Business culture in Turkish culture is still very personal. Your ability to establish and maintain good relationships is key to the success of your business. Consider the impact of Covid-19 on a society that relies on verbal and personal relationships over digital.

We will be looking at the top HR trends in Turkey for 2022. This is to reveal the impact that the pandemic and the depreciating Turkish lira had on leaders, employees, and organizations.

The Top 6 HR Trends to Watch in Turkey in 2022

1. To offset rising prices, raise minimum wages

Turkey’s minimum wage workers account for more than 40%. To offset rising living costs, the central bank has ordered a series of interest rate cuts to weaken the lira. The minimum wage in Turkey will increase by 50% in 2022.

The depreciation in the currency caused rising costs that lowered the standard of living for wage workers. The cost of living is largely eliminated by the increase in earnings, which offsets the loss of the lira. The minimum wage has increased by 50%, which is the largest increase in 50 years. This is one of the most important HR trends in Turkey. It shows that workers are not being pushed aside by price increases.

It may seem like this will encourage struggling companies to pay more and increase unemployment. But the truth is that it does not. According to official data, the number of people unemployed in Turkey fell by 0.3 percentage points from month to month to 10.9% in May.

2. Modifying labor laws to include remote work

All businesses in Turkey were forced to reconsider their willingness to employ remote workers. This led to an amendment of the labor code which outlines the hiring process. The Regulation on Remote Work was implemented on March 10, 2021. It provides guidelines for employers on how to legal implement remote workers and onboard them.

Because of the pandemic, remote work was made possible. Remote work regulations were created to reflect the changes in remote work. The contract must be written by both the employee and employer before remote work can begin. In writing, they must also maintain the length of remote work, the salary-payment method, and the equipment and tools that will be provided.

These factors allow for consistency as more businesses look into long-term remote work arrangements.

3. There is a high demand for people with higher social skills and advanced technical skills.

The impact of digitization and automation on Turkey’s labor force is certain. To keep up with the requirements of a digital workplace, 21.2 millions people in Turkey’s workforce will have to learn new technical skills and remain employed.

Over the next ten year, there will be a greater demand for social and technical skills. It is expected that by 2030, the hours worked will nearly double, with the greatest increase in technological skills (63%) being seen. The social skills will increase by 22%.

If we look at the economy in its entirety, it is clear that many industries need more technological know-how. Social skills are essential in most industries, such as finance, arts, entertainment, and services. This highlights the importance of satisfying clients. Many industries see a decline of basic cognitive, physical and manual skills. This is due to the ease at which data entry, fundamental literacy and numeracy as well as equipment operation can all be automated.

The Turkish workforce may need to improve its skills. Long-term changes in the workforce would require skilled upskilling and reskilling.

4. Comprehensive talent transformation is a priority for significant upskilling or reskilling.

Although automation, artificial intelligence and digital technology present many opportunities for Turkey, there are also significant challenges. These issues must be recognized and addressed in order to build a productive workforce. Two-thirds of top executives and union representatives believe that automation will improve the Turkish economy’s competitiveness. Executives also believe that their organizations and other institutions are not ready for automation.

To reap the benefits of AI, automation, and digital technology, all business stakeholders need to find a balance between automation rate and reskilling. If they move too fast, automation and digitization may create new jobs. This could lead to an increase in income inequality and workers feeling like they are being left behind. If digitization and automation are too slow, Turkey may lose its competitiveness and economic growth. It is therefore crucial to find a balance between digitization and automation.

Turkey has significant potential to improve productivity and create many new jobs through automation, AI and digital technologies. It is imperative to invest in talent transformation to enable people to acquire new skills. All stakeholders must work together to achieve this transformation.

5. Digitization and automation will transform jobs in a significant way

The next HR trend to be aware of in Turkey is the 50% high level of automation. This country is highly concentrated in manufacturing, agriculture and trade sectors which have a high percentage of predictable work activities.

While digital technology adoption could lead to a significant productivity increase, it would also need to be complemented by changes in employment conditions as well as in the society. Further, this would require rapid development of technology and solutions supported by substantial investment, research and infrastructure.

However, late adoption could help to diffuse the issue of job displacement caused by automation, but it could also put Turkish companies at risk, making them less competitive in the global marketplace.

However, in Turkey most occupations are more likely to use technology to enhance rather than replace their work. Despite the rise in employment in major sectors like agriculture and services, the labor force participation rate has remained stable and total employment has increased from 18 million to 29 millions. This indicates that the Turkish labor force can adapt to structural change .

6. Opportunities for new job creation and workforce growth

Rising income levels are one of the key factors that drive job creation. This factor contributed to an estimated 6.3 Million job opportunities.

The future of work in many industries will be transformed by automation, artificial intelligence, as well as digital technologies. A McKinsey study entitled Turkey’s Talent Transformation in Digital Era shows that automation and digitization will have a negative impact on job creation, as well as causing job losses. However, it could also lead to new jobs by 2030 to make the economy more competitive. According to this report, Turkey’s economy could add 3.1 million jobs net by 2030. The total workforce demand is expected to be 36.4 million.