6 Ways Your Work Could Change in 2016
Workplace Trends Don’t Evolve Overnight, They Take Time Coming To Fruition.
In 2016 however, they will be set in large part by what’s currently happening in the freelance world.
With more and more trends being championed by the world’s not-so-largest companies, these trends are expected to hit out mainstream shores in 2016.
We take a look at 6 ways your workplace could change in 2016, affecting you in the comfort of your boardroom, to your office desk, home office or even coworking space.
- Remote-First Businesses
Many companies have become ‘remote friendly’ in recent years, but in 2016 that paradigm will shift towards companies that are built to be mobile from inception. Gone are the days of typical bricks and mortar-style offices, and in comes comes working remotely and online.
“You can create a virtual company today very, very easily,” says Josh Bersin, who founded his research and analyst firm, Bersin, as a virtual company in 2002, before Deloitte acquired it three years ago. “Organizations really aren’t companies, they’re like networks of teams. Even big companies are being reorganized like this. Everybody is working with a team that is somehow connected to another team, and that team may or may not be inside the company.”
- The Rise of Independent Consultants
Companies are getting less and less hierarchical and top-down in their execution than what they used to be. There are so many highly skilled consultants who are readily available for work, compared to them being only found within large consulting firms, that some companies are taking the freelance approach when taking them on board.
- Less Powerpoint, More Video
Video is definitely killing the PowerPoint star, or so it slowly seems. Static presentations given on Microsoft’s oldest platform are slowly being replaced by motion graphics, video, and platforms like Prezi, Keynote and Adobe After Effects.
People want to be wholly engaged with what they’re viewing, and with attention level time constantly becoming less and less, minds need to be stimulated – and constantly kept engaged – from the effects of a video, rather than an infographic or stock-standard presentation.
- Work-Life Balance Revisited
We’ve done well over the recent years to balance out our work-life balance, however with some companies, or areas of business, there is a new expectation to always be ‘on’, always responsive, and always available, which can in turn lead to an increasingly overwhelmed workforce.
Employees can be saturated with information, calls and emails everyday that they’re now trying to re-figure out what it means to have a work-life balance. Employers need to be able to keep the balance at a happy medium between attracting the right fit for their company, whilst also not risking out on deteriorating their employee’s life balance.
- New Leadership Expectations
The nature of management is changing and evolving rapidly, you needn’t have been working for your company for 10 years before you can earn that leadership badge, there are different expectations now when rising to the top (of the corporate ladder).
“Most companies, even big companies, are much less hierarchal and much less top-down in their execution than they used to be,” says Bersin. “Leaders are finding that they have to be more inspirational, they have to be more collaborative. The traditional approach to performance management and performance appraisals is being revolutionized, they’re throwing away ratings, they’re putting in systems to provide feedback, and the gap that’s being created is, ‘Who are the right leaders?'”
6.Consumer-Grade Design as the New Normal
Design is slowly starting to seep into areas of your business where you never thought would need it. There will be a shift into focussing on design in places such as your IT Department or HR Department.
Design won’t just be a focal point for consumer products any more. Having well-designed tools, applications, devices, programs, collateral to make it just as easy for staff to use as it would be for the consumer.
TWD stay at the forefront when keeping up with global, digital and workplace trends. If you’re interested in seeing what we’re about, and what we stand for, send us an email at info@twd.com.au or give us a call on 1300 893 000.
