In the news: hybrid work, compensation trends, and keeping up with tech giants Meta and Amazon

October 12, 2022

2022 has continued to be a turbulent year for the tech industry.

With world economic conditions being questionable at best, many are left wondering whether tech growth for the past two years will continue with sustainable momentum.

Hybrid work trends and thought leadership conversations persist on how to adjust to the emerging era of remote and in-person work. Additionally, new compensation trends emerge as many tech employees are finding better compensation and benefits from switching companies every few years.

Read more of the top tech headlines highlights below:

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“Job switchers see biggest raises: ADP” - LinkedIn

Wage data from ADP Research shows that job switchers achieved a 16.1% pay increase in August, while the year over year pay for job stayers showed a 7.6% gain, giving more context to why we see the sustained trend of high numbers of those quitting jobs for better pay and benefits.
Data also shows that bigger firms are typically the ones shelling out higher compensation and pay increases for job-stayers, with a range of 5.4% pay increase at smaller firms to as high as 8.3% at larger ones.
ADP also reports that August showed a modest payroll gain, the smallest since the start of 2021 - and could likely indicate that inflation and high interest rates have begun to weigh on hiring.

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“In the hybrid work era, tech companies experiment with new office layouts” - GeekWire

Office culture trends are shifting and hard to predict right as more companies embrace hybrid work. Workers and employers alike are finding themselves in the ‘wait and see’ mode as they are faced with navigating emerging norms.
Companies like Amazon, Qualtrics and Zillow group are at the forefront of restructuring office space and hybrid work model experimentation. While some have embraced models of 1-2 days in person in the office, others have taken on “work from anywhere” policies.
While some dive into figuring out how to use their workspaces and others get rid of office space altogether, we are seeing companies who keep or repurpose workspaces put hybrid culture values such as collaboration and team socializing at the forefront of design and future consideration.

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“Warren, Jayapal, and other Federal legislators asks FTC to oppose Amazon’s iRobot acquisition” - GeekWire

Amazon’s proposed $1.7 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot is facing scrutiny from federal lawmakers and Seattle representatives who are asking the Federal Trade Commission to oppose the deal.
Lawmakers claim that the merger would raise antitrust and consumer protection concerns, while Amazon posits that there are many falsehoods in the argument of the legislators. Amazon states they are “fully cooperating with regulators and this deal will only make consumers' lives better and easier.”

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“Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will freeze hiring and cut costs” - TechCrunch

Meta joins the ranks of tech companies currently cutting costs, restructuring and pausing hiring, marking a new era at the company following years of explosive growth.
Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that Meta is facing the “worst downturn of the company.”
Like most tech companies, they also face worsening world economic conditions. Other pressures include the race to build their metaverse with heavy investments in virtual reality technology, competition from TikTok’s ever popular reels and adjusting to changes in Apple privacy affecting their marketing methods.

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As we close out the final months of 2022 progress into 2023, it will be interesting to keep an eye on the economic trends affecting tech growth and hiring, as well as how hybrid working norms continue to develop.

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