The Ultimate List of 13 Global Workplace Trends

Are you missing the waves? Are you riding them? Or are you going under?

It’s a cliche because it’s true: the world is changing faster and faster. The way people will work in the future is radically different from the way we worked until now.

To understand how things are expected to change in the world of work, I spent many hours finding the newest workplace trends. I came across some in-depth reports from various professional sources, based on global investigations and surveys, and I did my best to cross-check everything and synthesize the results into The Ultimate List of 13 Global Workplace Trends. (For each of these 13 trends, I wrote a blog post on the Agility Scales blog.)

The primary purpose of this exercise was to investigate how my businesses stand up against the multiple waves of change that are soon to reach all of us. And I highly recommend that you do the same. Check your business model and compare it with the list of 13 trends. Because for each of the trends, there are three possibilities:

• You miss the wave and your company neither benefits nor suffers from it.
• You ride the wave and your business gets a boost for as long as it stays on top of it.
• You clash with the wave and your business takes a hit, maybe even goes under.

I am checking each business that I am involved in. How will we cope with these 13 waves? Are we missing them? Are we riding them? Or are we going under?

I strongly suggest you do the same.

The Ultimate List of 13 Global Workplace Trends

Here they are:

1. The Employee Experience
   Employees demand an experience that covers happiness and well-being.
2. Organizational Agility
   The “redesign of organizational design” is a top trend for the C-suite.
3. The Blended Workforce
   The workforce is more than just the employees.
4. Scalable Learning
   The half-life of learned skills continues to fall.
5. Skillful Talent Acquisition
   The demands on recruiters and candidates keep growing.
6. Digital HR and Workplaces
   HR must become a leader in the digital organization.
7. People Analytics
   With computers all around us, data is driving everything.
8. Rejuvenated Leadership
   A different time calls for a different leadership.
9. Robotics and AI
   Intelligent machines and cognitive computing have gone mainstream.
10. Continuous Performance Management
    A new paradigm for performance measurement and rewards is needed.
11. Networks and Platforms
    Value streams are replaced with value networks.
12. Purpose and Values
    Companies start caring about sustainability, transparency, and more.
13. Diversity and Inclusion
    Fairness and equality are now CEO-level issues worldwide.

There you go!

Now analyze these trends yourself and scrutinize your business model. The exercise may significantly increase your company’s chance of survival.

These 13 major trends were derived from the insightful results offered by the authors and publishers of the following reports:

2017 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
Accenture Technology Vision 2017
Boston Consulting Group 12 Forces 2017
Bersin-Deloitte — Predictions for 2017
Mercer Talent Trends 2017 Global Study
PWC CEO 20th Survey Report 2017
Randstad Sourceright 2017 Talent Trends Report
Sodexo 2017 Workplace Trends Report

(photo credit: Grempz)