát said.