The Future Of Work: Exploring Employee Wellbeing Trends For 2023
What will the workplace look like in 2023? This is a question on the minds of many business leaders today. With the ever-changing landscape of technology and the global economy, it can be difficult to predict.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the latest trends in employee wellbeing and how they might impact the future of work.
A humanized employee-manager relationship is one where the manager treats the employee as a human being, rather than a cog in a machine. This type of relationship is built on trust, respect, and communication. In a humanized relationship, the manager recognizes that the employee has a life outside of work and that their work is just one part of who they are. The manager also understands that the employee has their own unique skills, talents, and perspectives that they can bring to the workplace. This type of relationship is beneficial for both the manager and the employee. The employee feels respected and valued, and the manager gets to tap into a wider range of skills and ideas.
With the reality of remote/hybrid work, managers face new challenges of keeping a cohesive and productive team both in-person and virtually. With these new dynamics, HR professionals are tasked to find creative ways to increase employee engagement across various teams and departments. Break rooms and social areas are being transformed into collaboration hubs to encourage serendipitous “water cooler” conversations virtually. outside of the traditional 9-5, employees are given more autonomy and flexibility with their work hours to fit their lifestyle and needs. This includes working from home, compressed workweeks, and flex days.
What is functional fitness? A type of training focused on conditioning your body to perform at its peak during everyday work activities. This approach helps companies tap into the wellness sector while improving strength, flexibility and coordination. You may have heard of this in the form of ergonomics in the workplace. Comfortable office and at-home workstations have emerged as a major priority in the future of work. The benefits of functional fitness are:
– Reduced likelihood of injuries
– Increased strength
– Increased flexibility
– Increased coordination
Since the workplace is ever-changing, so is the way we approach fitness.
Office setups such as standing desks, quiet pods, and ergonomic chairs have become a green flag for organizations that care for their employees’ wellbeing at work.
Today, job candidates want companies that show a true desire to uphold values and prioritize social responsibility. Purpose is one of the primary factors that employees seek when seeking out new job opportunities. When companies have a social purpose, it shows that they stand for more than a healthy bottom line. This is an attractive quality for job seekers, as it indicates that the company is values-driven and is interested in making a difference.
A company’s social purpose can be evident in a variety of ways. Some companies donate a portion of their profits to charitable causes, while others focus on sustainable or environmentally-friendly practices. Others may have a social purpose that is embedded into their business models, such as providing access to education or healthcare.
No matter what form it takes, social purpose is becoming an increasingly important factor in the workplace. Employees want to work for companies that care about something other than profits, and companies that fail to incorporate social impact into their mission are seen as red flags in the future of work.
Upskilling and training have emerged as top of the agenda for business. The move to online and digital learning has gained pace as we’ve all adapted to lockdown and remote working. Think of programs like LinkedIn Learning and Google Certificates. They offer accessible online courses that integrate into your work schedule, helping young professionals level up their career and attract major organizations.
Employers are turning their attention to staff development more than ever as the job market enters a new phase of uncertainty. Companies that offer training and upskilling to nurture top talent and help maintain high-performance in teams are finding better retention and engagement from their workforce.
In findings from TalentMS survey, 8 out of 10 employees say that upskilling has made them more productive. Providing this type of impact training made employees feel confident and quipped to handle their jobs. Upskilling also provides opportunity for promotion and greater buy-in as employees become better contributors to the organization’s success.
An emerging area that employers are pursuing is upskilling in mental health and resilience. With growing demands and stressors negatively impacting the workforce, the ability to upskill mentally to withstand and thrive through adversity has never been greater.
These are only a few themes that are emerging as companies rethink the way they do business. All of these themes are important in helping build a better workforce for the future. Empathy in employer-employee relationships and tapping into unique skill sets is paramount for building a high-performing team. Functional fitness helps employees stay healthy and avoid injuries, while upskilling ensures that employees are able to keep up with the latest changes in their industry. Social purpose shows that companies are interested in more than just profits, and this is an attractive quality for job seekers.
Companies that focus on these themes will be better positioned to attract and retain top talent.