5 Career Trends That Will Shake up the Workplace in 2023

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We’ve weathered two-plus years of rapid change in the labor market, and it’s not over yet.

For job seekers, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic: job growth is strong, wages are high and there’s a slew of openings across many industries.

Still, economic uncertainty is stoking apprehension about what 2023 has in store for the labor market.

As we head into the new year, here are five career trends to keep an eye on.

Salary transparency

New laws requiring employers to disclose salaries in New York City and Colorado have been making headlines, and there’s more where that came from. Pay transparency laws in California (which is home to nearly 40 million people) and Washington will take effect in January.

This is welcome news for job seekers, but employees who are staying put in their current roles also stand to benefit. Millions of job postings with detailed salary ranges will hit job sites in 2023, giving anyone with an internet connection a new bargaining chip to help negotiate their next raise.

Remote and hybrid work

Love it or hate it, remote work isn’t going anywhere. Many offices have reopened, but a fully or partially remote schedule is still wildly popular with employees. Of the more than 8,000 employees surveyed by Gallup this summer, just 6% said they want to work entirely in-office.

“The Covid experience showed people things they could do in a different way,” says Lynn Berger, a career counselor and coach.

At least for now, companies are heeding their workers’ requests: Over half (55%) of Gallup’s survey respondents said they expect to have a hybrid schedule going forward, and 22% said they expect to be able to continue working totally remotely.

Better benefits

Vacation days are great, but they’re not the only perk your job can give you.

Increasingly, employers are enticing hires with offerings beyond paid time off and health insurance. Think mental health care, tuition reimbursement, financial coaching, virtual healthcare and flexible work schedules — just to name a few. A recent survey by health and benefits company Mercer found that more than two-thirds of large employers are planning to enhance their benefits in 2023.

If your company doesn’t offer the perks you want, don’t despair. Berger says she’s seen more employees negotiating individual benefits that are unique to them specifically, like a membership to a coworking space or a flexible work schedule that deviates from a traditional 9-5.

Good prospects for new grads

New college graduates can look forward to even more opportunities next year, despite the looming economic slowdown. A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that employers plan to hire 15% more graduates from the Class of 2023 than they did from the Class of 2022.

“Although there has been a lot of discussion about recession, employers are still expecting to bring in more new college graduates this year than they did last year,” Shawn VanDerziel, NACE executive director, said in a news release.

Uncertainty on the horizon

The labor market is changing. Tech giants like Twitter, Meta and Amazon have laid off thousands of workers, and additional cuts are likely in the pipeline.

While it’s impossible to predict how things will pan out in the months to come, it’s clear the job market heading into 2023 will look very different than it did in 2022. “There’s anxiety about what the future holds,” Berger says.

For those worried about their prospects, career counselor Rich Feller advises those looking for new jobs in the coming year to seek out what experts call “micro-training” — quick courses focused on industry-specific skills — to get an edge in the job market. Think coding bootcamps or marketing certificates rather than bachelor’s degrees.

“What skill can you learn quickly, efficiently and inexpensively?” Feller asks.