Remote workers are anxious about layoffs — and other happenings in the world of work

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Catch up on headlines from the last 7 days.

• The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point and suggested it may end a campaign to cool inflation sooner than expected. The move comes amid the run on regional banks. Fed Chair Jerome Powell called the U.S. banking system “sound” and said that recent failures were likely to weigh on credit conditions and, ultimately, inflation.
• Americans have moved more than half a trillion dollars from small and regional banks in the two weeks since the outset of the banking crisis. They’re opening accounts with larger banks like JPMorgan Chase. Uncertainty in the banking system, on top of inflated prices and high interest rates, could lead to more consumer spending cutbacks.
• New jobless claims unexpectedly fell for the second week in a row, signaling resilience in the labor market even as high profile layoffs continue. Amazon, Accenture and more announced fresh rounds of job cuts last week.
• Tech cuts haven’t dampened demand for tech talent yet. Contract workers in the tech sector still command $120 an hour and employees still earn almost twice the average pay in the U.S., despite the most layoffs in the industry in the past year since the dot-com crash more than two decades ago. This round of cuts is largely seen as a resetting after the pandemic-fueled hiring binge.
• Home prices fell last month, as rising mortgage rates and waning buyer interest forced sellers to lower their expectations. That means some potential buyers stepped off the sidelines — and home sales actually climbed 14.5% in February from a month earlier, the first gain in 12 months.
• One in five workers who quit during the pandemic have since “boomeranged” back to their old employer, according to a Harvard Business Review analysis. These employees are most likely to be managers and return within 13 months. The contributing factors include a new organization not living up to expectations, strong ties with former coworkers and a financial incentive to return.

Take a closer look at recent trending topics — and engage with meaningful conversations happening on LinkedIn.

What's going on with remote work?

• About 89% of HR leaders have been fielding concerns from employees about job security, leadership changes and reorgs, according to a recent study from human resources company Humu. Remote employees, the study found, are more likely to feel anxious about layoffs and the economic outlook than those who go to the office all the time or even sometimes. This could have to do with an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality you can read more about below.
• Even still, job seekers are most interested in remote jobs even though there aren’t as many of them to go around anymore. According to a recent LinkedIn analysis, 12.2% of U.S. paid job postings on LinkedIn offered remote work in February 2023, decreasing steadily from a peak of 20.6% in March 2022. Remote jobs ultimately attracted a majority of applications (51.9%) in February. 
• One potential contributing factor? Even though workers are worried about economic uncertainty, they might be growing accustomed to it. LinkedIn feed posts in the U.S. mentioning “layoffs,” “recession,” and “open to work,” all decreased over the past month. Managers can continue to assuage these fears, particularly for remote workers, by making small changes, data scientists at Humu said. This can include putting chit chat on a meeting agenda, using one-on-one meeting time to check in rather than go over status updates and helping foster cross-functional connections to create a stronger sense of community.

Does putting in face time with your boss matter?

• Some professionals are working through the anxiety outlined above by treating the office as the new place to see and be seen. According to LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence survey, about 58% of workers say that being seen in person by your organization’s leadership is important to being recognized as a valuable employee.
• Those who work onsite are the most likely to value such face time with bosses (68%), but even hybrid workers who split their time between home and the office agree that visibility is important (60%). Meanwhile, about 41% of remote workers say face time is essential.
• “I think what this particular data reflects is that people are voting in alignment with what they’re currently doing,” T. Tarai Kemp Brown, an executive coach, commented. She said business leaders should get out of a “one size fits most” approach to work environments and “start leveraging what allows each individual to be most productive, experience less stress and feel most valued.” If face time is so important to leaders, she recommends a regularly scheduled lunch.

How is sleep impacting your job?

• Only a fraction of the population can function well with fewer than seven hours of sleep, according to a new study. That means sleeping well essentially amounts to a competitive advantage at work. 
• The research showed that beyond trying to fit in a couple extra hours of shuteye, you can improve your REM cycle by sleeping in the darkest conditions possible. Participants in the study displayed improved memory and alertness on the job after just two nights of eliminating light disturbances. This could mean investing in blackout shades or something even simpler like putting your cell phone face down on your nightstand. 
• Another easy recommendation? An eye mask. Rob Jones, an entrepreneur, commented that getting a “padded, well-fitting, comfortable and non-irritating on the skin, washable” mask helped his own quality of sleep. He noted that after sleeping with an eye mask “merely gently held in place” for two to three nights, his Fitbit-tracked sleep reports started improving.

Get ready for the week by seeing what's coming up.

• Tuesday, March 28: The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures home prices across the country, will land.
• Tuesday, March 28: The Conference Board will release its monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, which measures how optimistic Americans are about the economy.
• Wednesday, March 29: The National Association of REALTORS® will release its monthly home sales report, which measures the number of contract signings from the previous month.
• Wednesday, March 29: LinkedIn Senior Editor at Large George Anders will release his latest edition of Workforce Insights, digging into early data around how network sizes on LinkedIn differ by race and gender.
• Thursday, March 30: The U.S. Department of Commerce will release the third estimate of fourth-quarter domestic product. The second estimate showed that the economy grew at a 2.7% rate in the final months of 2022. 
• Thursday, March 30: The U.S. Department of Labor will release initial jobless claims for the previous week. The report, a proxy for layoffs, tracks the number of people filing for unemployment benefits.
• Friday, March 31: The U.S. Department of Commerce will release the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index — the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. The report measures changes in the price of goods and services, excluding food and energy.
• Friday, March 31: The University of Michigan will release its reading of March’s Consumer Sentiment Index, which measures how Americans feel about current and future economic conditions.