Stagnant Job Market, AI On the Minds of HR Leaders: Survey

The world’s top HR executives expect the stagnant job market to continue for the foreseeable future and believe now is the time to invest in long-term transformation for the workforce, particularly in regard to artificial intelligence (AI).

Those are some of the takeaways from the first ever survey of global Chief People Officers (CPOs) by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the organization behind the global gathering in Davos, Switzerland each January. 

WEF surveyed and spoke with more than 130 CPOs about what they see coming on the horizon. And a major takeaway was that this coming year is going to be static for jobs.

In fact, 42 percent say they expect no change in labor market conditions over the next six to 12 months. Just 26 percent say the job market will get better, while 32 percent believe it will get worse. That means there will be more “job hugging,” where people hold onto their jobs, even if they’re unhappy with them, as companies pull back from both hiring and firing due to global economic uncertainty. 

However, the report also noted that HR leaders need to nevertheless give workers reasons to stay, beyond “job hugging.” For example, leaders must recognize that today’s workforce values flexibility and purpose, and that today’s talent is “confident, well informed, and unapologetically selective.”

Foundations for Long-Term Transformation and AI

With “job hugging” likely to stay, CPOs emphasized that over the next year, they will be focused on managing immediate disruption and using the time to lay the foundation for long-term transformation that will ensure organizational resilience and success. Such activities include “revising organizational structures, fostering culture and purpose, and advancing workforce artificial intelligence deployments.”

On AI, many HR leaders believe that AI will not simply replace workers but can be effective at augmenting their jobs. In fact, CPOs believe that keeping AI-deployment “human-centered,” or using AI to boost skills rather than replace them is essential.

Also, many CPOs are prioritizing collaboration between HR and technical departments as well as mapping out AI’s impact on people, job tasks, and processes. 

On the AI risk front, CPOs are worried about a host of issues, including employees not keeping up with the pace of technology fast enough, fears of skill atrophy due to AI, and ethical and privacy concerns.