Fall 2023 HR & Workplace Trends Survey Results [INFOGRAPHIC]

Published October 25, 2023

Read the full report here. Scroll to see a breakdown of the infographic below.

 

Read the full report here.

 

Highlights from the fall 2023 Challenger Survey include:

• 46% of companies expect a recession.
• 29% of companies are currently or are planning to undergo layoffs.
• 76% of companies that are cutting costs besides layoffs are reducing business travel.
• 54% of companies have a remote or hybrid schedule with no plans to bring employees back to the office full time.
• Flexibility is still the number one employee priority from the last four Challenger surveys since Spring 2022.

Spring 2023 Report Spring 2023 Infographic

EOY 2022 Report Fall 2022 Report Fall 2021 Infographic

Spring 2022 Report Summer 2021 Infographic

 

Survey Demographics

Challenger surveyed 207 HR and business leaders online at companies of various sizes and industries nationwide about hiring, layoffs, retention, and leadership. The survey was conducted September 10th through October 13th, 2023.

Employee Priorities

Flexibility continues to reign as the number one employee priority across the four surveys conducted since Spring 2022. Meaningful/Purposeful Work moved up to the second-highest priority by weighted average in the Fall from the fifth position in the Spring. Upward Career Trajectory moved into the third position from the fourth, while Higher Salaries moved up a position. Empathetic Leadership fell to the fifth position.

 

 

Recession Plans & Layoffs

In the survey, 29% of companies are currently or are planning to undergo layoffs, with another 4% anticipating the need for layoffs. This is down from 45% and 8% respectively that were experiencing or anticipating layoffs in the Spring of 2023.

 

Cost-Cutting

Over 13.2% of companies said they are cutting costs in other ways besides layoffs, similar to the 12.5% who stated this in the Spring. Of those a whopping 76% of companies are reducing business travel, up from 59% that reported this in the Spring.

 

Leadership

A smaller share of companies report their workers have a favorable view of leadership than they did in the Spring: 56% of companies say their employees have a favorable view of leadership, down from 65% who reported this in the Spring. Slightly more (5%) companies report their team members have a mixed view of leadership, compared to 2% in the Spring.

45% of companies believe their workers have an unfavorable view of leadership due to a lack of communication from the leaders, down slightly from 48% who reported this in the Spring.

 

Hiring for Open Positions & Offerings

In order to attract workers, 70% of employers report offering hybrid work arrangements, fewer than last Fall, but up slightly from the Spring. Another 48% of employers are offering Mental Health Care Options, down from 66% in the Spring.

Meanwhile, 44% of companies are offering Higher Pay/Bonuses, down from 55% in the Spring, and hitting the lowest point for that option since the firm began the HR trends survey in the Summer of 2021. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Initiatives have also fallen to the lowest point since last Spring, when the option was included.

 

 

Remote & Hybrid Workers

54% of companies reported they have a remote or hybrid schedule with no plans to bring them back to the office full time, up from 42% that reported this in the Spring. Six percent of employers said they are fully remote, giving up most or all of their office space, up from 0 leaders who reported this in the Spring, but similar to what companies reported at the same time last year.

Fewer companies report allowing remote and hybrid work on case-by-case bases, suggesting employers have opted for overarching remote work policies.

 

33% say their workers are in the office 3 days a week, up from 26% in the Spring. Another 24% report workers are in-person two days a week, down from 29% of employers who reported this in the Spring survey.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

So far this year, companies have attributed 3,997 job cuts to artificial intelligence, according to Challenger Report data, either due to pivoting to developing this technology or using it to replace positions. In the Fall, 22% of companies are looking into using this technology in their HR operations, up from 11% in the Spring. Another 12% report they are actually utilizing AI in their operations, up from 0 employers who reported this in the Spring.

Nearly 47% of companies report they plan to or are using this technology as a tool for employees to become more productive, while 40% reported they will use it to replace employee functions and streamline operations. Another 27% reported they plan to or are using it in the customer experience.

 

 

 

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Contact Colleen Madden Blumenfeld for more data or to set up an interview with SVP Andy Challenger.