Five job trends: This is what applicants can expect in 2022

Created: 2022-01-21Updated: 2022-01-21 4:21 PM

Flexible working hours and locations: Employers can hardly refuse good candidates these days.

© Steve Brookland/Westend61/dpa-tmn/Illustration

During the course of the pandemic, employees have put their professional lives to the test.

Is 2022 a good year for change?

HR experts provide an outlook.

Now something new is needed: This impulse is currently accompanying many employees.

Four out of ten workers are thinking about

.

37 percent are open to a new job in 2022 or have already taken concrete steps, according to a

.

Such figures indicate movement on the labor market.

But: Which developments should job changers* now consider?

What can applicants ask for, what do they have to bring with them?

HR experts dare to take a look.

The chances on the candidate market are good

In principle, experts from large personnel service providers see

for job changers in Germany in 2022.

"Even during Corona, the shortage of skilled workers did not decrease across almost all qualification levels," says Heinz Ostermann, recruitment expert in the Federal Employers' Association of Personnel Service Providers.

"As an applicant, that would give me confidence."

After the initial great uncertainty after the beginning of the pandemic, most companies fled from the “shock” again, including Marlene Pöhlmann, Managing Director at the recruiter Robert Half.

"It made the whole thing safer and you can still see that it's really a total candidate market."

At the same time, the pandemic was a time for many to “really rethink everything in their lives.” Is that still a job I want to have?

"You can already tell that the willingness to change is now much higher," says Pöhlmann.

According to Christoph Niewerth, Chief Operating Officer on the board of the recruitment company Hays, qualifications remain important despite the positive mood.

The sooner an activity can be digitized or automated, the more pressure there will be to be replaced.

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Application and onboarding processes remain digital

The pandemic has changed work a lot, most of them have experienced it first hand.

According to Pöhlmann,

will have to adapt to digital job interviews and digital onboarding in the future.

This does not only apply to highly qualified or knowledge jobs.

Across all

levels, it can be seen that personal job interviews are gradually giving way to digital interviews.

"As an applicant, I simply have to adjust to it," says Ostermann.

Mobile working is becoming the standard

regularly is something

that many experienced for the first time during the pandemic.

In "an enormous number of job advertisements", remote work is currently becoming the standard, says Marlene Pöhlmann.

Employers are increasingly open to hiring someone from Dresden or Nuremberg - even if the company is based in Berlin, says Pöhlmann.

That allows a lot of flexibility, but on the other hand it can be seen as a negative development.

When it comes to the question of why someone likes their job, the shift to the digital world can change a job a lot, according to the expert.

"Managers must now attach particular importance to how they strengthen the team spirit."

Of course, those not working in an office job will still have to commute to work.

On the negative side, the increasing costs for commuters are therefore also to be booked, according to Heinz Ostermann.

This could become an obstacle for this group of jobs.

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Communication and self-organization are crucial

Future employees will have to come to terms with the

, says Pöhlmann.

This includes a certain

, the ability to think in a different and agile way, and the ability to say: "Yes, I can work efficiently in my home office and communicate with my superiors or with my team."

Christoph Niewerth also emphasizes the role of

.

The world of work is getting faster and faster, working methods are becoming more interdisciplinary, more agile and more independent.

Anyone who expects to be able to work independently must also be able to reflect this in their own way of working.

Also interesting

Applicants can request flexibility

The majority of companies now have to adjust to the fact that employees - where possible - demand flexible working hours.

According to Pöhlmann, applicants can certainly insist that the company adapts more to their own circumstances.

"You no longer necessarily sit at your desk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but rather use the method: The project must be implemented by time X." If you then have better time from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. because the children are in bed, you should also get this guaranteed by the employer.

Further

are also major issues, says Niewerth.

"Right now, as an applicant, you should ask how the company is developing here." How does the company find the balance between flexible working models and a good team structure in which you feel integrated?

In this context, the question will also be important for applicants in the future: How will I be supported with my mental and physical well-being?

According to Niewerth, many employers have to change here.

“Companies have to make themselves really attractive and listen carefully: What do my people want?

I think the company that listens best will make the best move.”