2021 Trends in the Workplace Series: Conclusion

When I glance at the headlines from business websites, I see something – pandemic workplace trends that are here to stay. One glance at the Harvard Business Review shows these stories:

·       “What is Your Organization’s Long-Term Remote Work Strategy?”

·       “How Interruptions Can Make Your Meetings More Inclusive”

·       “Building Trust into Telehealth”

·       “What a Year of WFH Has Done to Our Relationships at Work”

If you had asked me what WFH means in 2019, I would have assumed you meant WTF. My, the world has changed, and so has the workplace.

This is the sixth and final post in a blog series about 2021 Workplace Trends. I was inspired to write this series by client and colleague conversations. I kept seeing people and businesses assume that big changes are only options in larger organizations. I believe that every business can tap into the benefits of these workplace trends. With a little preparation and intention, your business can effectively adapt to the next normal. The series has been broken down into different groupings:

Introduction

First, we discussed the enormous amount of change that we have all absorbed in the last twelve months. This is not just a workplace situation. This pandemic has affected every area of life. A recent focus group participant shared it this way, “The last twelve months has forced me to renegotiate every relationship in my life, whether I was ready or not.” However, some of these changes will move from trends to permanent shifts. How will you adapt?

Individual Impacts

Then we turned our attention to our role as employees and the work environment. Working in an office may not be a requirement anymore. The ability to present different working options supports inclusion, as one working arrangement size does not fit all. Some jobs may support more flexible work schedules. Flexible work schedules support inclusion. A virtual workplace requires more effort with connection and socialization. Connection creates belonging, which supports inclusion. Hybrid workplaces necessitate stronger digital literacy. The support of a virtual workplace will create new roles. Creativity and opportunities for learning lead to higher employee engagement.

Team Changes

When individuals change, the team dynamics are restructured. A virtual work option opens up the staffing strategy. If a job can be done remotely, then an employee can work from anywhere. This dramatically opens up the candidate pool to people all over the world, which supports diversity. A distributed workforce calls for a review of the pay structure and benefits plan within this new framework. Spoiler alert: pay that address the costs of living first supports equity.

How we gather now is different and complicated. It requires a whole new set of skills and expansive creativity. Asynchronous and synchronous work supports autonomy and flexibility in the workplace. Virtual collaborative workspaces become a place of gathering and ode to a collective history. Generative team meetings replace the traditional meetings of updates and one-way leadership. An inclusive organizational culture starts in teams. An evolving set of working agreements provides the framework for team agility and capability. We are going through constant changes with these global shifts. Recognizing this reality as a team opens up our adaptive skills and resilience.

Organizational Structures

Organization design includes strategy, structure, workflow processes, reward systems, and people. These design elements compose the backbone of a business, and changes in these design elements creates radical transformation throughout the company. Diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) is a long-term strategic change. Staffing strategies will permanently expand to include gig work and outsourcing, even at the small business level. Traditional pay structures will be upended by wage stagnation and cost of living. A hybrid workplace prompts a hybrid benefits plan. The workplace evolution is not done. Once you start tugging at the webs of organizational systems, changes start happening everywhere.

Personal Development

Finally, we delved into the “behind the scenes” work that each of us needs to complete to show up better in the workplace. Too often we rely upon employers to change us with training and development programs when in reality, employers can only offer the frameworks for personal change. We cannot shift to the next reality of work unless we choose to do so. Our interior selves are the parts of us that we do not share with others or maybe we don’t even know about ourselves. It means that when we don’t know much about our interior selves then we don’t know how we might show up in teams, situations, and systems. A personal practice of interior curiosity can uncover unconscious bias. A relational practice where we learn how to give and receive honest and loving feedback can change how we interact with humanity. A therapeutic practice of exploring relational patterns reoccurring in our lives can shift how we approach power and privilege. A reflective practice of pausing and observing our units of work can reveal what brings us energy and connection.

This closing post is about gathering the shared information into one place for you and continuing the dialogue about your experiences. What are you seeing? Which of these trends resonate with you? What are your hopes for the new workplace? What did I miss? Let’s progress together on this journey as we bravely go where no society has gone before.

Photo by sergio medina on Unsplash

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2021 Trends in the Workplace Series: A New Player