This is a weekly roundup of the latest in HR News.
The week in HR news never disappoints. This time around, the headlines informed HR professionals that Americans want more money than ever to switch jobs. It's not surprising, considering the higher costs of everything, including groceries, necessities, and education. In addition, Forbes shared an insightful piece about concrete truths in the battle royale that is the remote work vs. hybrid work v. in-person debate. Unfortunately, there's always layoffs news. This week Charles Schwab, the U.S. brokerage firm, is in the hot seat for its cost-cutting plan that includes staff layoffs and the closing of offices. And debate arose about the minimum wage - again! But it's not what most would imagine.
Read on for details:
Show Me the Money
American's salary expectations rose to the highest level since March 2014, when the New York Federal Reserve began tracking this data, according to USA Today.
"The lowest annual wage respondents would be willing to accept for a new job continued to rise, reaching $78,645, from $72,873 in July 2022 and $62,194 in July 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Fed said," as reported by USA Today. "The year-over-year increase was most pronounced for respondents older than 45, and men wanted on average $91,048 compared with women who wanted $66,068."
WATCH: Do Your Employee Benefits and Packages Meet the Expectations of the Future Workforce?
This was interesting because of the huge divide between the expectations of men and women. The gender pay gap persists, in part, because women are not asking for as much as their male counterparts. The numbers are striking and tell the story.
READ: From Zoom to Room: Managing HR Stress in the Shift Back to Office
What We Know about RTO
LinkedIn reported on a Forbes Premium article that is behind a paywall that certain truths are emerging about work structures, specifically return to office (RTO) mandates, work from home flexibility, and the compromise that is hybrid work.
The takeaways from the article, according to LinkedIn, are:
"Many leaders still have 'executive nostalgia' for the way things used to be; younger workers' early career development stands to suffer; and some form of flexibility — which encourages diversity — will likely stay."
The bit about executive nostalgia appears to be one of the greatest obstacles to flexibility, yet the author clearly provided some hope on that front. Once remote work became a possibility, there was no putting the idea of it back in the bottle. People got used to it, so it will be impossible to return to 2019.
What about Minimum Wage?
The New York Times pointed out that the tight labor market has made the minimum wage debate a moot point. Even if the minimum wage is a mere $7.25 per hour, employers are offering higher wages to attract workers - and retain them.
"Government data finds that fewer than one in every 1,000 hourly workers earned only the minimum wage during the first seven months of 2023," according to The Times.
As the publication points out, these higher wages may continue for now, however, will they keep rising if and when companies are no longer facing a labor shortage? It's an existential question for HR leaders to answer.
READ: HR Guide to Layoffs
Layoffs at Charles Schwab
Early in the week Charles Schwab, the brokerage firm, announced a plan to save $500 million. This will require layoffs and shutting down offices.
"While higher rates have helped Charles Schwab and other firms earn more from interest income, the drop in deposits have drained them of a cheap source of funding, forcing them to raise new capital or cut costs," according to Reuters.
The Associated Press (AP) reported more on the layoffs, but there was still limited information:
"The Westlake, Texas-based company did not specify how many positions would be eliminated — but suggested that the layoffs will take place in the coming months, noting that it anticipated most costs related to these job cuts for the second half of 2023.
Although there is speculation about whether the United States will experience a recession, after all, the layoffs and hiring freezes carry on.
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