There is a workplace culture shift. As 2019 draws to a close, more business leaders realize that culture drives performance and an improved staff work experience can promote better employee engagement and retention. Here’s a look at some of the most important workplace trends:
Inclusion and diversity
More organizations are now beginning to believe that having a diverse group brings in newer perspectives and increases the power to innovate and imagine. With organizations spread across geographies, cross team-learning on projects has become critical, and collaboration between diverse employees has become essential.
Employee well-being
Happy and healthy workspaces boost the overall productivity of employees. Whether health care benefits, improved work-life balance, leave policies, professional development programs, or training, organizations are making all efforts to provide employees a conducive work environment to prevent burnouts.
Focus on values
People today want to work in a place that gives them a sense of purpose. It is here that core organizational values play a pivotal role. It provides a set of beliefs that help people bond. Organizations must revisit and re-energize these values periodically as they play a pivotal role in deepening the organization’s roots and become intrinsic to an employee’s professional journey.
Flat structure
The rigid hierarchical structure is giving way to a more horizontal and distributed form of organization. There is more workplace agility and team collaboration, which is helping organizations allocate resources faster based on project needs across varied locations or functions.
Use of technology
With organizations becoming more distributed, there is a trend towards virtual teams. The role of technology is becoming increasingly important. Data has shifted to the cloud, and there is a shift towards an analytic approach that is more measurable and action-oriented. There is an emphasis on employee training programs to build both employee and organizational capacity as well.
As 2019 gives way to 2020, organizations are becoming more conscious about innovating work culture with technology. With millennials making up 35 percent of the global workforce and Gen Z making up 24 percent by 2020, the business landscape is set to change further. The proliferation of big data and artificial intelligence will become the drivers of business decisions. Being in the consulting space, we do realize that while these shifts may be inevitable, workspaces must develop a combination of interpersonal and technological skills which smartly leverages its human capital.
#2020WorkplaceTrends: A glimpse
- Culture first where every employee feels cared for and respected by people within the organization.
- Work-life flexibility, which correlates with higher organization loyalty.
- More usage of technology with an influx of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning there will an increased focus on making HR processes more robust and optimizing the overall employee work experience. With a faster uptake on mobile technologies, digital feedback mechanisms, collaborative systems, and internetworked teams, their business leaders will need to integrate people, processes, and technology judiciously.
- Diversity and inclusion which goes beyond just people diversity to also include cultural diversity. This could mean a rejig of the internal organizational process, especially that involve human capital.
- Gender focus for a safer and balanced work environment for women and providing them equal work opportunities.
- More human touch where employees feel a sense of belonging. This is especially true of Millennials who often look for quicker recognition and appreciation.
- Employee branding to maximize corporate branding through training, right recruitments and culture propagation
- Career progression programs to enhance the learning curve of every employee so that they can learn, grow, and advance.
- Workplace wellness that leads to an overall physical and mental fitness of every employee.
With the gig economy gradually becoming a part of India Inc., clinging to the old style of functioning, rigid thought processes may make it difficult for organizations to retain and attract talent. With more millennials workforce, organizations may be willing to invest more in devices and technologies. Keeping pace with this workforce transition while keeping intact our core values that encourage a sense of shared purpose, inclusivity, recognition, and appreciation of all employees, old or new, to build a more dynamic, purpose-driven, and versatile workspace will surely be an exciting proposition.