There is a direct correlation between organizational trends and the work environment. It does not matter if you are working on a factory floor all day, staring out the window of a cubicle office, or residing in a home office designed to maximize productivity and efficiency, you are still affected by the trends in the workplace. What is our ability to adapt to the changing and rapidly growing trends in our society? Moreover, can your organization stand out among other like-minded companies in order to achieve success?
Trends on Scale
Trends affecting the workplace are a common occurrence, which most employees within your organization are aware of and strive to follow. In order to be successful, it is imperative that your organization is aware of these trends at both a large scale (i.e., company-wide) and a smaller scale (each employee, leader, and client). In allowing your firm to participate in these programs, you are setting everyone up for long-term success, including your practice in general.
Commonly Known Trends
The ability to meet and exceed expectations is crucial to helping your workplace change, grow, and adapt. As a result, you will be able to achieve success, both in the short and long term. Trends in the workplace are constantly changing, whether for the betterment of an organization or for everyone around the world. Recognizing the common, ongoing trends is the first step to understanding what your organization needs to pivot.
1. Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DE&I)
The importance of being socially aware of diversity cannot be overstated. Ensure that your organization is an inclusive workplace for all individuals with diverse backgrounds. Besides promoting positivity and creating a comfortable work environment, this will demonstrate your ability to adapt to change to other organizations. You will be able to adapt to change without hesitation, as well as embrace it with open arms. All employees, managers, clients, and customers will respect this policy equally. The most important thing is to be known as someone who treats everyone equally, both internally and externally.
“Diversity is a fact. Equity is a choice. Inclusion is an action. Belonging is an outcome.”
-Arthur Chan
As a result, your organization will advocate for safe, fair, and just practices for all participants. Due to the fact that this is a common trend, it should continue to grow and remain successful for many years to come. It is important for society that everyone has the opportunity to advance in their career without being discriminated against for any reason. By following (or leading) the way with this trend, your organization will create a sense of belonging for everyone. In the end, that is what we aim to achieve.
2. Team Exercises
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is in itself a challenge. Working together successfully with your fellow team members can be an even more challenging endeavor, since they are not the people you choose to work with, as you do with your family members. It is important to keep in mind that your colleagues are members of your work family. However, just as you require their assistance, they need your assistance as well. The process is not always as straightforward as it appears. In spite of this, team exercises, whether held in the office or via remote meetings, are essential for ensuring a healthy working relationship.
In order to address problematic issues that may arise, it is essential that we make better decisions together. When these situations arise, it is not always possible to seek assistance from someone in a position of authority to assist. Be prepared to shift your focus to other team members when this occurs so that a healthy resolution can be brought forth.
The frequency of team-building exercises does not have to be high, but you should make a conscious effort to participate and to include others in your activities. Inclusion is the cornerstone of your organization, isn’t it? Indeed, that is the case. These exercises may include, but are not limited to:
- Puzzles
- Scavenger hunt
- Host a luncheon
- Board games
- Trust falls
- Human knots
Your team’s engagement will help eliminate the cause of their bias against fellow team members and other employees of the organization. As a result, the framework for inclusion within each team will also be established.
3. Remote and Hybrid Approach to Work
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has been put to the ultimate test. The result is that remote work leads to success, both for the organization employing remote employees as well as for the employees themselves. Hybrid work follows the same principle.
This eliminates the need for an actual office, either part-time or full-time. In addition to reducing costs for the company, both types of work will allow employees to enjoy a healthier work-life balance as opposed to commuting one to two hours each day then sitting in a cubicle for an additional eight hours.
“Success in a hybrid work environment requires employers to move beyond viewing remote or hybrid environments as a temporary or short-term strategy and to treat it as an opportunity.”
-George Penn
By allowing your employees to take advantage of this opportunity, you open up the possibility of greater employee flexibility, as well as increasing their ability to complete more work, on their own schedule. By allowing less mandated routine and more flexibility to communicate only when necessary, communication tends to flow more freely and effortlessly.
In addition, this approach to work improves and promotes employees’ ability to receive a higher level of education and pursue alternative training advancements relevant to their profession. In part, this can be attributed to each employee who chooses this option because it allows them to have more time on their own for personal development. As a result of improving themselves, an organization, as well as those within it, will be healthier.
4. Engagement and Retention
As a result of 2020, flexibility was made possible. The retention of employees is now an absolute necessity when it comes to 2022. In order for this to occur, they must feel more engaged than ever before. That is precisely how they feel. Approximately half of all employees feel more engaged in their current role than they did a year ago. Employee engagement is on the rise, resulting in better employee retention for organizations. Do not allow the idea of it to become relaxed, since this will increase your employee’s likelihood of choosing the competition when they offer a better package that includes higher pay and other benefits.
5. Technology
Every day, the level of automation is increasing. Employees’ jobs (and careers) may be at risk as a result of this trend. It is imperative that you are prepared to pivot in the right direction in order to reduce this risk and continue the trend in a successful manner. In order to improve automation, it is irrelevant whether technology makes progress or struggles to find new ways. What is relevant? The ability of your organization to keep up with the rising demand for replacing humans with technology in order to reduce costs, reduce time, and increase productivity.
Answering this question is fairly straightforward. Prepare your employees for upskilling, reskilling, and cross-skilling. If you adopt these forms of practice, your company will be able to remain competitive or even ahead of the technology curve.
While your business may be faced with the decision to cut jobs in order to reduce costs, it is extremely important to continue to engage with your team members in order to find a different solution. The act of doing so will demonstrate your loyalty to your business, its employees, the leaders you trust, and the clients you value. As a result, not only will this help structure the way technology functions in your organization, but you will also be able to demonstrate where your loyalty lies – with those who remain loyal to your company.
Are you Trending?
The workplace trends are constantly changing, so it is important to keep up with current best practices. In the future, these trends are unlikely to deteriorate. The trend of some of these may continue for many years to come. The most important thing to remember is that your company is on a treadmill to success. If you make one misstep, your business could lose everything and be left with nothing but dust in the wind.
