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The Evolution of the Employee
The Evolution of the Employee
Employees are no more workers of the organisation; they constitute the foremost part of the organisation or business.
Also, organisational culture is changing based on the form of business, leading to the evolution of employees.
A Comparison of The Past and Future Of Employee Work Culture:
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Working Hours
As we know, significant corporate follow the timing range of 9 AM to 5 PM, what we call a 9-5 job. But, Now also in future, work is not time-bound and flexible.
At any convenient time, we can work to deliver maximum productivity.
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Work Place
Many of us are bound to work in an organised corporate office; during COVID19 lock-down time.
We realised that numerous businesses could work from home without a corporate office in the same way in the future, and there is no workplace constraint.
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Desk & Office Gadgets
Portable devices are available, and we can remote control devices.
To that extent, We are technically advanced.
Also, employees don’t have to depend on office devices for work.
Laptops replace desktops.
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Employee Input/Output
To define and achieve goals, we must focus on output.
That’s how the future workforce incorporates into better growth and productivity environment.
Focusing on input is worth it to some extent but focusing on production is always a good attribute.
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Corporate Ladder
Gone are times when employees were working and focusing only on the corporate ladder.
Now It is time to focus on our ladder to learning to adapt to new technologies, update working culture, become experts in one stream, cope with technological advancement, and so on.
Which helps to find good opportunities rather than the corporate ladder.
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Work Format
Every designation in the office has predefined work that is allocated to a particular employee.
In the past, he has to work on only those tasks. But now, adaptability matters a lot more than routine. Hence, Customised work will be a future trend.
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Hoarding/Sharing Information
Now transparent information-sharing culture is adopted, no hoarding of information. Everything is fine, which helps every employee to plan further.
Moreover, Clear instructions give better performance.
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Growth Opportunities
There is no one-way communication in agile-based organisations, every employee’s opinion matters for the organisation’s decision.
In the past one-way communication was dominant, but now and in the future, it is not the case, which enables one to become a leader through their thought and mindset.
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Communication Platform
Professionals were addicted to the mail system for information systems.
It is no more encouraged for all kinds of work. Except for email, many technically advanced tools help to collaborate and communicate.
Such as Skype, GoogleDrive, Slack, box, Microsoft office, internal software, etc.,
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Skill Proficiency
Knowledge, education, and learning are always different.
What keeps updating us is learning based on the skill requisite adaptive learning helps us to improve proficiency and perform better.
That’s what all the organisations are looking for.
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Corporate/Democratised Learning
Democratised learning helps to learn from several sources, which empowers the knowledge to be utilised for work.
Corporate learning and development training still helps in many sectors. But Democratised learning dominates over corporate knowledge.
Future of Work, The Evolution of The Modern Employees
- Technology and social interactions have already changed our work arrangements and roles.
- Consequently, to attract top employees, rethinking the structure of work should be the #1 priority for employers today.
- Fortunately, many SMEs and even big corporations are trying to help build better workplaces for modern employees.
- If a company follows the evolving needs of the employees, it will get the work done and open new business perspectives.
- Challenging the convention of how we work and lead takes time, but it is the only way forward.
- Moreover, All things considered, the workforce is evolving, and below are five examples of how we need to address them.
Truly Flexible Work
- According to UpWork – Future of Work Report, hiring managers expect a 168% increase in the work done by the flexible talent in 10 years.
- Managers know that it isn’t just how many hours you sit in a chair but how much you produce.
- As an example, StackExchange puts its employees’ independence above its values.
- They put a lot of effort into picking the right people, but afterwards, the management trusts you to work independently.
- Whether team members are in the office, at a coffee bar or home in bed, they have total freedom to decide their tasks. Starting from their first day at their job.
- Their management made a working model with which they are sure their employees will perform.
- Moreover, They’ve done their homework so they can rely on their business activities on their colleagues, no matter their physical location.
From Ladder to Lattice
- Usually, when you start your new job, you must go through the corporate ladder and wait up to 3 or 4 years to reach a position you are happy with.
- However, with these new changes happening in the future of work, we are no longer obliged to do that.
- With the freelance opportunities and the new platform economy, professionals are forming their career paths inside the businesses.
- Even in 2005, Deloitte implemented the MCC strategy (Mass Career Customization Program) w, and they offered their employees to change their work preferences twice a year.
- However, Not only was there no negative impact on client service, but some clients were interested in what they could learn from Deloitte’s experience.
Sharing is growing
- Did you know that Google encourages entrepreneurship by offering their workforce 20% time on developing personal projects related to the business?
- Given that benefit, one of the most powerful tools from Google, Gmail, was created by Paul Buchheit.
- Moreover, He made a tool with increased storage capacity and searched function – the first of its kind from email service providers.
- Today, Gmail is one of the most used email platforms, thanks to one employee who got the chance to be creative.
- However, in the future, any employee could have an idea valuable to the business, but management should be ready to implement it in the first place.
Adaptive Learning is the Key
- Working in a modern business in today’s globalised world, you have access to all the knowledge.
- With AI advances, we will access information and build our business intelligence on a different level.
- But do we have all the answers? Do top managers have the solution to every challenge?
- One truly unique excellent example is how Hubspot implemented their “Learning lunches’, where they encourage employees to have lunch with their competition.
- Their cultural code:
- “Take someone smart out for a meal. Learn something. Expense it. No approval is needed. No limits. No rules. Use good judgment.“
- However, They figured that insight from people in their employee network could solve critical business challenges faster.
- This novelty gave their employees a new perspective that built a practice to adapt to new working conditions.
- Moreover, The adaptability to learn every day means to be agile and ready to grab all those opportunities around the corner.
All Employees could be Leaders.
- All these previous points are leading lead to this one.
- With the collaboration and social tools we have at our disposal, we can be leaders.
- Think about the power of the influencer’s voice on social media platforms like Facebook, Youtube or Twitter.
Imagine having that same voice inside a company? - Moreover, If managers start to share the leadership positions with their employees, then progress will come faster than expected.
6 Ways the Workplace Will Change in the Next 10 Years
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Middle management will have different responsibilities.
Managers today must confront new realities.
Social and political turbulence, work-life fusion and hybrid work have added a new layer of complexity (and pressure) to their roles.
However, many employees work in a hybrid world with more choices about where, when and how much they work.
Plus, the responsibilities of managers — and the number of workers who report to them — have skyrocketed, making it more difficult to provide hands-on assistance.
Moreover, Traditional managerial success was based on managing and evaluating employee performance.
This has shifted. HR executives will hire and develop managers poised to be great coaches and teachers and operate with empathy.
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Upskilling and digital dexterity will outweigh tenure and experience
In the future, the most high-value work will be cognitive. Employees must apply creativity, critical thinking and constant digital upskilling to solve complex problems.
However, The digital economy demands new ideas, information and business models that continually expand, combine and shift into new ventures.
Employees must consistently refresh their digital talent to meet these needs.
Moreover, HR must establish and promote a continuous learning environment, meaning knowledge acquisition and transparency.
Across the organisation must become a part of day-to-day operations.
3. Employee data collection will expand
Hybrid work has fostered a greater interest in monitoring workplace productivity and employee wellness.
Gartner’s analysis shows that 16% of employers are more frequently using technologies to monitor employees through virtual clocking in and out.
Tracking work computer usage and monitoring employee emails or internal communications/chat.
While some companies track productivity, others focus on employee engagement and well-being to better understand employee experience.
Moreover, Technology will assess when people have worked too much and need to recharge by monitoring their biorhythms, nutritional requirements and exercise needs.
However, Leaders will use technology and information to foster a hybrid workplace that embraces the work styles of all employees, not just those who are permanently employed or have strong digital skills.
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Intelligent machines will be our colleagues.
Smart machines are becoming more intelligent and more ubiquitous, completing tasks previously reserved for humans and doing what was thought impossible for machines.
Companies will start to increase the functions of intelligent machines, software, apps and avatars.
Employees will develop personal toolkits of virtual doppelgangers — virtual counterparts, with the help of AI software and devices that are more accessible to their individual or team-based activities.
Moreover, they will be able to carry their workplaces with them using cloud communities, open applications and personal virtual assistants.
Extreme digital will ultimately be the modus operandi for how employees work.
Increasing demands for a more automated workplace have sparked the killer combo of people and technology.
Proactive leaders must investigate how the regular use of AI, innovative software and robots will invigorate work strategy.
To drive competitive advantage, high-performing employees should be encouraged to create and share AI tools or personalised portfolios of apps.
Tools and innovative technology to raise the bar for extreme digital dexterity.
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We will work for purpose and passion, not just money
Employees want to make a good impact and will do this earlier in their lives instead of waiting for retirement.
People will actively seek opportunities to tie the impact and value of their work to their mission, purpose and passions.
Viewing others’ posts on social media will motivate them to get more involved and contribute to social innovation and equitability.
Innovative companies will make themselves more attractive not solely by paying higher salaries but also by offering employees an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.
Build a message that resonates and drives engagement by creating initiatives for employees to come forward with personal stories, experiences and successes in various social causes.
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Remote work-life balance will reveal challenges.
Employees working independently or in remote locations will face a dilemma — to fuel upskilling and manage better projects.
They’ll take on more assignments, potentially to a point where they’ll feel like they’re working around the clock.
In response, achieving a work-life balance will no longer be enough; employees will strive to emphasise life over work.
But there are shadowy aspects of future work-life balance.
Technology closes the divide between geographically separate people; it introduces cracks in relationships and cultures.
The remote distribution of work means that many employees will not build the same social relationships in the workplace, leading to issues of disengagement and loneliness.
CEOs and HR leaders must work together to ensure work-life balance swings back and forth for each employee as their work distribution, time and life stages change.
Consequently, the ability to peer into the future will make work easier for HR leaders.
Conclusion
- Employees are no more workers of the organisation; they constitute the foremost part of the organisation or business.
- Technology and social interactions have already changed our work arrangements and roles.
- Consequently, to attract top employees, rethinking work structure should be the #1 priority for employers today.