More Than A Workforce Shortage

You've heard it: There aren't enough people to fill the jobs.

It's a conversation I hear often, particularly in industries struggling to attract and retain the next generation of workers.

But what if that isn't the entire problem?

What if the shortage is in the places where people want to belong?

Job seekers have more information than ever.

There was a time when applying for a job involved a pretty significant information imbalance.

You found an opening. You submitted an application. You interviewed. Maybe you knew someone who worked there and could give you the inside scoop.

Otherwise, you probably didn't truly understand the culture of the company until you became part of it.

Today, a potential employee can know quite a bit about an organization before ever making contact.

They can Google search.

They can look through a company website and social media.

They can read employee reviews.

They can search LinkedIn for current and former employees and see how those people talk about their work.

They can look at what a company celebrates, what it talks about, how its leaders communicate and how its employees interact with the brand.

Are you picking up what I'm putting down?

They're doing their homework.

And they're not only doing it so they can walk into an interview prepared to impress you.

They're trying to decide whether you're worth impressing.

Digital presence is part of workplace reputation building.

We tend to think about websites, social media, photography, video and company storytelling as marketing tools.

They are.

But your customers aren't the only people watching.

Potential employees are watching, too.

Every piece of communication tells them something about who you are.

If your website hasn't been updated in years, your social media consists entirely of sales messages, and the only glimpse someone gets of your employees is the occasional posed group photo, what have you actually shown them about what it feels like to work there?

Compare that with an organization that regularly introduces its people, celebrates good work, talks honestly about the industry, shows employees doing the work and communicates a clear sense of why the organization exists.

That's employer branding whether intentionally created or not.

It's all relevant because the expectations of workers are changing.

People are looking for more than a paycheck.

I was curious, so I did a little digging.

Deloitte's 2025 survey of more than 23,000 Gen Z and millennials across 44 countries found that 89% of Gen Z and 92% of millennials considered a sense of purpose important to their job satisfaction and well-being.

44% of Gen Z and 45% of millennials said they had already left a role they felt lacked purpose.

That's a pretty significant number of people willing to walk away.

Now, I'm not suggesting that employers need to coddle anyone.

Work is work.

There will be long days. Difficult people. Frustrating projects. Entry-level tasks that aren't particularly exciting. Sometimes you have to show up and do something you don't especially feel like doing because that's part of having a job.

But understand, we've also spent years telling people that their health matters. Their families matter. Their time matters. Their well-being matters.

We can't act surprised that they were listening.

The interview works both ways now.

Now, I always saw it this way, but many people didn't.

It's become a shift employers need to pay more attention to.

The applicant sitting across from you is trying to get the job.

But they're also interviewing you to see if they'll actually want it.

They're looking for clues.

How do you talk about your employees?

Do people stay?

What is the turnover like?

Are there opportunities to grow?

Do your values exist anywhere beyond the About page of your website?

Does the organization appear to have a purpose they can connect with?

Does this look like a place where they could belong?

That doesn't mean every organization needs ping-pong tables, unlimited PTO, catered lunches or whatever perk happens to be trending at the moment.

It's really much simpler than that.

Respect people.

Communicate well.

Recognize good work.

Give people opportunities to contribute.

Let them like the work they do matters.

And then make sure the story you're telling publicly actually reflects the organization you've built internally.

Because branding can't fix a bad workplace.

Let's ask a different question.

There are legitimate workforce shortages affecting industries across the country. I'm not dismissing that reality.

But I think there's another question worth asking:

Have we created places where people actually want to work?

And if we have, are we doing a good enough job showing them?

Hiring isn't only about an applicant convincing an employer that they're worth taking a chance on anymore.

They're interviewing you, too.

You want a solid employee?

Be the solid employer.

Then make sure people can see it.