Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know we are living in unprecedented times, and our relationship with work has changed to reflect that. Smart business leaders are able to ebb and flow with the changing tides in order to plan for the future business landscape. There are several trends with work that we are seeing in 2022 and we can try to predict how these trends will change in the years to come.
Employees Value Freedom and Flexibility
Recently, you may have heard business leaders bemoan the fact that “no one wants to work anymore”. People have been leaving jobs en masse and many businesses are struggling to fill these positions. However, the real problem is not that “no one wants to work anymore” but that they no longer want to work for less than they are worth. Many businesses underpay their employees and do not offer the freedom and flexibility that so many modern workers are looking for, which has led to the “Great Resignation.”
When employees say they value freedom and flexibility, what they mean is that they would like the option to complete their work from wherever they are and whenever they want. In a lot of industries, strict business hours are an outdated concept. Does it ultimately matter what hours an employee works if they get all their tasks done? This is the idea that many employees value over generic perks in an office, such as a snack bar or a pool table.
Organizations That Invest in IT Infrastructure Will Thrive
With the shift from in-office work to the digital “anywhere workplace”, IT infrastructure is going to be more important than ever for businesses. Modern asset management, license management, endpoint security, self-service are all elements that fall under the IT umbrella that could look much different within even the next 5 years. Businesses that shift to SaaS management platforms in the cloud are going to have a huge advantage over businesses that are slow on the uptake.
Cybersecurity Will Evolve and Become More Important
When every employee is working within an office, cybersecurity will generally be focused on a closed system. However, now that the “everywhere workplace” is gaining steam, cybersecurity will become a much more valuable and important part of a businesses infrastructure.
In order to not overwhelm your IT department, who are likely inundated with helpdesk tickets due to remote work, cybersecurity is poised to see an increase in security programs that can manage, automate, and prioritize rudimentary IT issues. This will free up IT teams to tackle the larger problems. Freeing IT employees from endless helpdesk tickets will allow them to become the linchpin of your organization, creating technical advancements to keep employees connected and engaged with very little hassle.
The biggest takeaway from all this is that the “everywhere workplace” is here to stay and businesses that realize this and start building their organizations around this concept will be the ones that thrive well into the future and will be able to attract high quality employees that will be happy to work.