One of the coolest things about the New Year is that everyone prepares to make changes. Most of us set resolutions and promise ourselves that we will stick to better habits. On the other hand, businesses promise they’ll thrive in the upcoming year.
Meanwhile, employees are setting their favorite intentions. Since remote work has become increasingly popular, workspaces are also starting to take off; and since the New Year brings new upgrades for everybody, here are the latest ones that future workplaces might undergo in 2020. Since technology has evolved so much, the work approach must keep track of these updates and improve correspondingly.
Table of Contents
1. The new generation will have an important say
About 61 million people born between 1996 and 2010 (Generation Z) will soon enter the future workplace and change things around. Since the paradigm will shift quite quickly, companies must prepare for the new upgrades that are about to show and understand them accordingly. Here are some of the most important things to know about the new generation:
- Gen-Zs have high-tech structured minds, meaning their understanding and application of technology has been unseen before. However, companies should not disregard their human input and conversational abilities. Most of them are excellent communicators who implement new technologies effortlessly and display great human connection. Thus, if you will be working with Gen-Z, make sure you offer them enough feedback to impact their productivity; they’ll be open to it and refine it quickly.
- Gen-Zs are not as interested in work-life balance as the Millennials were, but they still rank high in this category, so make sure you prevent burnout from happening. One of the leading measures you could take is to start an office meditation group or design a yoga place within the office where employees can take regular breaks to unwind.
- Ask for constant feedback, as Gen-Zs want to make sure that their voices are heard. They want to take as many surveys as possible if that means improving the quality of their workplace.
- Gen-Zs won’t be scared to fail, as they see failure as an opportunity to grow (which, in fact, it is). In case they do fail, they’ll stand up quickly and be back on their feet in no time.
2. The changing technology trends
Because of their high-tech structured minds, Generation Z will increase the way in which digital marketing is done. “There will be an even steeper switch from PC to mobile since Gen-Zs are basically unable to survive one day without their mobile devices. This strong connection to the digital world helped them develop mobile maturity and ability to perform serious tasks on their phones,” writes Dana Humphrey, assignment services coordinator at BluX.
The Gen-Zs will, therefore, quickly embrace the new emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Automation, the Internet of Things, etc. Companies are expected to develop the necessary abilities for keeping up with the updates that will soon follow.
3. The flexibility
Allowing employees the flexibility to design their own schedules and work their shifts as needed is an important aspect of the new workplace setting. Over the years, research has shown that employee productivity rises as flexibility is implemented. This is why companies should consider allowing Gen-Zs the comfort to set their own itineraries and organize their assignment help duties as needed.
The more comfortable they’ll feel in their work pursuits, the less stressed they will be, a fact that will maximize their potential and decrease their procrastination rates. The new generation will look into future workplace firms offering remote work opportunities, convenience, connectivity, and a decent work-life balance.
Here are some ideas that could be implemented in the 2020 workplace: fitness gyms, resting/meditation rooms, artsy designs, knowledge hubs, reading rooms, and yoga rooms.
4. The need for interaction, involvement, and community building
Since Gen-Zs crave human interaction (technology can drain you), they will need a place where social interaction combines with community building and hard work. This might change the existing relationship between employees and employers, opening the two parties to each other in ways unimagined before. Companies should create a platform of support that can help the new generation interconnect and involved; backing up novel ideas and giving positive feedback to idea sharing is something that should be highly considered.
Also, engaging in new types of the communication might be necessary, since the current method can enlarge the gap between the workers and the company leaders. A recent Smarp report suggests that “28% of leaders report poor communication as the primary cause of failing to deliver a project within its original time frame,” which can be upsetting and cause difficulties within any company.
The worst thing is that information is expected to be found directly online instead of spending time looking for it, which can disrupt the employee-employer relationship. As employees won’t engage with their employers much anymore, the connection will slowly fade, which is why companies should implement the following ideas to improve employee engagement:
- Try as best to create a positive company culture – setting your company’s core values lays the foundation of this pillar.
- Become an example for your employees, walk the walk!
- Be concerned with improving collaboration and thus, productivity.
- Be open and honest and personally invest in communication.
- Use effective technology to make your employees’ lives easier.
- Be transparent in your motives and say exactly what you think.
- Motivate your workers by using gamification (but not only).
- Give out rewards and prizes for a job well done.
5. More collaboration and less competition
The newest generation will try to stay online as much as possible and thus connect to everything around them. They will know the smallest details about their coworkers and engage with them via cloud-based communication and on social media platforms. To keep this collaboration real, companies should also offer employees the opportunity to immerse themselves in incorporating social networking, attend smart meeting rooms, adopt VR and AR, and/or learn AI and ML for collaboration purposes.
Conclusion
Companies might experience real changes within the next year, a fact that can be threatening to many. However, the new generation Z is exceptionally open and honest, a concept that facilitates employer-employee interaction, making it easier for everybody to understand demands and provide solutions.