Due to demographic shifts and rapid technological advancements, the U.S. workplace is undergoing exciting changes. For managers, it’s key to be informed about how these changes will affect the workplace so they can proactively harness them to their organizations’ advantage. What follows are the top eight workplace trends you can expect in 2017.
1. Gen Z begins to make its mark in the workplace. A large number of Gen Z workers are opting to work instead of going into deep debt to attend college. According to Peter Economy in his Inc. article titled “5 Surprising Things You Should Know About Generation Z,” this diverse, highly motivated, and aspirational group of workers are eager to learn and are looking for jobs that offer professional development and solid career paths.
2. Employers will enhance their candidate and employee experience. With the war for talent still raging, employers want to engage candidates early and ensure they have a good experience that lasts for the duration of their employment and beyond. In his Forbes article “10 Workplace Trends You’ll See in 2017,” Dan Schwabel points out that a bad candidate experience is quickly communicated on the Internet, potentially costing a company top talent and as a result, revenue. In addition, companies will make more use of people analytics to engage and retain employees.
3. Work-life design becomes more important. Workers not only want a good work-life balance; they also want good work-life design. This involves factors such as being able to adjust how and how much they work according to their life stages and personal situations. For example, parents of young children might prefer flexible work arrangements while an empty-nester might want a fast-track to a senior managerial position. Other elements of work-life design include employer-provided training, onsite wellness programs, sabbaticals, and opportunities to do socially meaningful work.
4. Work environments will become more casual. With Millennials being the largest generation in the workforce and a rising number of Gen Z employees joining them, work environments are likely to become more casual and collaborative than ever before.
5. Independent workers will play an increasingly large role. A growing number of highly skilled professional and technical talent are opting to be independent. Instead of choosing regular fulltime work, they’re doing “gig” work; i.e. short-term projects for a variety of employers. Companies that want access to top talent will therefore have to adapt their talent strategies to include free agents.
6. Technological advancement will continue to disrupt the workplace. Technology is advancing with leaps and bounds, and it’s changing how we live and work. Automation is also increasingly important—in some cases rendering specific skills and even occupations obsolete. Companies will have to make sure they have the skills they need to adapt to these developments either by hiring new workers or upskilling existing employees.
7. There will be a higher demand for data visualization and presentation. By now, we’re all used to big data and data analytics. Catherine Fisher’s LinkedIn article “LinkedIn Unveils the Top Skills That Can Get You Hired in 2017, Offers Free Courses for a Week,” highlights how companies are now looking for workers with the skills to organize, visualize, and present this data so it’s easy to understand.
8. Internal communication will become more efficient. For years, experts have been saying that workers have to deal with an inordinate amount of email—which takes away from their productive time. That’s why a growing number of employers will encourage the use of company platforms and internal chat apps to increase the efficiency of internal communications.
From technological disruption to gig economy efficiency and everything in between, 2017 promises to be one of the most interesting and fast-paced workplace years on record. Keep our trends in mind, and you can be a thought leader in the advancements that make sense to your business model.