Transforming how people work

Are you looking to boost your productivity during the work week? The pandemic, demographic shifts, technological advancements, and societal changes have dramatically disrupted the work landscape. These transformations affect how we organize and approach work. Globalization Partners conducted a global survey of 8,000 professionals worldwide to identify this year’s top workforce trends. Key findings include the rise of a worldwide team mindset, the potential of AI for teamwork through upskilling, and the growing importance of soft skills. Dive into the emerging changes in the work environment and new work models below!

Video conferencing platforms & AI redefine the workplace

Zoom Workplace, one of the most significant global video conferencing platform tools, recently came out with key statistics about the importance of collaboration. According to their research, 71% of work leaders report increased employee happiness and satisfaction with hybrid and remote work options. Interestingly, 80% of employees believe remote work collaboration works as well or better than in-person collaboration. Using the available communication tools for collaboration can result in 41% happier customers, 70% of employees believing a boost in productivity and saving time, and ultimately 21% higher profitability. In terms of the role of technology in workplace collaboration, 75% of leaders find AI helpful. At the same time, they realize the need to upskill their workforce. Fortunately, Webex, Cisco, and LinkedIn Live recently hosted an event, “How AI is Redefining the Workplace Experience.” LinkedIn Learning also offers AI courses with certifications to upskill quickly!

Rehumanizing work

Human soft skills add to the options AI offers and are becoming increasingly valued collaboration assets in 2024. Forbes offered 11 Essential Soft Skills in 2024: communication, leadership, teamwork, creativity, time management, adaptability, problem-solving, work ethic, critical thinking, conflict management, and emotional intelligence. LinkedIn rated flexibility as a crucial part of adaptability because the job you were hired may differ from the one you will be performing as industries evolve. Taking the time to invest in professional development and staying curious remains crucial.

Collaborative goal setting

Appinfluence offers a solution for collaborating through shared goal setting with a Priority Matrix. Crestron also provides thoughts on modern workplace trends and opportunities to connect and interact more effectively through new technologies. Fast Company suggests a three-point approach to turn the typical “drudgery” of connecting into a transformative experience. With 85% of work time spent in meetings, emails, phone calls, and messaging apps like Slack, people get connected without truly connecting. Their three-point approach suggests eliminating inefficiencies (30 minutes can be the new 60), acting more intentional (e.g., turning agendas into questions), and “shaking it up” (e.g., bringing a +1 from another business unit or outside the company to meetings). Also significant knowing when a brief remote meeting or call would be more fruitful than 20 back-and-forth emails! 

Coworking spaces continue to thrive

Are you finding working from home distracting or motivating? While remote work comes with perks, coworking spaces offer variety and stimulation, especially for digital nomads. Coworking can bring value by locating a reasonably priced spot to do your work and finding connection and productivity. A shared space offers many collaboration opportunities with artists, entrepreneurs, freelancers, innovators, and others. Symrise nurtures collaboration and a strong team ethic and works with partners to deliver sustainable solutions. Comment below on your favorite ways to work better together!

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Wellbeing in the Workforce

Imagine the traditional workplace: timeframes, places, spaces, and routines have defined what going to work means to both employers and employees. Globalization, connectivity, and Millennial values of work/life balance started to blur traditional office paradigms. In addition, 2020 instantly catapulted these movements forward. The concept of working remotely significantly shifted employees’ and employers’ mindsets moving into the future of the work, office, and work/life balance. 

The layered chaos of a global pandemic, economic panic, redefined relationships, lack of employment, and general precariousness about the world’s future brought the idea of normalcy to a halt. Our typical career stressors fell to the bottom of our need hierarchy, and previously unrealized needs are now colliding with our traditional work life.

Most of the world has been working in an alternative format for the past year, and as we begin to reestablish routine, the concern to upkeep our mental and physical wellbeing will cover the top of our minds. As the Harvard Business Review commented, “Anxiety is near-universal right now, a natural reaction to unnatural circumstances and an uncertain future.” As we return to a new normal in 2021, people and companies will need a new set of tools to proceed ahead more healthily than ever before.

Reestablished Routines

Like many historical crises, 2020 has sparked human ingenuity at its finest. Covid-19 became a catalyst for disruption and innovation across industries. Companies large and small quickly pivoted to co-create the definition of work with their employees and clients. In this seamless merger of online-offline productivity, employees will develop greater and more complex roles and relationships. Brands are positioning and innovating products to satisfy the new emotional and physical pressures of consumers.

Consumers look to simplified solutions to ease anxiety and embody the feeling of cocooned comfort that emulates home. Brands like Weller beverages are creating straightforward, attainable options for mood boosters on the go, while traditional chefs like Martha Stewart launch CBD lines, including gummies and flavored oils. As we begin to reestablish routine, the concern to upkeep our mental and physical wellbeing will come to the top of our minds. 

Shifting Benefits

The ongoing pandemic is changing many things for employers and employees alike, including workplace wellness trends. Mental health benefits, personalized wellness, stress management, financial wellness, and family wellness belong to areas that are bubbling up to overtake traditional concerns like healthy food in the office and on-site fitness classes in 2021. 

According to Wellable’s 2021 Employee Wellness Industry Trends Report, mental health hovers at the top of everyone’s mind this year. Nine out of ten employers plan to invest more in this area to be well-equipped to address this part of wellbeing for their employees. Health and wellness programs take on heightened importance within organizations. 

Starbucks, for instance, initiated a training program called Starbucks Mental Health Fundamentals for its employees. This adds to the company’s existing efforts to fight the stigma around mental health. In comparison, Nike offers free sign-up for employees to engage in a guided meditation through Headspace to turn off the stress at the swipe of an app.

Inter-Community Wellness

Social distancing and space to ourselves drove new formations of wellness tribes. Online mental health brought a higher standard of healthcare to marginalized communities by alleviating the stress of travel, time, and overall accessibility. 

Platforms like COA, “the gym for your mental health,” have been established to manage mental health and emotional fitness. They offer classes, like a gym, where you can meet others around the world who belong to a community to grow emotionally healthy. People have found new ways to connect through the subtle trauma that isolation caused, and companies are taking note of these formats to reconnect their employee communities.

What attitude do you take towards returning to routine within the workforce? What kind of mental health benefits would you like your employer to include in your healthcare plan? How are you rethinking your work/life balance? What products will bring anxiety relief to your office space? Comment Below:

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