A struggling economy may be experienced by some employers as a positive, because it means employees are more apt to stay put, but those same employees who felt stuck in their jobs due to economic conditions might quit when conditions improve, warns Cyrenne.
“Usually what happens is that when there are few opportunities — I’m not saying employers do this consciously — but there may be this idea that, ‘Okay, we can ask our employees to do certain things.’ But when the economy rebounds, then those are the people that are first to leave.”
He adds that employees experiencing burnout due to decreased hiring are often the most experienced or top performing talent, putting even more pressure on HR leaders to make careful hiring decisions while balancing wage demands in a challenging labour market.
“If you’re an employer, you have to realize that maybe they don’t have anywhere to go now, but when the economy starts to rebound, if they don’t feel that they’ve been treated fairly, even within this limited period, then those are going to be the ones to go,” he says.
This will lead to organizations — especially banks and other financial institutions — relying on headhunting or poaching employees from other firms, making competition for talent during such a period even more intense.
