HR Changing Work Environment
Over the years small changes to how business and people work together to get things done have undergone a steady evolution. Now, however, a new seismic force is entering the equation that has enough disruptive power to change how work gets done. A new paradigm in working may soon be changing how things get done for decades to come. The following are emerging trends identified in Forbes magazine coming to a workplace near you.
- Hourly workers are a dominant force of the future.
In the U.S. the majority of workers are hourly workers – nearly 80 million people. They are well educated with over 15% earning a bachelor’s degree. But regardless of education level, the attraction to hourly work remains flexibility, with engineering and health care fields leading employment growth of this type. Employers will need to understand that flexibility is a major job perk, and perhaps alter how they get things done by repackaging the workload into something digestible to the gig economy.
- People and technology will be working more closely than ever.
Although technology in the workforce may yet conjure images of robots assembling cars, everything has a computer in it or near it that is required to get the work done. Regardless of education level, workers use computers, automated kiosks and production machines daily that may ultimately replace them. But whether you can replace an accommodating concierge with an android has yet to be seen.
- Many people need more work to live a fulfilling life.
This isn’t your grandparents economy. Underemployment makes getting more hours more expensive in terms of time and resource commitment for less pay than they need to live in dignity. From Forbes “According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 62.9% of civilians are active in the labor force and 4.3% are unemployed. While those numbers may look promising, the number of people who are underemployed is on the rise, according to a report from The New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Many believe everyone can have everything they want. Business and employees can increase efficiency through scheduling and performance management systems and keep track of what your employees need to get the job done. Believe it or not, work efficiency plummets when someone is unhappy or distracted by issues outside the office. Understanding staffing as part of the business system will go a long way to improved performance and larger bottom lines.