Research and Workforce Trends

LOWELL, Mass., and WESTON, Fla. | New industry research surveying the future state of manufacturing in the U.S. examines whether stability is in sight for the sector.

LOWELL, Mass., and WESTON, Fla. | The UKG Workforce Activity Report for May 2022 shows the total number of shifts worked1 by people at U.S. businesses declined 1.0% relative to April 2022.

LOWELL, Mass., and WESTON, Fla. | The UKG Workforce Activity Report for April 2022 shows the total number of shifts worked1 by people at U.S. businesses decreased 6.3% from March to April, though no job losses are expected as the decline is largely attributed to spring religious observances.

Fast Company | Flexibility has become essential for employees as workplace expectations continue to shift due to ongoing pandemic uncertainty and increasing choice driven by the Great Resignation. Organizations that employ office and white-collar workers have adopted more flexible practices for where, when, and how employees work. Industries that rely on shift-based employees and “gray-collar” workers, who exist at the intersection of tech and service roles, have been slow to evolve. But that is changing.

Reworked | More recently, HR software firm UKG unveiled its approach to what it called "life-work technology" as its product strategy going forward.

Fortune | By the way, it turns out many of the people who participated in the Great Resignation are now having second thoughts. Michael Bush, who runs Great Place to Work—Fortune’s partner in the ranking—cited a new survey from his parent company, UKG, showing more than 40% of the people who left jobs now say they were better off in their old jobs. The grass on the other side, it seems, is not always greener.

Protocol | A new survey of 4,000 people across six countries, from UKG in partnership with Morning Consult, found that a surprising number of people are boomeranging back to the jobs they quit.

The Org | A worker set on heading back to their old office should make the first move by contacting their former manager, said Chris Mullen, the executive director of UKG’s Workforce Institute. “Reach out on email, phone, text, LinkedIn or however you are comfortable with a simple request to catch up. You shouldn’t go in asking to ‘get your old job back,’ because that could be a turn-off for your former manager who had to move on,” Mullen told The Org.

LOWELL, Mass., and WESTON, Fla. | Four out of 10 people (43%) who quit their jobs during the pandemic now admit they were actually better off at their old job. This revelation comes from a six-country survey of nearly 4,000 people by UKG that examines sentiment about quitting during the Great Resignation.