In recent years, we have been witnessing real changes at the heart of organizations : democratization of teleworking, digitization of tools, increasingly participatory management, implementation of CSR policies, etc. Will these trends multiply? What will it be like The company of tomorrow ? We offer you discover Future of Work trends and our advice to prepare you, right now, to welcome these changes in your organization.
Future of Work: what is it?
The Future of Work can be translated as “tomorrow's work” or even the “work of the future.” This term actually refers to a whole set of organizational, management and modeling processes that concern The future of corporate work.
When we talk about the work of the future, we tend to think of major technological innovations. However, the future of work is not limited to digitalization and automation. On the contrary, all organizational spheres of the company are concerned.
What will tomorrow's work look like?
While it is impossible to predict the future accurately, several trends seem to be developing regarding how we will work in the years to come. This is what tomorrow's work should look like.
The human being at the center of organizations
Employees attach increasing importance to their overall well-being. This one depends on both their working conditions, but also more general aspects, such as their Life balance or the fact of occupying a position that is in line with their values.
So that everyone can find peace of mind, the teams will be increasingly hybrids. Some people will be “full remote” and will work remotely the vast majority of the time. Others will be working from home a few days a week. It is to be expected that the practice of flex office will become widespread. Another trend seems to be emerging: that of entrepreneurship. Thus, the use of Freelancing could have a more important place in the years to come.
The development of new forms of management
Exit traditional and authoritarian management: the future of organizations will see the appearance of new forms of governance. They can already be observed in some companies that are open to change. Here are examples of emerging management concepts.
The liberated company
The principle of a liberated company is to transform an organization in depth in order to “liberate employees”. The aim is for them to be able to take initiatives and that they all have a role to play in strategic decisions of the organization.
The liberated businesses have a very horizontal structure. Everyone organizes themselves personally to achieve their goals. Trust is at the heart of these types of organizations.
Participatory management
Participatory management, or bottom-up, is a process of decisions and problem solving, in which employees are fully involved. Managers then have the role of “facilitator of discussion”: they are no longer decision-makers, and must instead ensure that everyone's opinion is taken into account and respected.
This type of management leads to greater autonomy for employees, a higher rate of commitment and the development of collective creativity.
Holacracy
Holacracy is a mode of governance and decision-making that Distribute, in a very transparent way, responsibilities within an organization. It operates in the form of circles, bringing together operational skills and responsibilities. Each circle is autonomous and has a specific field of intervention.
Holacracy is particularly interesting, as it makes it possible to make full use of collective intelligence. It gives a voice to employees who would not necessarily have dared to propose their ideas within a more hierarchical structure.
Technological changes
Technology is everywhere in our lives. At work, revolutionize certain tasks and transform certain jobs.
Automation
Digitizing certain processes creates automation on certain tasks. Thus, the most repetitive ones can sometimes be carried out by machines. While some see it as a danger for their jobs, in reality, it can allow employees to focus on processes with higher added value. That leaves more time for creativity.
Artificial intelligence
The development of AI (artificial intelligence) also makes it possible to automate, more and more often, repetitive operations that do not require making a lot of decisions.
The use of AI should make it possible to gradually replace this type of task, so that employees can focus on more rewarding missions.
Finally, it should be borne in mind that, in about ten years, a lot of employees will occupy a position or a profession that does not yet exist. Thus, it will be essential to train and develop their ability to adapt. For example, the use of the Metaverse could become more and more frequent in our lives, and would require new skills.
What the Future of Work means for your business
Concretely, what do you need to put in place today to be able to reacting to these mutations in the world of work? Here are a few things to think about.
Work on your employer brand
The world of work is changing, and some sectors are already struggling to recruit and retain talent. In this context, it is absolutely necessary to have a strong employer brand. To be able toengaging your employees will be one of the biggest challenges of tomorrow.
So take the time to work and promote your employer brand, to set up quality onboarding, in order to retain your employees. This will be unavoidable to make a difference in a tense world of work.
Define your values and responsibilities
Workers increasingly need to feel perfect in line with the values of their employer. Defining a CSR (corporate social responsibility) policy is therefore necessary.
You can totally involve your employees in the definition of your CSR objectives. This allows them to get involved with you in causes that are important to them.
Enhance the creativity of your employees
We have been able to see it on various occasions: it is collective intelligence and creativity of your employees who will be able to make a difference in the world of work of tomorrow.
Indeed, employees no longer want to be simple performers. They need get involved in a business who shares their values and who offers them recognition. By promoting initiative and the implementation of projects led by employees themselves, you promote their engagement. You also allow all employees to benefit from their skills and creativity.
It is not always easy to encourage employees to propose projects and to complete them. That's why Teamstarter developed a crowdfunding platform. Each month, employees receive a budget that they can allocate to the project of their choice. These projects are themselves proposed by other employees, who are still responsible for implementing them as soon as they have reached the amount necessary to do so. Thus, everyone participates, in their own way, in development of initiatives within the company.
Now you have a glimpse of what the world of work of the future will look like. The health crisis linked to COVID-19 has accelerated questions about the Future of Work and has made it possible to quickly implement certain processes that were struggling to democratize within organizations (in particular teleworking). This allowed a lot of managers and business leaders to realize The importance of taking into account the needs of employees to build a committed team ready to invest in joint projects. Workers need more and morealign their employment with their values. Accompanying this mutation will certainly be The biggest challenge of the Future of Work.
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