Emerging Trends are Shaping The Way We Work

The way we work has been changing radically in recent years. Events in the last few years have forced employers and employees to rethink the traditional work mentality. This has resulted in alternative thinking where flexibility and work-life balance are keywords. Take a closer look at some of the trends that showcase the new shift in the way we work.

Major shifts have taken place in our working environments in recent years. Many various factors influence the workspace and the culture around it. The turmoil of the last few years has opened a lot of people’s eyes to new opportunities and inspired them to think work differently, not only in Canada but around the world. This means that new trends have emerged, trends that are already shaping the way we work and will continue to do so in the coming future.

Our workspace is becoming more digital

One of the major shifts is the shift towards a more hybrid and remote way of working. Many people are rethinking the concept of going to work in a physical office and working 9 to 5 like they’re used to. The same thing goes for employers who are experiencing the benefits of digital recruitment and the massive pool of talent that emerges when you choose to offer hybrid or remote working. Besides the possibilities of working from anywhere and enjoying the perks of a much more flexible work schedule, there’s the general movement towards the digital. As everything in general becomes more digital, it’ll also get easier to make the most of the new ways of working.

What is the price of going to the office?

Just like always, there’s also a counter-trend going on. As things are becoming more flexible and remote, employers are finding new ways of trying to attract their employees to the physical workspace. According to research by Harvard Business Review, 60% of employees aren’t experiencing enough benefits of going to the office as opposed to working from home. This is leading employers to try to find new and creative ways to make the option of going to work an attractive one for their employees. Amongst these are housing subsidies, benefits to caregivers, better healthcare programs, and bonuses.

AI’s influence will create new opportunities

As AI has been gaining influence and continues to play a larger role in many workspaces, there has been a growing worry that it’ll start to replace jobs in the future. But actually, it looks like AI will be redesigning the way we work automating many processes and leaving workers to spend more time on their core responsibilities. Research predicts that GenAI tools will be optimizing up to 70% of text- and data tasks by next year as opposed to around 10% last year. As more companies are implementing AI tools, many employees will start to experience the upsides of AI in their daily work instead of the fear of AI replacing their jobs. Obviously, there are some jobs that are being replaced by AI but in general, it looks like the tendency is going to be that AI is creating jobs not replacing them.

Optimizing our work to work less

Work-life balance has been a major topic for quite a few years now. In recent years in particular, many people have been aware of the importance of having a healthy worklife that leaves room for their personal life and creates balance and improved life quality. This is one of the reasons why workspaces have been experimenting with four-day workweeks. The result in general is that employees are working more efficiently with fewer hours and experience an increased life quality. Right now, the four-day workweek is still a rather radical idea but the prediction is that it’ll transform into the new normal. The upsides of a reduced workweek will be hard to ignore and will be something that employers need to consider in order to attract the best talent. These changes in the way of thinking about quality of work from hours to efficiency go hand-in-hand with the new ways of working hybrid and remote which seems by all means to be the future.

Skills will matter more than degree

Another major trend that’s evolving in these years is the shift from focusing on degrees and merits when recruiting to a focus on skills. In the future, recruiters are going to be more open to self-taught and complex profiles instead of just looking for a specific degree to fit in a box. This aligns with the overall shift from a traditional work mentality to a more flexible and alternative way of thinking about work and recruitment. It’s clear that these trends are part of a larger shift taking place in these years. Employees in the future will have greater demands when it comes to designing their own way of working and expecting a much higher level of flexibility.