The past year is evidence that the way we live and work is changing. Things that used to be normal are not normal now. Among all the other turmoil the pandemic has brought, it has forced companies to analyze their priorities and change them as needed. Today we’ll discuss 9 trends shaping work in 2021 and beyond.
Employers Will Continue to Shift From Managing Employee Experiences to Managing Life Experiences
As the pandemic has pushed employers further into employee lives, leaders learn that making sure employees have good personal lives makes them perform better at work. This year will be the year companies begin paying more attention to their employees’ mental, physical, and financial health.
More Companies Will Announce Opinions on Political and Societal Issues
In today’s world, employees want to work for companies that align with their own belief system. Since many people believe that companies should take a stance on political and societal issues, CEOs will be forced to keep up with the trend. Failing to do so may mean that they won’t attract the best talent.
The Gender-Wage Gap Will Rise
As organizations shift toward a hybrid workforce where some employees work in the office, some are working from home, and others are at third party locations, many think this will cause the gender-wage gap to further increase. Most think this will happen because men will return to offices while women will stay home. Some managers believe office workers are higher performers than remote workers.
New Regulations Will Dampen Employee Monitoring
New legislation to control just how much an employer can monitor an employee is likely to be introduced this year. Most experts believe this will happen because many companies recently bought new technology to monitor employees, but the areas in which it can be used are mainly gray.
Flexibility Will Refer To Time Rather Than Location
As a whole, 2020 showed that many people could actually do their job from a remote location. Since the work location has already shifted, it’s expected that the time of work will be next.
Companies Will Buy Large Quantities of COVID-19 Vaccines And See Lawsuits
Leading companies are interested in offering the COVID-19 vaccine to employees for the sake of retaining and attracting talent. While many people will welcome receiving the vaccine, others are likely to file lawsuits against companies that are requiring them to be vaccinated before returning to work.
Mental Health Will Join The Conversation
Within the last few years, many companies have realized that an employee’s mental health matters. Companies will continue to offer new benefits and ways to help employees with this.
Companies Will “Rent” Employees
Companies are requiring more skills for employment than ever before. So, rather than spending money on all the necessary training, employers will begin using contract services to “rent” rather than hire employees.
States Will Focus On Attracting Individuals Over Companies
States have finally realized that they have to offer companies large incentives to entice them to relocate there. Most of them now know that it’s cheaper to attract individual people than it is to focus on entire companies.
For more on this topic, check out this recently published article from Harvard Business Review
