Predicting the future is always a challenging task. And while we’re not crystal ball gazers, we’ve been keeping our ear to the ground to hear what our users – and today’s workers – want and expect from companies as they re-imagine their work lives in the upcoming year.
So here are some notable predictions and trends that will shape our work lives in 2024.
We’ll be hearing the same message over and over again: “work-life balance.”
For some, this means doing a job that fits their lifestyle – working when they want to, and where they want to. For others, it means having a well-defined daily schedule, with set hours at the office every day.
This is an increasingly common scenario as more and more employees are given freedom to choose how and when they work.
For managers and leaders, as long as an employee can get the job done in the time allocated to them, then it’s no longer about whether you work from home or from an office, it’s about flexibility and productivity.
For employees, it’s not just that they’re meeting more of their work/family needs by using flexible working patterns. They are also learning to embrace a new kind of “working life,” one where they can actually feel energized and fulfilled both professionally and personally.
That’s why flexible workers will be leading the way here when it comes to establishing a better balance of work and home. They understand this delicate equation as their success because they find great satisfaction in balancing meaningful work with the other important parts of life.
Remote work is still a growing trend in 2024, boosting productivity for companies and employees alike.
The freedom of working from anywhere is attractive to many who are seeking a new job or business opportunity.
Establishing remote work policies and hiring remote workers will be the best option for some companies, as it can reduce overhead costs and improve employee satisfaction. But before doing so, companies will have to consider the unique challenges that come with remote work policies and how to address them.
With the increase in technology adoption across industries, employees are working from home and being more mobile than ever. For some, this is a great solution, but for others it can lead to increased isolation and feelings of disconnection.
To counteract these feelings, people leaders need to make a conscious effort to get to know their employees more deeply and understand what motivates them.
For many, this will mean taking a closer look at their employee's work-life balance and giving them the tools they need to achieve it. This could include offering training in mindfulness or even providing opportunities for its development.
By investing in this area now, businesses will be better placed to support employees who need time away from work due to illness or other personal problems.
Tracking the activity of your candidates is a hard enough task as it is – especially when you’re on the lookout for passive candidates. If you’re already doing this manually, you’re probably losing time and energy on things that aren’t going to make much of an impact on your recruiting efforts.
Automated communications are what will both eliminate the needless complexity and inefficiency of manual communications and ensure you provide a personalized touch with your team’s candidate outreach.
Roles that require high levels of expertise, like a senior UX designer, are in demand but difficult to find. In this case, companies will need to look at other ways to fill these roles by offering training and development programs to ensure they can gain the skills and talent they need.
These are exciting times for remote work management, with many companies going all-in on remote team structures, and more and more people ditching traditional workplace environments in exchange for a mix of virtual and brick-and-mortar spaces. The future of work will continue to be influenced by these trends in the years to come, and we’ll be here to stay up-to-date on the latest developments.
