Jobs of the Future: How Work Is Changing

The way people work is rapidly changing due to the amount of people who are not satisfied with their jobs. Workers 18-24 now change jobs nearly six times on average compared to older generations who only change jobs 2-3 times. Workers are now prioritizing their mental health and work-life balance, and businesses are having to shift the way they operate in order to keep employees happy and to stay productive. 

One of the easiest and most successful ways to improve your employees overall happiness and job satisfaction is by implementing the option to work from home. 32% of workers have quit their jobs because they weren’t allowed to work remotely, and 61% of workers report they would switch careers if they had the opportunity to work from home. Employees are overall happier when they have the option to avoid the office every day, with 91% of people reporting they prefer having flexible hours and the ability to work from home. 

Companies that allow their employees to work  from home can improve their overall productivity due to the increasing job satisfaction of their employees. Happy employees who feel they are well taken care of are more likely to complete their workday tasks on time and to a satisfactory level. It is expected that in recent years more companies will transition to more remote work where employees have flexible hours and can choose where they want to work from. 

For employees that are not able to work from home or who choose to come into the office, businesses can benefit from having an emphasis on mental health. It is expected that physical workspaces will be designed more for comfort in the future, with additional perks such as nap spaces or days where employees are allowed to bring their pets to work. While these changes may seem strange compared to how offices have been run in the past, it is important to prioritize the mental health of employees to ensure they are happy and staying productive. 

As more employees transition to remote work, it is expected that the reliance of digital assistants will increase. Without the tight schedule of a typical office day, it can be helpful to have resources to keep an employee on schedule by reminding them of tasks or upcoming meetings. Smart assistants like Siri or Alexa can be very beneficial  by helping employees sort and prioritize their tasks to ensure that nothing is being forgotten and they can stay productive.

With less employees in the physical office space, the dynamic of work is going to change. It is expected that work will be based more on teams and collaboration where everyone can be a leader, rather than having a few designated managers or supervisors. Workers across different groups and locations can share ideas and brainstorm together, leading to better and more flushed out ideas that can benefit the entire business.

With the increase of teamwork based tasks, a new executive role can emerge. Companies that adopt this new way of work will need a chief of work who would be in charge of helping teams delegate tasks and to maintain company culture. This position would make sure that while everyone is working on a team, employees know what task they need to be working on and what problems exist that need to be solved. This allows for employees to not feel so controlled in their work, but still keep them on track. 

With all of these changes to the traditional work space, employers are going to have to change their hiring process. With technology advancing and teamwork based tasks becoming more popular, skills that fall within these fields are going to be more in demand. 

When it comes to teamwork, employers will be looking at candidates who display creativity, innovation, complex problem solving skills, and high emotional intelligence. All of these skills are integral in a successful team player. For remote workers, it is important that a candidate has skills within visualizing data, cognitive flexibility, and an ability to work independently. Prospective employees that hold these skills can find success in some of the fastest growing occupations including software developers, operations management, and market research analysts. 

The future of work is changing. With new mindsets regarding prioritizing mental health and having healthy boundaries within careers, employers are having to adapt the way they run their businesses. While it may be difficult at first, these changes greatly improve the mentality of employees, and this can only be beneficial to the overall productivity and success of a company.

Written by Brian Wallace.