Top 10 Work Trends for 2021
The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) has announced its eighth annual Top 10 Work Trends list. These issues are expected to have the most impact on work in 2021, based on member surveys.
Stress from the pandemic and the social issues in 2020 have resulted in the following trends:
10) Virtual Learning
Defined as the use of technology to deliver instruction and facilitate more effective learning, it has seen increased usage due to the global pandemic keeping people out of schools. It has been adopted in educational institutions as well as workplaces.
9) Improving Agility and Adaptability
Many businesses have had to change their business strategies and adjust approaches to get their work done. These strategies ranged from the reductions in some organizations' workforce to its rapid expansion in some organizations.
8) Changes in the Workplace
These changes include the growing adoption of artificial intelligence, increased digitization, more automation, and approaches to who (employees, contractors, consultants, temps, etc.) does the work and how, and new skills required to carry out a task.
7) Work-Life Integration
Work and life melded together during the pandemic when workforces shifted to work from home. This integration saw handling schooling for children, managing illnesses, and other lifestyle components such as community and well-being.
6) Team Effectiveness Across Various Environments
It became highly essential to ensure the team's effectiveness across virtual and distributed environments as many workers stopped working in their offices. While developments in collaborative technology have resulted in working effectively without being physically co-located for some organizations, many others who rely on physical proximity struggle with productivity.
5) Social Justice
Refers to the process of ensuring equal rights and access to opportunities, and is being increasingly integrated into many Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs after the death of George Floyd.
4) Inclusive Practices in Talent Management
Inclusive practices to get, keep, and grow talent are implemented in organizations to ensure that all people, especially minorities, are accepted and valued in the workplace. If there is effective management of diversity, equity, and inclusion, then diverse talents will be excited about working at the organization, will contribute their best, and will have the desire to stay.
3) Implementing Strategies and Measuring Progress on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belongingness (DEI&B)
Implementation of new strategies and measurement of various DEI&B programs' impact is important due to the continual evolution of talent analytics capabilities. With the capture of accurate and consistent data over time, and progress on DEI&B initiatives in the organization, or lack thereof, is becoming much more visible.
2) Employee Health, Well-Being, Wellness, and Safety
Benefits costs keep rising, and organizations continue to help employees manage stress to reduce the physical, mental, and emotional impacts of the increased costs. This has been especially at the forefront due to the debilitating impact of COVID-19 on employees' mental health.
1) Working Remotely and Flexible Working Arrangements
No surprise that this was the top trend this year. Although there were significant variations in the flexibility across industries, occupations, and locations, remote work has impacted many with a broad range of consequences for both employers and employees.
‘Stress from the pandemic and the social issues in 2020 have resulted in the given trends’
Source: Medindia