Speculating: Trends for the Future of Work

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Some probabilities and their implications to think about:

  • Stress and mental fatigue has increased with the need to solve problems and meet needs faster. Employers are seeing the need to cater to people first. I wonder if we will see work evolving to a pattern of spurts of high pressure/high productivity followed by periods of easing off and regaining energy – rather than a consistent level of expected productivity. Could this become typical in some industries and occupations or functions but be impossible in others?

  • What was already happening with AI and reskilling has and will be accelerating. It’s a high priority for employers.

  • Adapting to Gen Z learning formats such as videos in the style and duration of TikTok – how prevalent will that be? Will the formats work for other generations?

  • Transparent communication and media and many different feedback channels are likely.

  • Organizations are placing faith in the resilience of people and their desire to be and do good. That deserves recognition, really listening and feeling heard leading to a sense of belonging.

  • The diversity, equity and inclusion’s (DEI) focus gradually building to go beyond race, gender and LGBTQ to widen the tent to age, disabilities (both physical and neurological), and with these, diversity of thought. This can happen with the less obvious presence of bias, given the increase of remote work.

  • Traits and skills such as trust, empathy, curiosity and perspective (see chapters for each through generational lenses in “You Can’t Google It!”) given their greater importance in management decisions as we move to a more “people first” work environment.

And a few forecasts from Cornerstone:

  • Expect a trend toward using virtual reality (VR) to promote empathy.

  • Employers making real time development training available as a key strategy to keep employees engaged.

  • HR departments and personnel going beyond the customary thinking and functions to adopt a learning mindset.

Which of the above strike you as likely in the next year or two? Which have you seen taking hold already?

Call to Action: Add your own forecasts. We’d love to get your comments to contribute to the conversation around future of work trends.