5 ways work culture will change by 2030, Fast Company, February 4th 2019 Gwen Moran
Now And The Future
Recent years have seen an exceptional awareness and prioritization of workplace culture by both employers and employees. Culture is a company’s “personality,” including the behavioral expectations, practices, and other norms that influence how people interact both internally and on its behalf. Ignore it at your own risk.
At the same time, workplace culture is being influenced by disparate factors in significant ways. Demographic shifts, diversity and inclusion initiatives, talent shortages, automation, evolving technology, and an onslaught of data are converging to create both immediate and long-term changes.
Through the WI lens
This article is billed as a predictive ‘catch’ on workplace change over the next decade but the aspects of inclusion, trust and investment are being actively discussed and actioned now. Agile, forward thinking companies are creating their own formulas for workplace success or plugging into frameworks such as the London Healthy Workplace Awards. Don’t imagine that success relies on financial investment – a culture of kindness and humility will ace a sleep pod every time.
Says the author: “If technology develops as expected and is used properly, inclusion, trust, and investment in employees will drive workplace culture in a decade. Employers will need to embrace transparency and build long-term relationships with employees to create cultures employees seek out and don’t want to leave.”
The five identified culture shifts;
1. Teams will be more diverse and inclusive than ever
2. Finding effective communicators is going to be tougher
3. The trust factor will be trickier
4. Workers will always be upskilling
5. Effective work spaces may make offices popular again
Do you agree? What are the changes you see in your own business?
Pluses (and minuses) Of Positive Thinking
What this article goes on to explain is how positive thinking – described here as ‘thriving’ – can counter the effects that come from the negativity outlined above, from reduced memory to diminished performance. Based on studying people in a series of organisations in different industries, one of the authors has found that people who attain this state are more resilient, experience less burnout, and are more confident in their ability to take control of a situation
Working With Nature
“Behind the jargon what this is really about is how we address the challenge of biodiversity under threat, move away from fossil materials like plastic and concrete, and use nature in a sustainable way, all of which could be summed up by “living in harmony with nature”.”
Resetting Company Culture
“In the new ‘consensual contract’ between employer and worker, what’s required is a commitment from the employer to safeguard the wellbeing of their people, and a commitment in return from employees to take personal responsibility for their performance of their job.”
Countering Loneliness
“Could loneliness not only be damaging our mental and physical health but also be making the world a more aggressive, angry place? And if so, what are the implications for a cohesive society and democracy?”
Staking The Moral High Street
“On such fragile foundations are built the first steps towards a more ethical kind of business, and who knows what virtuous circles might result?”
Breathe Easy
“Scientific evidence recently emerged that, contrary to earlier beliefs, Covid-19 can be spread by tiny droplets that we breathe out when we respire, called aerosols.”
Why Obesity Needs Weighty Solutions
“Economic wellbeing is part of the story, but it is also about finding less stressful lifestyles, in which healthy diet figures as a meaningful measure of success.”
Pulling Together Out Of Lockdown
“The industry has every asset needed to be a guiding light in the shift toward personal health priority. Will that become a prevention legacy, a ‘phoenix rising’ from the Covid-19 ashes?”
Opening The Right Doors
“Looking at the bigger picture, putting the measures in this order represents a lost opportunity that the pandemic could have offered for a cultural pivot pivot towards getting people more focused on their health, a powerful statement of intent.”
Home (working) Truths
“Employment is necessary to fulfil our most basic human needs such as food and shelter. Any significant increase in long-term unemployment will spell a retrograde step for human wellbeing like no other.”