Despite these solid job numbers, the question is: How much longer can the job market hold on? According to the BLS monthly jobs report, the labor force participation rate ticked down slightly from 62.2% to 62.1% last month. Not to mention, the Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover survey (JOLTs) showed that job openings edged down nearly 4% to 10.3 million in October. Here’s a breakdown of the latest job numbers along with key takeaways to help employers plan for the months ahead.

Cheers to Hiring in Bars and Restaurants

Santa came early this year, bringing a sleigh full of jobs to bars and restaurants in November. Leading the way in hiring in the BLS monthly jobs report, the leisure and hospitality sector saw gains of 88,000 with bars and restaurants benefiting from the bulk of the job growth.

Monster job numbers show similar results. Over the past month, the top active jobs hiring in bars and restaurants include:

• Cooks
• Food preparation and serving workers (including fast food)
• Waiters and waitresses

From the candidate side, top job searches within the category include:

• Server
• Bartender
• Cook

While it’s great to see growth in an industry that undoubtedly took one of the biggest hits at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leisure and hospitality still has a long way to go. Currently 980,000 jobs (5.8%) below its February 2020 level, the hiring momentum we saw last year in bars and restaurants has significantly slowed even though COVID-19 restrictions have subsided and life has returned to a more “normal” state. To put it into perspective, the industry has averaged only 82,000 jobs per month so far in 2022…less than half of the average gain of 196,000 jobs per month in 2021.

Monster economist Giacomo Santangelo attributes this deceleration largely to inflation. “The cost of gasoline and general inflation is cutting into people’s ability to spend more on leisure,” he says.

Temperature Check: Healthcare Job Market Remains Hot

After suffering a major labor crisis in 2021, hiring in healthcare has been solid in the latter half of 2022 as employment continued to expand in November. With gains of 45,000 seen in the BLS monthly jobs report, healthcare employment has increased by an average of 47,000 in 2022 compared to 9,000 in 2021.

Looking ahead, Santangelo expects this growth to continue into 2023 and beyond. “The hiring will continue until the job demand is filled,” he says. “Until that happens, we can expect a hot market for healthcare workers with high pay and benefits to attract workers.” In fact, it’s estimated that the sector will need 1.2 million new registered nurses by 2030.

On Monster, demand for healthcare workers continued over the past month as well, particularly for nurses. While “registered nurse” was the #1 active job hiring overall in November, other top active job ads included:

• Nursing assistants
• Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

With benefits and wages increasing in healthcare, Monster data also showed continued interest in the category from job seekers. Some of the top healthcare job searches over the past month were for:

• Registered nurse
• Medical assistant
• LPN (licensed practical/vocational nurse)

There’s a Ho-Ho-Hold Up in Retail and Transportation Hiring

Despite the overall solid job numbers in the BLS monthly report, job losses were reported in retail (-30,000) and transportation and warehousing (-15,000). Typically, this season of gift buying and giving sparks a hiring frenzy within these two industries as firms bulk up workforces for the holiday rush. But, as we’re seeing, holiday hiring hasn’t been the same this year. By mid-November, companies had announced plans of hiring just 592,400 seasonal jobs — a 37% decrease compared to last year.

“With new potential supply chain issues on the horizon, given China’s difficulty with their ‘zero-COVID policy’ and recent uncertainty with the U.S. rail situation, firms are being cautious,” Santangelo says. “We also cannot forget that retailers learned how to be profitable during the 2020 holiday lockdown with fewer workers.”

Monster job numbers, on the other hand, were more positive. When looking at the top ten active job postings overall in November, we couldn’t help but notice a few positions hiring in retail, transportation, and warehousing. These include:

• Customer service representative (#2 overall)
• Heavy and tractor-trailer trucker drives (#4 overall)
• Stock clerks – stockroom, warehouse, or storage yard (#7 overall)
• Retail salespersons (#9 overall)

Meanwhile, Monster data also shows candidates looking for work that may be holiday oriented. Some of the top keywords searched by candidates in November include:

• Part-time (#4 overall)
• Customer service (#5 overall)
• Retail (#9 overall)

Tech Layoffs Could Trickle to Other Industries

According to the recent JOLTs report, the number of total layoffs and discharges increased slightly in October to 1.4 million. While the bulk of layoffs reported in the JOLTs report wasn’t concentrated in any particular industry, it’s been hard to ignore recent headlines of big tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Salesforce, and more, reducing headcount.

“It is likely that tech is just the first to institute layoffs,” Santangelo says. “We should expect more layoff announcements at more firms as the new year arrives. Firms are aware of the impending recession. Not only is consumer confidence down, but also CEO confidence. If you think the ship is taking on water, you don’t take on more passengers. You force them to embark while you wait for the water to stop leaking into the boat.”

Consumer Prices Continue to Outpace Wage Growth

High inflation has driven large pay increases month over month in 2022. November was no different. According to the BLS monthly jobs report, average hourly wages increased by 18 cents (0.6%) to $32.82. Over the past 12 months, wages have increased by 5.1%, while consumer prices have risen at a much faster pace (7.7%) year over year.

“As long as the cost of living is growing faster than wages, the average worker will experience decreases in their standard of living,” Santangelo says. “That being said, there’s only so much that a firm can raise wages before they are forced to pass that increase in labor costs onto the consumer.”

Over the past several months, the Federal Reserve has enacted a number of hefty interest rate hikes aimed to combat inflation and slow the job market. Reports indicate that rates will continue to rise and remain elevated through 2023. We will continue to monitor the impact of these interest rate increases in the months ahead.

Stay Tuned for the Next Monthly Jobs Report

Monster aims to provide employers with the insight needed to move forward. As you plan your hiring strategy over the next month, download Monster’s Q4 Jobs Report to help you end the year strong.

We’ll see you again in January when we’ll release our next take on the monthly jobs report.

The post Monthly Jobs Report: Monster’s Hiring Snapshot appeared first on Monster.com.

Employers take note. According to a new Monster poll, nearly all workers (98%) believe companies should put salary ranges in job postings, and more than half (53%) would decide not to apply for a job that doesn’t.

“People expect to see a salary range in a job posting, and it makes sense,” says Bryan Driscoll, a lawyer and HR consultant in Orlando, Fla. “If a company only wants to pay half of what I want, let’s not waste either of our time, right?”

That said, companies aren’t necessarily racing to comply.

“Some companies believe that disclosing salaries will turn off potential candidates, as they may worry that the salary offered is too low or too high,” says Michelle Hague, HR manager at solar panel installer Solar Panels Network USA. “Ultimately, the answer depends on a number of factors, including industry trends and state laws.”

Here’s where the situation stands.

Pay Transparency Laws Vary by State

In the U.S., employers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, and New York (New York City, specifically) are required to disclose base compensation to job seekers, says Vicki Salemi, a career expert for Monster. And Rhode Island and Washington will follow suit in January 2023. But the laws aren’t uniform across states.

“Requirements can be quite different between jurisdictions,” Salemi says. “For instance, in Colorado, employers are required to list the pay range and benefits for every job opening, whereas in Maryland, employers must provide pay ranges to candidates upon request.”

Differing state laws can make it difficult for companies located in multiple states to comply. “This is absolutely one issue that’s driving companies mad,” Driscoll says. “If a company is fully remote and they want to post a job online, how do they comply with the laws in states like California where they may not have any employees yet? It’s a constant juggle.”

Salary Is Important, but So Is Work-Life Balance

Monster found that six in ten workers (61%) say salary is their top consideration when looking for a new job. But other workers say they place things like work-life balance (16%) and benefits and perks (7%) at the top of their list.

For applicants looking for the full salary lowdown, pay transparency laws haven’t ironed out all of the wrinkles yet. “What I’ve noticed is that companies do not share the full compensation picture on their job postings,” says Brandon Bramley, founder of The Salary Negotiator, a salary negotiation coaching company. “They will usually only list the base salary range or a target compensation for the role. This confuses job seekers because they do not have visibility into the total compensation.”

Workers are Optimistic About the Future of Pay Transparency

More than half of workers (53%) think pay transparency will eventually result in salary equity and smaller or no pay gaps, according to Monster’s data, and 43% think it will lead to higher pay overall for workers.

In general, salary disclosure in job ads may lead to a better match, attracting candidates who are better suited for the role and more likely to be satisfied in their position, says Linda Shaffer, chief people and operations officer at background check company Checkr. “As such, it is an important issue that HR professionals need to carefully consider when crafting job postings and managing their recruitment process.”

Pay Transparency Gives Workers Leverage

Four in ten workers say that if they see a job posting for their position or a similar one from their employer with higher pay, they’d use it as leverage to get a raise, according to Monster’s poll. And if a company violates salary disclosure laws, more than three-quarters (77%) of workers would consider reporting them.

Then, of course, there’s the leverage that pay transparency lends to the job seeking process. “It’s another criteria for a job applicant to reject a company before going down the application rabbit hole,” Driscoll says. “It definitely puts a little more power in the applicant’s hands, but I think that levels the playing field.”

As more states enact laws, companies will have to learn to deal with pay transparency requirements. Employers posting jobs in states and cities with salary disclosure laws should include a salary range on job postings. (This includes remote jobs.)

Employers in states without laws (yet) might take this chance to get ahead of the curve and proactively post salary info. Monster, for instance, has published salaries for all U.S. based jobs at Monster.

“Ultimately, while some employers may continue to resist this trend, many others will likely embrace it in order to attract the best talent,” Hague says. “As a result, we can expect to see continued changes in hiring practices as employers adapt to the evolving landscape of salary disclosure.”

The post Monster Poll: Workers Want Pay Transparency appeared first on Monster.com.

“Ex-military personnel are known to be people with a strong work ethic, dedication to perfection, and the ability to cope with high-pressure situations,” says Roger Broussard, CEO and founder of airline pilot site Pilot School Hero. “Veterans are an employer’s dream in many ways.”

But veterans’ experiences are unique, and don’t always fit neatly into traditional skills boxes. “Hiring managers can have difficulties filling gaps between the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the positions and the resumes provided by applicants,” says Ameé Quiricono, founder of talent consulting firm Activity Girl.

If you’re looking to add more veterans to your team, these strategies can help you understand veteran skills and matching them to your needs.

Train Your Recruiters

A company’s recruiters are in the best position to understand the potential of a veteran employee and to help them find their best fit at the company. How can you help your hiring managers do this? One solution is to have them go through the Veterans at Work Certificate program from the SHRM.

“It gives you some tools and resources as an employer to work through employing veterans that transition from military life to civilian life,” says Matthew Burr, a human resources consultant in Elmira, N.Y. “It also gives you tools for veteran spouses.”

A bonus: You’ll get continuing education credit for getting the certificate.

“As a veteran who participates in outreach and works with veterans, I have seen a lot of programs, but this one is my favorite,” says Lisa Ducharme, a retired Air Force Veteran and instructor of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans at the University of Connecticut School of Business. “This program is specifically designed to equip individuals with the actionable knowledge and tools needed to attract, hire, and retain veterans and members of the military community in the workplace.”

Use a Skills Translator

There are tools available that can help you make a direct connection between what a veteran has done and how that expertise translates to corporate skills. Military.com, for instance, offers the Reverse Military Skills Translator (R-MST), which can help companies cross-reference their needs with every military occupation that’s existed over the last 25 years.

Recruiters can use the R-MST in two ways:

• by searching for a military occupation specialty and getting a list of jobs that are possible matches, or
• by searching for job titles and finding military occupations that match up.

Recruiters can also use a tool like the R-MST to build job ads, by searching for the job title and noting which military specialties might be a good fit for the role. This will not only increase veteran engagement, but will also indicate that you’re looking to hire veterans in general.

Connect with Veteran Organizations

“There is a wealth of programs that now help veterans transition out of the military,” says Sam Alaimo, co-founder and chief revenue officer at AI tech firm ZeroEyes. “Identify these and express your interest in supporting the organization and offer to become a mentor to transitioning veterans.”

You can also reach out to veteran-specific organizations and resources, such as transition assistance programs or veteran job fairs.

Veterans within your organization can help with your hiring process. “Seek counsel from your internal DEI team,” says Kyle DeVenezia, a management consultant at MorganFranklin and a Special Forces veteran. “They’ve got first-hand experience that can help your hiring team connect veterans to your jobs.”

Explore Softer Skills

In many ways, a traditional application process may leave out soft skills that would make a veteran a standout at your company.

“Soft traits like discipline, initiative, the ability to control one’s own ego, and, above all, placing the team and the mission above oneself, are worth their weight in gold in the private sector,” Alaimo says. “Business leaders are constantly searching for — and failing to find — leaders who truly embody these traits.”

The more your application and interview process can emphasize and encourage the discussion of soft skills, the better your chances of being able to capture and understand what a veteran brings to the table.

“Veterans’ skills are far more than the job they held in the military,” Ducharme says. “Many veterans have management and leadership skills, can pivot, are great team players, etc. Many times during our military careers, we are doing more than just what our job is.”

The post 4 Ways to Translate Veteran Skills Into Your Job Openings appeared first on Monster.com.

But as recently as 2019, only 13% of companies had hit the Department of Labor’s target of 7% disability representation, according to the National Organization on Disability. Building a workforce that includes people with disabilities requires looking at how you hire.

“The hiring process is one of the most critical stages of your company’s commitment to disability inclusion,” says Kimberley Tyler-Smith of online resume site Resume Worded. “This is where you bring in candidates who will make up the core of your team, and it’s also where you can start to build a culture of inclusivity.”

Here’s how to get started:

Widen Your Pool

Look outside your usual sources for job candidates, and try some spaces that focus on inclusion, like Inclusion Inc., Ability Jobs, Getting Hired and We Connect the Dots. Consider an organization like NSITE, a nonprofit that works to place blind and low-vision candidates in high-paying roles.

“Partner with schools and organizations that serve people with disabilities or neurodiverse conditions, such as the Autism Society of America, National Down Syndrome Society, and United Cerebral Palsy,” says Linda Shaffer, chief people and operations officer at Checkr.

Revamp Your Resume Process

Studies show that unconscious bias affects the way people make hiring decisions, with markers as basic as names leading to different outcomes. The music industry realized this decades ago and now often has musicians audition from behind a screen.

“I make sure to blind screen all resumes using a recruitment software that removes names and other personal information,” says Anthony Quint, CEO and founder of media company Get On Stream.

One thing that’s crucial to removing bias is to decide what qualities you’re seeking for a role before you look at candidates. Understanding what you want — technical skills, a certain number of years of experience, etc. — can help you make goal-based decisions.

Make Your Company Accessible

There are a variety of ways to make your company (online and in person) an accessible workplace, which both makes it possible for people with disabilities to work there and signals that you take accessibility seriously. For example, if you’re using video chat to conduct interviews with deaf or hard-of-hearing candidates, consider hiring someone who can help facilitate better two-way communication between the interviewer and the candidate.

“Ensure that your website is accessible to people with disabilities by using alt text for images, closed captioning for videos, and clear and concise language,” Shaffer says. Make online applications accessible and provide a hotline or page where candidates can seek assistance if they need it.

Showcasing workplace accessibility is also important. “This includes privacy chambers, installing ramps, removing floor bumps, removing any triggers (loud noises or strobe lighting), and making other changes to have all types of people comfortable to work in the office,” says Simon Brisk, CEO of digital marketing firm Click Intelligence.

Review Your Job Requirements

The language you use in your job advertisements can include or exclude various groups of people.

“People living with disabilities are commonly excluded from job descriptions,” says Adrienne Couch, human resources analyst with business site LLC.services. “Go through your job descriptions and add special accommodations that will be appealing and attractive to neurodiverse candidates or people living with disabilities.”

Inclusive recruitment language is an art form — you may not realize that some phrases you’re using exclude certain groups of people. And it can be helpful to note in the job posting that your company strives to create a diverse workplace.

Consider Flexible Interview Options

The traditional hiring process can be hard for candidates with disabilities who might prefer a different interview format. “Consider switching interview options and letting candidates who qualify choose an interview mode they are comfortable with,” Couch says.

Consider, too, providing candidates a chance to highlight their skills by performing tasks or otherwise showing you how they’d work on the job, versus a traditional interview format. “Judging them based on how they perform during interviews could give a false impression,” Couch says.

Walk the Walk

If you’re committed to inclusive hiring, it helps to show job seekers that you’re serious about your goals.

“One way to do this is by hiring people with disabilities or neurodiverse job seekers into leadership roles within your organization,” Tyler-Smith says. “This gives potential applicants an idea of what it’s like working at your company, while also allowing them to get a sense of what they could accomplish in their own careers if they joined your organization.”

A Win for Everyone

Research proves that a diverse workforce reduces turnover, boosts morale, and improves your company’s bottom line. In the end, hiring people with disabilities is a win for everyone.

The post Is your hiring process inclusive of people with disabilities? appeared first on Monster.com.

Even so, a slower holiday season is still a bump up from the rest of the year. If you’re a business that hires for the season, here are strategies for handling seasonal hiring when spending may be lower than usual.

Hire Internally First

If you’ll need to fill additional shifts, consider whether you can offer them to your current employees.

“They may want to pick up extra shifts to earn more for the holidays,” says Marina Vaamonde, owner and founder of online house marketplace HouseCashin. “If you’ve got enough people to cover the expected increase in workload, you might not have to look outside, or you would need to hire fewer temporary workers than normal.”

This may require training your staff on the art of the “holiday hustle,” says Eric Elggren, co-founder of leather accessories company Andar. “Upselling, moving quickly, and managing multiple customers at once are skills that all holiday retail workers need to have. If you have a staff that’s honed these skills, you may not need to hire, train, and pay many more workers for the holidays.”

Skew Toward More Flexible Positions

When you’re not sure what your needs will be — but you anticipate them being lighter than usual — you need the ability to be light on your feet. Hiring part-time or temporary workers can give you the freedom to move workers around as needed.

“This will give you the flexibility to adjust your staffing levels based on changes in customer traffic,” says Arno Markus, founder of iCareerSolutions. If demand is higher than expected, you can increase hours for the part-time workers that want them.

This also gives you the opportunity to offer flexible work in an economy where “flexible” is what workers want. Ninety-four percent of workers want flexible hours, according to a survey from Future Forum, a consortium on the future of work.

Hire Strategically

When hiring for an uncertain spending season, you may need to have a few tricks up your sleeve. For instance, consider hiring seasonal workers who can contribute in multiple ways.

“It may make sense to hire someone who has more experience in other areas of the company so that they can take on those extra responsibilities when needed,” says Kimberley Tyler-Smith of Resume Worded.

If you’re hiring fewer workers, it’s also imperative that you screen candidates carefully and make sure you hire well. “In a slower economy, there will be more people vying for seasonal jobs, so it’s important to be selective in order to find the best possible employees,” says Phi Dange, director of home service company Sidepost.

Don’t Skimp Too Much

Even with a predicted slowdown in seasonal spending, dropping your hiring too low can backfire when you don’t have the help you need. Target recently announced that it will hire 100,000 seasonal workers this year — exactly what the major retailer hired last year.

“The holiday season is more about the experience and emotions attached to it, and seasonal team members are an important part of this and are also important to ensure businesses deliver customer needs,” says Adrienne Couch, human resources analyst with business site LLC.services.

Has Seasonal Hiring Been Adequate?

Consider, too, whether your seasonal hiring has been adequate in the past. “I’ve yet to find a retail store that needs to hire seasonal help [manage to] hire an adequate amount of them, leaving even the seasonal helpers overworked and regular employees downright drowning,” says Dragos Badea, CEO of hybrid workforce management company Yarooms. “Regular hiring patterns against slower demand might be a good thing in the long run, as you’ll experience a good deal fewer holiday attrition-style quittings at the peak of the season.”

The post How to hire for a slower holiday season appeared first on Monster.com.

Although there’s been a lot of buzz about quiet quitting, not everyone is buying the hype. What if quiet quitting is really just the pendulum swinging from “lean in” culture?

“The term ‘quiet quitting’ is misleading, because it refers to doing exactly what is required of you by your job description, rather than leaning in to take on the extra work of two or more employees just to win favor,” says Sep Niakan, managing broker at CondoBlackBook.com. “It involves establishing a reasonable limit on what an employee will and won’t do.”

Why ‘Quiet Quitting’ Isn’t the Best Term

The problem with “quiet quitting” is that many workers aren’t in danger of leaving — they’re doing what they were hired to do.

Jill Santopietro Panall, a human resources consultant at 21Oak HR Consulting describes quiet quitting as simply not overworking yourself. “Quiet quitting really pertains to people just doing their nine-to-five, and you know what? That’s what you’re going to get from folks who aren’t living to work.”

In a job market with 11.2 million open positions, workers have more power than ever. What that means, in some cases, is that they’d rather not put in the long hours that some employers used to expect.

“This new trend is a response to grind culture, which refers to the mentality that workers have to be switched on, work longer hours and be available to work at all times to achieve success,” says Gareth Hoyle, managing director at search engine marketing firm Marketing Signals. “Quiet quitting is about making a healthy work-life balance and setting boundaries.”

Real Warning Signs

While many HR experts object to the term “quiet quitting,” it’s true that some workers have become disengaged. Those are the workers who aren’t doing their jobs, or they aren’t doing them well.

“In the current economic climate, with wages struggling to keep pace with spiraling inflation and endemic staff shortages causing burnout, I don’t blame some employees for feeling undervalued and becoming increasingly disengaged from their work,” says John Ricco, cofounder of recruiting company Atlantic Group.

Here are some signs that should concern you:

• Lack of communication. Pay attention if an employee stops responding to emails or phone calls for extended periods of time. “It’s usually because they’re starting to mentally check out,” says Bonnie Whitfield, human resources director for vacation site Family Destinations Guide.
• Change of work habits. If your go-getter employee has suddenly pulled back, that’s likely a sign that something’s going on.
• Change in attitude toward others. Is an employee talking badly about co-workers or managers? “This can be a red flag that they no longer care for their work or the company,” Whitfield says.
• Keeping a new schedule. It’s one thing to work your regular hours. It’s another to be consistently late, leave consistently early or take many more sick days.

What Employers Can Do

If an employee seems to have changed their work efforts, there are a few things you can put in place to try to reel them back in:

• Have an open conversation. Does an employee seem unhappy? Ask them about it. “Having that relationship and that culture where people are open to expressing themselves honestly is important,” says Matthew Burr, a human resources consultant in Elmira, N.Y.
• Make sure you’re paying enough. “An employer should first ensure that they are properly compensating employees according to their skills, experience and market rate,” says Adrienne Couch, human resources analyst with business site LLC. Services. “Proper compensation is enough to keep an employee committed and highly performing.”
• Adjust your expectations. What are you expecting of your workers? Is it reasonable? If you’re looking for an employee to be available during off hours and on weekends, or you’re asking them to take on more responsibilities than their job encompasses, you may want to rethink.

If employees are pulling back, it’s time to examine your work practices. “Most of the time, this form of protest arises due to inflexible working conditions, inadequate pay or an insufficient benefits scheme,” says Andrew Gonzales, president of BusinessLoans.com. “Speak with your team directly as soon as you notice the signs of quiet quitting. Otherwise, it could have a serious impact on your business’s longevity.”

Monster’s Quiet Quitting Poll Data

• The clear majority (62%) of workers say that they’re currently quiet quitting (36%) or have thought about it (26%) after learning what the term means.
  • Alarmingly, the top two reasons for workers quiet quitting or thinking about it are feeling burned out (61%) and being underpaid for what they’re asked to do (60%).
  • 58% of workers cite prioritizing work-life balance as their reason for quiet quitting or thinking about it.
• On the other hand, almost 40% of workers are not thinking about quiet quitting.
  • The top reason to avoid quiet quitting is that they like their job and want to exceed expectations (44%).
  • However, 34% think that quiet quitting is just an excuse to be lazy at work and 22% are worried about being fired, laid off or demoted.
• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of workers have been asked to work extra hours outside of their contracted hours.

Source: Monster poll conducted among workers, September 6, 2022

The post Is quiet quitting really about boundaries? appeared first on Monster.com.

Even as the country largely returns to pre-COVID protocols, working parents and employees with family responsibilities are still dealing with COVID complications, such as long absences from work and school when someone in the family gets COVID. This is in addition to everything else that parents and caregivers are juggling.

If you’re looking for ways to retain and support your talented parent and caregiver employees, here are some benefits you might consider:

Flexibility

It can’t be stated enough: flexibility is crucial for anyone managing responsibilities outside of work, whether that’s children, aging parents, or even a pet. Unless you’re a business that requires dealing with customers or on-site work, giving employees the freedom to complete their work on a schedule that works for them is a key benefit.

“Offering things like flexible hours, telecommuting, and condensed work weeks can make a big difference,” says Linda Shaffer, chief people and operations officer at Checkr, an HR technology platform. “At Checkr, we offer flexible start and end times, allowing people to work around their children’s schedules. We also have a remote work policy, which allows parents to work from home when needed.”

A Remote Work Stipend

A stipend that allows your workers to purchase supplies that make it easier for them to work remotely can increase their efficiency at home and make things easier. For instance, a parent working from home could benefit from things like a divider, noise-canceling headphones, a good microphone, or even a seat cushion that makes their chair more comfortable.

“I love when I see companies saying, ‘Find a quiet place in your home to work,’” says Jill Santopietro Panall, a human resources consultant at 21Oak HR Consulting. “If you have three or four children, that’s not a thing. What does that person need?”

Flexible Sick Time or COVID Days

COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, and with COVID absences requiring at least five days at home, workers can go through their sick days in record time. For instance, an employee may have to leave work just to pick up a child from school who’s tested positive for COVID.

“In some cases, companies are adding a little time that’s only for COVID,” Panall says. “It’s not extra time — it’s so they’re not getting killed on using their sick time when COVID keeps popping back up.”

A Working Parents ERG

Employee resource groups help different sets of people at a company feel connected and can strengthen employee engagement. An ERG for working parents can go a long way toward creating a supportive culture at your company. Monster, for instance, recently introduced a Parents and Caregivers ERG.

“Providing a safe space where employees can be their authentic selves and discuss how to better support and educate their workplace is highly effective,” says Adam Selita, CEO and cofounder of The Debt Relief Company. “ERGs have also been proven to help improve workplace satisfaction, as well as improve workplace conditions for employees who might feel marginalized.”

Child Care Support

Child care is a challenge for many working parents. Still, as recently as January 2020, only 6% of firms offered any child care benefits, according to a survey by B2B ratings platform Clutch. There are various ways to do this, including offering child care subsidies, backup child care assistance, or flexible child care spending accounts.

“Daycare is a big issue,” says Matthew Burr, a human resources consultant in Elmira, N.Y. “Is there an option to put a daycare center in your organization? As a perk or incentive? All those things are opportunities.”

Money Toward Education

If you have the means, offering benefits that can be used to pay for education can go a long way. According to data from Willis Towers Watson, an increasing number of companies are considering offering benefits like tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing or 529 contributions this year or next.

“I just reviewed an offer letter from a friend who’s going to a company that had monthly deposits you can use toward your own student loans or your college student’s tuition,” Panall says. “That really says, ‘We’re digging deep.’ That’s for companies with bigger, deeper pockets, but that’s such a hot topic right now.”

Showing You Value Your Parent and Caregiver Employees

The more you can show that you value your parent and caregiver employees, the better your chances of hiring and retaining great talent. “I think there’s been an evolution, and people’s expectations and demands are going to change,” Burr says. “If you’re not offering me what I need, I’m going to get on the Internet and find something different.”

The post 6 ways to support your working parent employees appeared first on Monster.com.

But as home life returns to something that looks more normal, some experts are recommending a return to full-time office life, particularly for Millennials and Gen Z. These are workers who could benefit from in-person work interaction and instruction to advance their careers.

But these are also generations that value flexibility. About two-thirds of Millennials (67%) and Gen Z (63%) workers believe remote work leads to a better work/life balance, according to a survey from Deloitte. And about six in ten said that after the pandemic ended, they’d like the option to work from a remote location more frequently.

While fully in-person work has its benefits, many employers plan to stick with some form of flexible work. Here’s the lay of the office land:

Most employers who went remote are happy with it

Some industries don’t have the option of remote work — think food services, retail, warehousing — but during the pandemic, about a third of private sector companies increased remote work opportunities for their employees, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of those, six in ten plan to keep the telework policies they put in place.

“We’ve been able to hire a wider variety of talent across the country, and despite being remote, we have high engagement, employee satisfaction, and virtually no turnover,” says Lauren Schneider, senior public relations manager for HR tech company Compt, which went fully remote at the start of the pandemic.

For Millennials and Gen Z workers, fully remote work gives them, among other things, the opportunity to work for high-profile companies while living in lower-cost areas. “Providing employees with the flexibility to work when, where, and how they want, shows them that you value their input and respect their time management skills,” says Kirill Sajaev, executive director and founder of digital marketing firm Auq.io.

Hybrid models are trending 

Employers understand that work flexibility drives worker retention — but many would still like to see their employees’ smiling faces now and then. Those are the companies asking workers to report to an office on at least a part-time basis. That meshes with a 2021 survey by McKinsey that found that nine out of ten companies planned to be hybrid post-pandemic.

“Personally, I think a hybrid model has the best of both worlds,” says John Frigo, eCommerce manager with Bestpricenutrition.com, which is bringing remote employees back to the office a few days a week. “It gives employees more flexibility and takes away some of the burdens of commuting, packing lunches, having work clothes ready to go, while also having the benefits of in-office work, such as people having relationships with one another and building rapport.”

Hybrid models allow workers to meet and collaborate as needed, but also to avoid some of the expense of full-time commuting, particularly as prices continue to climb, and allow companies to save on office expenses.

Fidelity Investments reports that a quarter of the company’s associates are participating in voluntary re-entry programs across all offices. During the next phase of re-entry, the company is asking teams to come to the office one week a month. And last fall, American Express introduced Amex Flex, a new work model allowing workers to choose a hybrid or remote work schedule.

“The majority of our colleagues in the U.S. have chosen a hybrid schedule, which means they come into the office an average of two days per week and work virtually for the rest,” says Claire Hogan, vice president and head of global talent acquisition at American Express. “More than 40% have opted to be fully virtual, a percentage that has doubled since before the pandemic.”

Remote work doesn’t work for everyone

Remote work isn’t a miracle setup for all companies, and some see the benefit of bringing everyone back to a central spot, particularly for new employees. For one thing, when you’re working remotely, you can’t pop your head into the partner’s office for a quick discussion or interrupt a manager near you with a question.

“Companies have found it difficult to reproduce this online,” says Rahul Vij, CEO of WebSpero Solutions, a digital marketing agency that is calling all its employees back to the office. “Clients and management notice the difference since new employees aren’t learning many essential aspects of the job, such as how to ask follow-up questions, or people skills in general.”

Other companies see the benefit of in-person camaraderie — something that requires real creativity to reproduce in a virtual workplace.

“We gain something when we interact with someone in person,” says Marcus Hutsen, business development manager of Patriot Coolers, which is returning to a full-time in-person model. “[It’s] something that can’t be duplicated by other modes of communication. If we need to go remote again sometime, we will, but for me, the default is to be working together in an office, as a team.”

The bottom line

It may be true that full-time, in-person work is beneficial to robust career development, but after two years of flexible work options, remote work may be a tough knot to unravel from company benefits.

“Flexible work schedules support the mental and physical health of employees, which in turn encourages and bolsters productivity,” says Sarah Hawk, COO of software firm Discourse. “If businesses recognized that the benefits of trust-based relationships outweigh the archaic need to micro-manage, productivity and health would soar.”

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It’s been a time of intense competition for talent and one of the most stressful work environments many people have ever experienced. Employers started offering extras like company-wide mental health days, work-from-home stipends, and flexible hours to accommodate caregiving.

But with inflation at 9% in June and some big companies announcing layoffs, experts are watching to see whether employers keep their benefits extras.

“I think it depends on what type of company it is and what its goals are when it comes to human resources,” says Caitlyn Parish, CEO, and founder of retail company Cicinia. “If they value a happy, mentally healthy employee, I don’t think they’ll take away such perks.”

Here are some factors affecting these decisions:

Companies are desperate for workers

While the economy has made things tight in some sectors, employers still need people to do the work. “The clients that I manage are not scaling back their benefits to employees based on inflation,” says Heather Summers, senior manager of human resources at Flex HR. “In fact, they are making their benefits more attractive to fill their open positions.”

That sentiment is echoed by Matthew Burr, a human resources consultant in Elmira, N.Y.: “I think compensation is actually higher,” Burr says. “They’re still paying people more money because they’re trying to get people to come to work. Labor still has the upper hand.”

Even if a company’s bottom line is suffering, employers may choose to keep benefits and subtract from other expenses. “They may be cutting in other areas, but from my experience, they’re still desperate to get their pipelines filled from an employment perspective,” says Jenna Squires, president of World Payroll & HR. “They’re still dangling all the carrots.”

Employee retention is key

Employee benefits aren’t just about attracting great hires — they’re also about keeping the great talent you have. Sixty percent of workers said their companies’ retirement benefits were a big reason they stayed at that company, according to the 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey by consultancy WTW. In a competitive landscape, shrinking benefits can lead workers to jump ship for companies offering better packages.

“We have concluded that pulling back such offers would diminish our bonds with our workforce, and ultimately reduce employee satisfaction rates,” says Lorie Carson, founder and marketing manager of search site Real People Finder.

Moreover, in some companies, benefits managers are still debating about how to boost perks to meet employee needs.

“A lot of my clients are still looking to add stuff,” says Jill Santopietro Panall, owner and chief consultant of 21Oak HR Consulting. “I’m frequently reaching out to them and hearing, ‘Can I have a corporate wellness person come in to talk about stress in the workplace?’ ‘How do I get an EAP?’”

The bottom line

Jobs growth was still strong in July, but the fact is, the future is uncertain. Higher prices will affect some businesses and require some pullback to stay afloat.

In the meantime, though, many companies are still talking a big benefits game. “I’ve seen an addition of a lot of mental health days or flex days off,” Squires says. “There’s still an uptick in trying to figure out those things for work-life balance. I definitely haven’t seen where those trends are stopping.”

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William Davidson, Command Sergeant Major (CSM Ret.) and Senior Director of Veteran Outreach at Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program dedicated to veterans, service members, and their families, spoke to us about the importance of building a veteran-friendly culture. “When it comes to veterans, recognizing the service and sacrifice of these individuals to serve our country is essential,” he says. “The veteran community appreciates a workplace environment that strives to show how their service and sacrifice are valued. Creating a welcoming environment will attract veterans to the workplace and allow other staff to learn about military culture.”

When it comes to creating a veteran-friendly company culture, Monster’s Veteran Hiring Guide outlines the top five ways leading companies are supporting veteran talent:

1. Partnerships with veteran and military family organizations 
2. Paid time off for military duty for Guard members and reservists
3. Employee resource group for veterans and families 
4. Veteran mentorship program 
5. Skills translators/civilian job equivalents 

Below, we spoke with several experts to provide insight into how these tactics can help employers better support their veteran and military employees and effectively create a veteran-friendly company culture.

Partner with Veteran and Military Family Organizations

Any company can say they have a “veteran-friendly culture,” but for veterans to truly feel valued and supported is something that starts from the top down. Putting your corporate sponsorship or volunteer efforts toward organizations that support veterans and military families can be a great way to show veteran employees and candidates that you’re walking the walk—not just talking the talk.

Fiserv, a global financial technology company, sponsors several military organizations, including the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, Our Community Salutes, Wreaths Across America, and more. By partnering with these types of organizations, Vivian Greentree, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Global Corporate Citizenship at Fiserv, says, “A lot of our military engagement strategies come down to good HR practices that benefit all employees because they are meeting people where they are, resourcing them properly, and providing an environment where everyone can say, ‘I am a valued member of a winning team doing meaningful work in an environment of trust.'”

Even civilian workers, Greentree says, can benefit from Fiserv’s military sponsorships and activities. “We offer opportunities for all our associates and military-supporter partners to be involved in our military programming, opening communication and fostering increased interaction and camaraderie,” she says. “Volunteering with our military community partners offers our non-military associates opportunities to experience the Esprit de Corps and the connectedness our military associates share.”

Offer Paid Time Off and Flexible Hours

Monster’s Future of Work survey found that flexibility is most important to workers today, and Ryan Eden, Veteran Employment Manager at PRISM, Inc., a technical and professional services firm, says this can be especially appealing to military spouses who may have children or other family members to care for. “We really understand that military spouses are best suited for jobs that allow flexible hours, remote work, and paid time off due to the volatility of their spouse’s military obligations,” he says. “Flexibility is necessary for a military spouse to sustain both a job and family successfully.”

Reservists, too, can benefit from flexible hours and paid time off to recoup after assignments. For instance, Monster offers active reserve duty employees a “buffer” week of PTO between an active-duty assignment and when they return to work. 

At PRISM, Eden says they work closely with one of their reservist employees, who typically has very intense weekend drills that can make it difficult for him to return to the office the next day. “We’ve offered him a lot of flexibility after his weekend drills to work from home to help him regroup and recover,” Eden says. “And if he has to serve out a mission, we discuss a return to allow for flexibility if needed, so he can engage in and really come back ‘fresh’ into the civilian job.”

Provide Employee Resource Groups and Mentorship Programs

When it comes to company culture, Gary Patton, Vice President of Veterans and Military Affairs at CACI, a winner on Monster’s Best Companies for Veterans list, says it’s essential to create a sense of belonging. Employee resource groups and mentorship programs can give veterans a sense of belonging and camaraderie and help them assimilate into civilian life more easily.

Patton says, “We have a Veteran Transition mentoring program, where we take old hands, who are veterans within the company, and they’re able to pair off with recently separated veteran new hires, not as a supervisor but more as a mentor or coach who they can go to with problems, concerns, and questions to help get their feet on the ground. I think it’s a good program to help our veterans make that sometimes difficult and challenging transition from the military to the civilian workforce.”

CACI’s veteran employee resource group (VERG), which is open to all employees, regardless of veteran status, is another way this best-in-class company helps create a culture of inclusion. With activities ranging from laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every Veterans Day to washing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.., Patton says, “These are the types of things we do as part of the VERG that promote a sense of belonging within our culture.”

Translate Military Skills for Civilian Jobs

Translating military skills and placing veterans in the right jobs is crucial to helping them feel accepted and supported right from the start. “It’s important for employers to understand how to translate military skills because finding the right fit for veterans is important,” says Sarah Blansett, Vice President of Military.com. “Some translation will happen as a part of a veterans transition process and by tapping into tools that can help them understand the civilian workplace, like our Veteran Employment Project. Yet, the other side is the employer who needs to have insight into how their open positions relate to veterans’ skill sets.”

Monster and Military.com offer a comprehensive suite of tools that employers can use to find and hire veterans, including a Military Skills Translator, Reverse Military Skills Translator, and Veteran Talent Portals. “We also have products that equip and educate the job-seeking veteran in the hopes that if we train both sides, we can facilitate a better fit for the employers and the veterans,” Blansett says. “Employers can expand their paid military time off policies for Guard and reserve members, support veteran and military spouse employee resource groups, and find and train recruiters who are veterans or military spouses to make their workplace more veteran and military spouse friendly.”

More Veteran Retention Strategies

Whether you’re just learning how to develop a veteran-friendly company culture or it’s been a priority for years, staying on top of effective recruitment and retention strategies for veterans is essential. Get started by signing up for Monster Hiring Solutions’ expert advice and information on the latest hiring trends.

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