No doubt, it’s impossible for businesses to predict how the workforce may change, but there are many trends we’re seeing that will impact the future of work. 

1. The Gig Economy will be a standard working model for the enterprise business

One trend we’re seeing is that many organisations are turning to the gig economy. Enterprise-size businesses are struggling to recruit the talent needed to remain competitive. As industries continue to develop, the skills needed to provide an effective level of customer service is becoming more complex. 

As such, enterprises are embedding professionally skilled gig workers, with high value skillsets, into the fabric of their organisations. Gig workers will no longer be viewed as a mere add on resource, nor be restricted to completing low skill or transactional roles.

In turn, gig workers could be working for competing brands, so trust becomes an even more important aspect of building out new operating models. We predict organisations will start to design gig working practices into functional structures and embed these practices to become part of the fabric of the company operating model.

In addition, when there aren’t enough people with the specific skills it can become difficult to limit employees by geographical location, which is why businesses are motivated to allow people to work from everywhere. 

2. The next evolution of the Gig Economy is the flex economy

Given the Gig Economy is now mainstream, we’re seeing a new trend emerge in the form of the Flex Economy, where consumers can earn extra ‘top up’ income. 

The Flex Economy is represented by the app-based economy (including rideshare, GigCX platforms and delivery platforms). This is made up of the technology platforms that connect consumers, businesses, and individuals to work, products and services that improve their lives through convenience, accessibility, flexibility, and income. 

Given the current economic climate, the need for people to have more financial security is more important than ever before. Therefore, the number of people opting to take part in the flex economy across a wider range of social demographics will no doubt accelerate. 

3. Management skills will need to adapt to remote and hybrid working 

Gen-Z’s are entering the workforce and are notoriously more vocal about their demands for more flexibility. While all generations have had their eyes opened to working patterns that allow them to operate on their own terms, the younger workforce is driving this trend from the bottom up. 

Given young people will soon go on to be our future leaders, with Generation Z accounting for 27% of the workforce by 2025, businesses must embrace this new way of thinking when considering employment.

Line managers need to develop skills to engage the expectations of this new workforce and nurture them. If someone wants to work independently in a remote or hybrid environment, an effective amount of one-to-one time with their line manager is even more critical than before, to build a relationship based more on trust and less on control. 

We expect to see organisations build concierge onboarding systems where your manager is your coach. This will also see a rise in software solutions.

4. The physical space will become the go-to way to collaborate

While employees chose to have a range of different working styles (e.g., remote working, solitary, 121, one-to-many, in person etc.) we expect to see a trend of people choosing to come together in person to collaborate for maximum effect. 

Whilst we have seen an influx of online collaboration software enter the market during the pandemic, organisations will still be acknowledging the power of in person collaboration. In person collaboration, helps build trust amongst the participants creating increased communication and innovation. 

If people are not able to spontaneously have ‘in person’ engagements due to a higher percentage of remote working, then organisations need to design physical spaces and operating models around this that allows for this to happen both organically, and in a planned way.

5. There will be an increase in the diversity within the workforce

We’re lucky enough to have a multitude of diversity in our workforce. Each person brings their own set of desires, skills, and capabilities into the world and can help in specific ways. For the last 20 years, technology has continued to open up the global economy to more of these people. Today, more than at any other point, businesses are in a better position to benefit from this resource pool.

One area experiencing traction is the appreciation of neurodiversity. Neurodiverse individuals have a range of differences in individual brain function and behavioural traits, regarded as part of normal variation in the human population. The companies that are able to fully embrace neurodiverse talent are likely to gain a competitive advantage in many areas, including productivity, innovation and talent acquisition and retention. 

The bottom line

Changes to the workforce can bring new opportunities as well as challenges. Although these developments are not set in stone, businesses will need to ensure that they are keeping up with the changes and taking advantage of the opportunities to develop their offerings. We never know what will impact the workforce next, but if businesses remain flexible and open to trusting new ways of working then they will be well prepared to adapt to these developments.