Future Trends in the Workplace

The rapid evolution of technology, the aging population of baby boomers, the rising cost of healthcare and energy, and other societal and business trends are having a significant and final impact on the workplace.

Where, how and why we work has changed dramatically over the past two decades and it will go through further transformation over the next twenty years, according to employment experts at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The global outplacement and business training consultancy predicted these ‘Workplace Trends of the Future’ at last Monday’s opening of the Society for Human Resource Management’s 60th annual national conference.

Four-Day Workweeks.With rising oil prices, the availability of increasingly portable and affordable technology, and the desire among growing numbers of employees for better balance between their work and home life, four-day workweeks will become the new standard for corporate America.

A Challenger survey found that 23 percent of companies are already offering a compact workweek, typically consisting of four 10-hour days, in part as a response to rising fuel costs. Some companies are also discovering that today’s workers, armed with the latest productivity-improving instruments, are able to get their work done in four 8-hour days.

Wellness Programs.Given the growing cost of theemployer-paid health insurance, more and more organizations will institute wellness programs and mandate worker enrollment. Office equipment such as Walkstations, which allow workers to walk on treadmills while at their computers, will be in offices nationwide. Other programs, such as in-office gyms, company-funded fitness classes and healthy food options will help workersto keep in shape.

More employers will take measures against unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking. They may follow the lead of an Indiana company, which announced that workers who allow health risks, such as tobacco use, overweight or high cholesterol, to go unchecked will pay more for their company health insurance beginning in 2009. Some companies are refusing to hire smokers, and at least two have dismissed employees who failed to give up smoking.

Corporate Degree Programs.Increasingly, jobs require advanced technological know-how, creative problem-solving abilities and better communication skills. However, the high level of education needed for these positions is becoming financially difficult to get for a growing number of Americans. Employers will be forced to create their own degree programs to develop potential future employees. Companies have already seen the benefits of tuition assistance in training and retaining workers.

Organizations will initiate complete programs with precise coursework centered on their company culture and aims, avoiding the need for extensive on-the-job training, and saving forboth the company and workers thousands dollars. Future students will hold degrees in things like Web Design from Microsoft College or Virtual Community Relations from Google University. Large employers such as IBM have already instituted courses specifically suitable to their needs. This will become more widespread as companies look for better ways to develop a well-trained workforce.

Global Relocation of Workers.The expansion of the global economy will lead to a worldwide talent pool, where companies will aggressively hire the best available workers, in spite of where they live. In this environment, it will be just as likely for Americans to be hired by firms based in India as it will for foreign computer programmers and engineers to be hired by US firms. Already, several countries in Europe and Asia have stepped up employment of highly skilled, highly educated foreign students in hopes of building a more capable and talented workforce. According to a 2006 Japan Research Institute report, foreign students made up 16.2 percent of all students in the UK, 11.2 percent in Germany and 11 percent in France. In April, the Department of Homeland Security made it easier for American tech firms to employ foreign workers by allowing the hiring of foreign students who attend an American school for at least 29 months, without needing an H1-B visa.

Goodbye to Cubicles.In an effort to improve employee collaboration, productivity and efficiency, employers will replace cubicles with open community spaces. To maximize theemployee interaction and teamwork, companies will get rid of isolating cubes and redesign their workspaces to feature common areas, conference rooms and tables, as opposed to individual desks. Employees will work via wireless laptops and move from space to space as required by their work. This more flexible design will accommodate the increasing number of teleworkers who only work in the office from time to time.

Some companies have already got the benefits of changing their workspace. Network technology corporation Cisco added wireless networking capabilities, virtual offices and quiet rooms to its Japanese offices, resulting in more united teams, increased benefit, reduced cost, increased space efficiency and optimized theflexibility and convenience.

Goodbye to Corporate Headquarters.Within 20 years, the corporate headquarters will be nearly extinct. In an effort to cut real estate costs, become more eco-friendly and attract the growing number of workers seeking better work-life balance, more and more companies will adopt a ‘work wherever and whenever you want’ policy. Those who must work from a traditional office will work in leased space close to their homes.

Some major employers, such as Best Buy, Sun Microsystems and AT&T, are already on the leading edge of a seemingly radical management approach that judges employees on the quality and quantity of their work, not their physical presence in the office. In other words, if you get your report done and it meets quality expectations, it doesn’t matter if you wrote it at your desk, sitting in the bleachers at your child’s soccer match, or on the beach in Mexico. This type of work arrangement undoubtedly resonates with the millions of Americans who want more work-life balance. Environmentalists will like that it greatly reduces commuter traffic. And this approach should also appeal to corporate finance directors. Sun Microsystems estimates it saved $400 million in real estate costs over a six-year period by liberating employees from the traditional borders of the corporate office.

A Free-Agent Workforce.Free agents are the fastest-growing worker segment in the United States, and their number will increase rapidly over the next decade as companies look to hire the best talent on a project basis, and workers take charge of their own careers. Free agents are expected to comprise 40 percent of the American workforce by 2012, according to market research firm EPIC-MRA, as baby boomers adopt alternative careers in retirement and tech-intelligent young workers seek more control and variety in their growing careers.

The move to hiring temporary and contract employees, freelancers and consultants is beneficial for both companies and workers. Companies enjoy greater flexibility in meeting the cyclical ebbs and flows of business, while realizing tremendous savings related to benefits and the administration of a full-time, permanent workforce. Free agents also gain flexibility and an improved work/life balance, not to mention the potential to earn more money as they sell their skills to the highest bidder.

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