2017 Global Workplace Trends

Striking a balance between speed and stability

NOW

Though agility is the new norm across multiple sectors and industries (remember the old adage “Change is the only constant”?), some nudging remains necessary for companies all across the corporate landscape to develop agility as a frontline mode of operations.

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Of 277 companies in a recent Accenture study, the ones with higher levels of both stabilizing structural backbone and velocity were 436% likelier to be seen as outstanding financial performers in their industries than those that lacked both¹. Organizations will take these proof points to heart by more than ever allowing people to have the freedom and responsibility to work out their challenges in order to see a surge in innovation and creativity. The practice of mindfulness, for one, will be standard in the quest to embrace agility. Rather than just talk about it, businesses will put their words into action to access the potential of human beings — which they will acknowledge remains largely untapped.

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1 “Competing perspectives on the link between strategic information technology alignment and organizational agility: Insights from a mediation model,” Tallon, P. P. & Pinsonneult. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 2 pp. 463-486, June 2011.

 

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Accelerating innovation through chance interactions

NOW

Cross-working is encouraging employees to interact with a wide range of people across an organization to spark innovation — which is the drumbeat of relentless change that’s become a hallmark of 21st-century work and life: new products, new processes, new services, new ways of organizing and new ways of thinking.

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It’s not enough for employers to create conditions for random interactions and hope that innovation will spontaneously occur. They must foster the mindset and skills that make fruitful cross-pollination more likely: curiosity for unfamiliar ideas from other people, listening skills to hear them out, lateral thinking to play with those ideas and the belief that anybody can be an agent of innovation.

 

Understanding the impact of migration on the workplace

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UN estimates put the number of migrants across the globe at 244 million, or 3.3% of the world’s population. The business community has a role to play in helping to facilitate the integration of migrants. This is more than corporate social responsibility; it can and should be about shaping the sort of labor market that businesses need — one that is skilled, employed and engaged. Organizations are more frequently welcoming migrants into the workforce and leveraging their talents with an understanding of their immense value proposition.

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Corporations that make real efforts to promote a sense of belonging and a culture of inclusion among their workforces will be better equipped to fill talent shortages, enhance talent mobility and facilitate the ease of movement for loyal and engaged workers between countries and places of business. In the years ahead, those companies that already have corporate cultures with deep foundations in diversity and inclusion will be best suited to rise up to help their communities and, in turn, their countries by recruiting and integrating migrants.

 

How robots are transforming the way we work

NOW

As the workplace becomes increasingly automated in the endless drive for greater efficiency and production, an anxious workforce worries that the machines mean human workers will be out of work and out of luck.

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Organizations will be addressing the challenges that automation, AI and robotics present to their workforce, helping human employees embrace their new co-bot colleagues. Businesses will benefit from carefully considered adoption and use of technology in the workplace. Instead of wholesale personnel downsizing, employers will train and develop their people — retraining as appropriate — to empower workers to take on new and different roles. There will be a greater transparency surrounding the significance of changes in labor patterns, with stakeholders collaborating to ensure that we continue to thrive in a brave new world.

 

A new model for talent development

NOW

The norms of work-related learning challenge the wisdom that older people teach while younger people learn — with a workforce that is working for more years, this is no longer the standard. Now, workers of all ages contribute to one another, establishing longer and more dynamic careers that defy generational stereotypes and spell the end of the top-down mentoring model.

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By 2030, the percentage of the population aged 60 and over is expected to leap, from 12.3% in 2015 to 16.5%. Intergenerational agility is a critical piece of the employee value proposition, and competitive companies will increasingly focus on successfully developing and managing a multigenerational workforce. Organizations will quickly see the benefits of intergenerational learning, including greater efficiency, greater productivity and a more competitive standing.

 

A powerful tool for employees and employers alike

NOW

Personal and corporate brands, once entirely separate entities, are now overlapping, as organizations realize the value of the influencers in their workforce. As more companies come to view their employees’ social presence and personal branding websites as always-on (and no-cost) marketing channels for the corporate brand, they’re looking for new ways to ride along with their social reach, to shape personal messaging to the corporation’s benefit and to protect their interests when employees use social media in ways that can be harmful to the organization.

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Consider this: Brand messages are reshared 24 times more frequently when distributed by employees versus by the brand. It should come as no surprise, then, that we’ll see the rise of companies with social employee advocacy programs, social listening programs and professional development plans that include instructions and governance models on how employees can enhance their personal brands while supporting company goals. And “surveillance” is no longer a one-way street — we’ll move to an era of co-veillance, in which employers and employees constantly monitor one another.

 

Putting design thinking principles to work

NOW

Once a novel way to address changing demands of workers, design thinking has become a critical strategic imperative for organizations looking to put the employee experience first. With today’s employees expecting more from their employers, designers and strategists are rethinking all elements of the workplace including the built environment, technology, amenities — even the virtual work space.

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In Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends survey, 79% of executives rated design thinking as an important or very important issue. We’ll see a fuller implementation of design thinking for people-centric work environments that consider employees’ experiences door to door, and where every aspect is designed with the employee in mind. This will blur the lines between work, play and life even more. Moving to the forefront as well: health and well-being as a foundation for designing workplaces that contribute to our overall happiness and wellness.

 

Reframing CSR through a shared vision and common purpose

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Once the preserve of the United Nations, leading NGOs and scientists, sustainable development is increasingly recognized as the legitimate responsibility of businesses. Heeding the call, businesses are seeking socially responsible solutions that help the planet and its inhabitants, via policies, programs and partnerships. But employees want to be part of the solution, too — they’re willing, committed and paying attention.

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With the welcome development of integrated reporting for environmental, social and governance performance within financial reporting, more companies will join the ranks of behemoths like Unilever, which ended quarterly reporting of profits to focus on long-term sustainability. Those organizations that are creative, committed and consistently visible when it comes to sustainable development, alongside innovation and technology, will be more successful in the years leading up to 2030. Theirs will be a culture of workplace satisfaction and collaboration that serves today for a better business tomorrow.

 

A new understanding of what drives this generation

NOW

To break the cycle of generational stereotyping and capitalize on the opportunities uniquely presented by the millennial generation, companies in emerging and developed nations alike are cultivating a new understanding of this cohort and why they matter. By creating a culture where millennials are engaged, employers are benefiting from the collaboration, creativity and authenticity that they bring to the table.

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Millennials now represent the largest share of the labor market — 32% — a number that will only grow over the next decade — in fact, it is estimated that by 2025, they will comprise 75% of the global workforce. When millennials and Gen Z employees across 10 global markets were quizzed in 2014, both generations chose health care coverage as the most important employee benefit. But by September 2016, when a follow-up study was conducted, their priority had shifted to work flexibility. Yet only 34% of companies now offer it.

By necessity, this will change: Corporations and enterprises will offer millennials the same freedom, flexibility and mobility they crave from startups — as well as providing leadership training earlier. Employers will also give millennials opportunities to put their entrepreneurial spirit to work, both within and outside the company. They won’t discourage millennial employees from taking the initiative on a new project, or even from having side jobs; this actually makes them more entrepreneurial (good for the company) and provides a sense of freedom (good for the employee).

 

The workplace as a wellness destination

NOW

Among U.S. workers with access to a wellness program, only 40% say these programs actually improve their health or wellness, nearly one-third don’t use them, and 10% don’t even know if one is available. Today’s workers are seeking out a new and improved employee value proposition that includes a focus on all aspects of health and well-being. As the boundaries between work and life continue to blur, employees increasingly look to employers to foster a culture of health; to optimize the built environment; and to provide wellness-enhancing amenities, programs and policies. And so employers are taking holistic approaches to workplace wellness, taking all aspects of employees’ health and well-being into consideration.

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Organizations will go a step further by striving to make workplaces healthy “destinations” for employees — adapting both work and the workplace so that both are truly wellness-enhancing and improve all dimensions of quality of life. These are the types of environments that are increasingly being sought out and even demanded by employees who understand that work can and should contribute to their health, not detract from it.

Employers will embrace this new approach to workplace well-being by developing customized, employee-centric, holistic wellness programs that look at worker wellness as a true advantage. They will find ways to shift already-tight resources to solutions that enhance human health and prevent disease.