What next? 10 predictions on the (near) future of work.

It’s already clear that where, how and when we work will be forever changed by COVID-19. 

Over the past month we have seen a mindset shift of epic proportions towards greater flexibility. Even some of Australia’s largest companies are telling employees: “we won’t be going back to the old ways of working.”

Talent has been demanding more flexibility for a while. Is this the point where employers catch up? 

Here are ten of our short- and long-term predictions based on what we're hearing at Beam Australia from companies and talent — things employers should be including in their return-to-work plans.  

1. Employees will expect more work flexibility. In a lot of cases, this process has validated that work can be done flexibly (i.e. from home, across different hours and asynchronously) and people can be trusted to work productively when given autonomy.
2. Avoiding the commute. It’s safe to say, no-one has missed the commute. Mostly people have subbed in work for their commute time, but being able to regain that time in the day, be it for personal or professional time, is priceless. People are telling us they want to retain a mix of home and office work.
3. Hiring beyond traditional locations. Many companies are now set up to work remotely. Why wouldn't they hire from across Australia or beyond, especially for hard-to-find talent?
4. Organisations will get better at flexing. To reduce the risk of workforce disruption, businesses will become better equipped to support temporary role adjustments in changed work locations, priorities, schedules and hours. We hope this will be a positive development with benefits to organisations, employees and gender equity going forward.
5. Employees may want to work less. This could be the moment where talent and employers align around part-time work. Scaled back hours can have huge benefits for both.
6. More men seeking flexible work. Women have been working part-time and flexibly for a long time but men have lagged (in part due to workplace stigmas around men working flexibly). COVID-19 has shown them what they might be missing — while also making flexibility for everyone, not just mothers.
7. Annual leave bump. We will likely see a "bubble" of annual leave with people all wanting to take holidays when flights and options open up (at least domestically).
8. Lower engagement. If people's financial security has been altered over this period of time, we may see more skepticism and lower discretionary effort from employees. Alternatively, engagement may increase if greater flexibility has been afforded. One of the determining factors will be how ‘fair’ an employer’s response has been. eg. How does it compare to your competitors actions?
9. Activity-based working won't be OK for a while. (Offices but no allocated seating, ie ‘hot desking’). Will we need to have allocated seats for health reasons? What are the real estate cost implications? Who will work from home? When and how will talent mobility be planned?
10. Less interstate/international business travel. We expect the business traveller lifestyle to change forever (cue applause from every inch of the professional world). Given the time and monetary cost of travel, what is the incremental value of a face-to-face meeting in real live vs face to face by video call? The 80:20 rule comes to mind. Environmental benefits will be an additional consideration for some companies and individuals.

Obviously, if you're preparing for what your workforce will look like in 1, 3 or 6 months time, we would love to help you. Just email me at stephanie@beamaustralia.com.au.