4 HR Trends to Secure Top Candidates in 2024

HR trends show that departments are losing control of their employees.

In 2021, 47.4 million American workers quit their jobs—a historic number! This has left companies (and human resource departments) baffled as to why so many employees are not satisfied with their positions. And scrambling to replace openings quickly to not lose any more money.

When employees churn, it’s usually a sign of a poor employee experience or work environment (e.g., burnout or inadequate HR support). One thing’s for sure: the great employee exodus of 2021 will continue to impact HR trends in 2024 as companies fight to prevent their best staff from leaving.

B2B leaders are no longer driving the big changes in their organization—employees are. Employees today hold more leverage than ever determining the hiring process, choosing their work environment and hours, and shaping company values. And HR has no choice but to support this shift or expect more resignation letters to keep piling up.

What will the world of HR look like in five years? Nobody can say for sure, but some B2B HR trends have already started to emerge in 2024. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at four of the most important ones. Keep an eye on these trends, because they’re likely to have a big impact on the field for years to come. But first, let’s examine how B2B leaders “lost control” over employees.

How HR departments lost control

Those of us in Gen X (born 1965-1980) and older millennials (born 1981-1996) remember we were happy to just get a job. We would do nearly anything to please our bosses and companies—even if it came at our own expense. Ah! the good old days, when we had to take the discrimination, controlling managers, long hours with inadequate pay, and poor working conditions and just keep trucking!

Today’s workforce is a lot more vocal about what they want. Employees aren’t just telling their bosses or HR what they need, they’re demanding it. And if our bosses, working conditions, or work-life balance leave too much to be desired, we’re out the door.

We should say that this sadly doesn’t apply to all employees. As in the past, this decade’s HR trends show employees with top education, experience, and skills have the most leverage to choose their working conditions.

Still, it’s a changing work landscape, and economists see two main events as having a lot of responsibility for HR departments losing control when reducing churn: the Great Resignation and the anti-work movement.

1. The Great Resignation: In 2021, employers watched in horror as record numbers of employees left the job force. One reason was beyond the employers’ control—just a minor health situation you might not have heard of, the COVID-19 pandemic. With businesses shutting down or drastically reducing services, many people were laid off or saw their hours chopped. Others quit out of concern for their health. But the pandemic was also a catalyst for employees to reevaluate their own value and begin questioning things like poor working conditions, low pay, and unfulfilling careers. Regardless of the reason, the Great Resignation of 2021 has had impacts on the job market and economy that are still being felt in 2024 HR trends. Human resources are still struggling to recover, as are unemployment rates in some regions.
2. The Anti-work movement: Have you visited r/antiwork recently? It’s one of the most talked-about (and controversial) places on the internet! This flourishing social movement is all about challenging the assumption that work is a good and necessary part of life. It critiques the way work has come to dominate our lives, encroaching on our leisure time and causing stress and burnout. Anti-work advocates for a more balanced approach to life, in which work takes up less of our time and energy and we can all enjoy our leisure time, pursue our passions, and build strong relationships with the people we love. This has caused an increase in workers negotiating better pay, vacation times and working conditions and if not given, quitting their jobs for better companies.

Some say these two industry changes are only temporary; once the pandemic is completely under control, employees won’t have high demands. And of course, some less-than-awesome employers definitely hope this will all blow over. But if 47.4 million people decide to quit their jobs in a single year, we think it’s safe to say that will affect employee demands and human resources for years to come.

In fact, new data shows these trends will be here to stay long after face masks and vaccine mandates are forgotten, so let’s get into it so you can prepare for upcoming HR trends and gain back control.

4 Emerging HR Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2024

1. Employees demand hybrid work and job flexibility

The first HR trend spurred on by the pandemic is hybrid work (working both on site and remotely). Now, you may already know that remote work was first introduced as a solution to lockdowns (yay, Zoom calls!), but now that employees have experienced office, remote, and hybrid work, they now get to decide which one they prefer.

And the results are in… 77% of higher-growth companies in one survey reported higher productivity levels with hybrid work. And Accenture reports 74% of Gen Z respondents prefer interacting with colleagues face to face, followed by Baby Boomers (68%) and Gen Xers (66%).

It seems that hybrid work is the happy medium between in-office and remote work. And this model is working for both small and large companies. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, says,

“People are more productive working at home than people would have expected. Some people thought that everything was just going to fall apart, and it hasn’t. And a lot of people are actually saying that they’re more productive now.”

Employees are loving not being micromanaged (who would have guessed?), having a flexible schedule, and spending less time and money on The Dreaded Commute.

HR future trends show that departments need to be equipped to support leaders and employees in transitioning their schedules so they can stay productive and efficient while at home. Since around 34% of companies will adopt the hybrid work model in 2024, let’s take a look at a few HR initiatives.

How HR can prepare for hybrid work environments:

• Develop policies to address the unique challenges the model brings regarding discrimination, timekeeping, employee conduct, attendance and punctuality.
• Test to see if your candidate is a good fit for a hybrid position. There are a variety of skills assessments and personality tests that can do the trick. For current employees who need to transition to a hybrid role, evaluate past performance to see if they would have any challenges or learning curves you’ll need to address first.
• Spotlight your hybrid roles in your strategy is one good recruiting tip. There are several strategies to use, like offering a hybrid option once an employee generates a certain revenue (if they’re in a sales role) or offering it as an incentive after working at the company for a period of time!
• Give department heads and leaders insight into online employee performance, challenges, feedback and relationships with colleagues and managers to help employees excel during hybrid work is a HR trend in 2024.
• Have the right HR management tools in your technology stack to best manage your staff through their transition. One tool you’ll wonder how you lived without is Lusha—an email finder and lead enrichment tool for recruiters that enriches business and personal data on your candidates and staff. The data includes past work experience, job description, geography location and up to 37 data points. It will automatically filter out any leads or staff who don’t meet the requirements for a hybrid position.

2. Manager roles are transforming to support hybrid teams

According to one study of B2B leaders, 81% believe hybrid work will be the foremost working model by 2024, with 56% of work done off site. As more companies adopt this model, job boards will feature more openings for hybrid managers; many companies will also transition onsite managers to hybrid roles.

Hybrid team managers face new challenges—mastering a host of new skills and technology; keeping their teams productive both in the cold, hard office and on that comfy couch in their living room; and keeping employees from leaving by making sure they feel included and addressing areas of dissatisfaction.

So an important new trend in HR is supporting managers as their roles evolve, helping them remain skillful and productive.

How HR can support managers’ transition:

• Prevent and stop proximity bias (favoring employees who are in office) and preferential treatment by setting up systems and workflows where both hybrid and non-hybrid teams feel included and can communicate and interact with managers. Keep an eye on whether some employees are getting more meetings than others or if remote workers are losing opportunities.
• Shift focus from tasks to managing the full experience of hybrid employees. This emerging trend in 204 includes managing their career trajectory, their work-life balance, and their relationship with their leaders. Managers will need to understand each employee’s needs and motivations and tailor their approach accordingly. They’ll also need to keep up with the latest trends in hybrid employee experience management, such as the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics. By doing so, they can ensure that their organizations are able to attract and retain the best talent.
• Provide guidance on communicating and collaborating with team members in different locations. HR can also help design workflows that are efficient and effective for hybrid teams—making it a more seamless transition for everyone.
• Have frank discussions with managers about the challenges that come with distributed teams. Being honest can help defuse the complexity and ambiguity that can often arise. Also, HR leaders can guide managers on best practices for managing distributed teams, ensuring everyone’s on the same page and working towards common goals.

3. The 4-day workweek may become a reality

The traditional workweek is Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM (hey, didn’t they do a musical about that?) However, there’s a growing movement to shorten the workweek to four days while keeping employees’ pay and benefits the same. Proponents of the four-day workweek say it can lead to increased productivity, better work-life balance, and reduced stress levels. Companies like Shopify and Kickstarter have already added Friday to the weekend, and HR departments are in a unique position to study these initiatives and determine whether they would be a good fit for their organizations.

The four-day workweek pairs perfectly with remote and hybrid work. When employees are working in their best element, they get their work done faster and some are able to get all their work done in just four days. You also have companies in general reducing their onsite workforce, which in turn requires fewer days of work. So although the four-day workweek isn’t a new concept, it’s gaining popularity as more companies realize it’s possible for them.

With this strategy you can gain more top candidates. Some of the best talent today, the ones who have the right education, skills and experience, demand a certain quality of life to even consider working for your company. Stay up to date with HR trends that will support shorter workweeks.

How HR can support the four-day work week 

• Run a pilot program and collect data on employee satisfaction, productivity, and absenteeism. This information can then be used to make a decision about whether to implement a four-day workweek on a permanent basis.
• Develop a new attendance policy that takes into account the different scheduling needs of employees. For example, some employees may prefer to work longer hours four days a week in order to take every Friday off, while others may prefer a more evenly distributed schedule.
• Create policies that encourage workers to take advantage of their extra free time. For example, encourage employees to use one of their free days for developing skills related to their role.

4. Employees need diverse mental health and wellness support

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” Mental health has traditionally been seen as an individual responsibility, but the workplace is also an important setting for promoting mental health and wellbeing, and it’s also one of the biggest HR trends in 2024. No longer just a place to clock in, suffer through eight hours, and clock out, the workplace can provide a sense of purpose and community, offer opportunities for social interaction and personal development, and actually protect against isolation and exclusion.

Of course, the workplace can also be a source of stress. Workplaces that are inflexible, demanding, and overly challenging can not only lead to feelings of anxiety and depression, but also negatively impact employee morale and job satisfaction. What’s more, the absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover associated with mental health issues cost companies a significant amount of money.

The good news is HR departments are increasingly focusing on the mental health of employees. Many companies are now offering programs and services to help employees manage their mental health—everything from stress management training to counseling and therapy. By taking steps to improve the mental health of employees, companies can boost productivity, reduce turnover, and create a more positive work environment.

The importance of diversity when addressing mental health

Mental health conditions span a wide spectrum, from depression and anxiety to autism, PTSD and bipolar disorder. And while there are many effective treatments available, one size does not fit all when it comes to mental health care. That’s why it’s so important for human resources to be aware of the many factors that can influence a person’s mental health, including race, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and socioeconomic status. By understanding the unique experiences and needs of each individual employee, leaders can tackle these HR initiatives in 2024 , more effectively addressing issues in the workplace and providing the support system and onsite care employees need.

How HR can support diverse mental health issues

• Offer training on how to deal with stress, provide access to counseling services, and implement flexible working arrangements. By taking these steps, HR can create a more supportive and healthy workplace environment.
• Create policies (like a hotline during work hours or confidential health assessments) and procedures that promote a healthy work-life balance and offer support for employees dealing with mental health issues. HR can even provide training for managers on how to identify and address mental health concerns among their team members.
• Promote a culture of open communication and understanding. This means creating an environment where employees feel comfortable talking about their mental health without fear of judgement or discrimination. You can also participate in Mental Health Awareness Month (May) to kick off this HR trend.
• Identify early signs of mental illness by providing employees with yearly or quarterly assessments and provide referrals to employee assistance programs.

Key Takeaways

• Human resources departments have lost control of their employees because of the mass resignation of 47.4 million employees in 2021. Employees are becoming unsatisfied with work and their roles at a record rate.
• HR trends in 2024 are heavily shaped by two social movements: the great resignation and the anti work movement. Hybrid work, more hybrid managers, the 4-day work week and better mental health are merging this year.
• If you want to rock these HR trends, download Lusha, an HR management tool that you can use when sending cold recruitment emails. When prospecting for leads on LinkedIn, inside your Gmail inbox or on B2B websites, Lusha will deliver an accurate email address on your lead as well as past work history, and more data points. It’s an incredibly useful tool to see if your leads and staff are qualified for hybrid roles and to learn more about them as you implement trends and improve their work environment.

Sign up for Lusha today!