Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in interest in the digital transformation of the workplace and in more flexible hybrid models. The pandemic has, of course, accelerated these trends and forever changed the way we think the workplace should look like in the future.
Current workplace trends:
1. 50% of employees are ready to quit if they cannot work remotely
Now that workers are used to working remotely, they don’t want to give it up. Owl Labs reported that one in two people will not return to their current job if they cannot work remotely in the future. A Bloomberg poll confirmed this. In a survey of a thousand employees, it was found that 39% of respondents are willing to change jobs if working from home won’t be an option in the future.
2. Increase in labor productivity, decrease in employee retention by 50%
A two-year study conducted at Stanford confirmed that working from home has no negative impact on productivity. In fact, the opposite is true – employees work remotely much more productively. In addition, the researchers noticed that the transition to remote work reduced staff turnover by half.
3. Working from home makes 77% of employees happier.
Productivity isn’t the only metric that skyrockets in a remote work environment. 77% of respondents said being able to work from home after the pandemic is over makes them happier.
What awaits the labor market in the next 10 years?
Over the past hundred years, the labor market has continuously evolved. The constant evolution of technology and the emergence of digital workspaces have defined not only how and where we work, but also the roles and skills needed in a dynamic work culture. The world of labor relations continues to evolve, requiring business leaders to find innovative solutions that are ready for the challenges of the future.
It is impossible to accurately predict the future, but there are already several trends that determine the further development.
Top 3 trends:
- Globalization
- Automation
- Personalization
Five trends shaping the future of the labor market
- Hybrid work. Remote workers have made up an increasing proportion of the workforce over the past decade. Companies are increasingly leaning towards the formation of dynamic teams based on task-oriented skills. The teams are organized within a much less centralized hierarchical structure. Remote work and freelancing are becoming the norm for a large number of professions. The development of information technologies is the foundation for building and spreading cross-border remote employment. Self-employment is rapidly growing too due to the emergence of platform solutions that allow providers and consumers of services to interact without intermediaries.
- Professional development and retraining. Integrating increasingly complex AI and digital solutions into the work environment requires excessive training. A different type of education is necessary for management to ensure a productive way of navigating hybrid workforce.
- Retirement age. The ageing of the world’s population will outpace the transition of leading countries to the AI economy, and there is a risk that pension systems will collapse. Experts predict that the unprecedented ageing of people will affect financially and structurally the labor market in developed countries. According to the UN, by 2050 one in six people in the world will be over 65 years old, of which one in four is a resident of Europe and North America. The need for care for the elderly will increase significantly. Companies will have to factor in caregiving benefits into employment policies.
- Employee well-being. The ability of companies to innovate and change quickly with the times is more important than ever. A 2020 survey of 17,000 employees across more than 20 industries shows that prioritizing employee engagement is critical to building more resilient, high performing companies.
- Diverse and multigenerational workforce. It has been proven time and time again that diversity leads to higher levels of success and innovation.
The future of education
School curricula globally lag behind technology. 65% of today’s schoolchildren will be employed in jobs that don’t yet exist. This trend will completely destroy the traditional model: graduating from university and then working in the same field for over a decade. The future working generation will have to continuously learn.
Education at the university will lose its value in the near future. After 2025, traditional university education is expected to decline due to lower education requirements in many companies. In fact, organisations like Google and Facebook have already revised their job descriptions to remove college education requirements.
Digital transformations and the development of technologies are also transforming the field of education, providing an opportunity for learning regardless of the location.
Enkla Media workforce 2023:
What does the following means for Enkla Media. We already implemented a model where the needs and wants of the employee always come first. The people working within and around our company are simple more important to us then short term business success. How do we practically implement it?
This is how:
- Employees and people working with us come first
- Hybrid and international team
- 100 % remote workplace
- No core working hours
- Practical skills over traditional education
What does it lead to?
We have had high employee retention as well as long cooperation with most of the freelancers and partners working with us. So far we have been able to grow the company quickly and profitable and we think our model is a model for long term success.