5 trends we continue to see for work in 2024
Written by: Brad Shuck, Ph.D., Professor of Human Resources and Organizational Development
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Work continues its evolution and is a complete redefinition in some places. With terms like belonging and purpose, our work and how we work has been redefined for so many people. We understand the landscape of what work has been like and when continuing to track the trends for 2024, we asked the question, “What are the things that are driving conversations at executive tables, in team meetings and at home at dinner tables?”
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The role of the leaders has changed
The first trend is around leaders. The archetype of the leader has changed and development will be more individualized. What we’re asking of leaders today has fundamentally shifted and looks very different from what we asked of them ten years ago.
As a result, we’re asking questions around how leaders harness the power of their own story. We connect with our story and are authentic about it. We think to ourselves, “This is where I came from, this is who I am, and these are my values.” In the business world, we’re just figuring out how to talk about this, and we’re learning how to train people to harness their origin story and empower others to harness theirs.
A lot is being asked of leaders, so we also need to consider self-care and generative practices that help leaders stay well and also get better at their work. Leaders need to set boundaries and create routines that help them embody their story while also supporting their team and giving them the guidance they need to succeed.
It’s also important to look at the tolerance for stress. Ten years ago, we didn’t ask questions about stress and wellbeing because we didn’t understand the connections between work-related stress and chronic diseases like high blood pressure, heart attacks and depression. But the link is becoming clear, so it’s imperative that businesses determine what an acceptable level of stress is.
Once businesses look at what a leader is, how they embrace their own story and leadership values, and how they take care of themselves, it’s important for them to determine what their value proposition is for being a leader today. Several years ago, it was almost assumed that employees would want to become leaders and move up the ladder. Today, it looks very different. Employees are asking themselves, “What’s in it for me? What’s the value for me taking on these additional responsibilities?”
When we define the value proposition of leading today, leaders will begin showing back up.
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Artificial intelligence
We couldn’t have a conversation about trends in 2024 without talking about artificial intelligence (AI). There’s a revolution around expanding human capacity. We’ve never seen anything like this before and we need to create boundaries around AI as a solution to an opportunity.
If the use of AI isn’t directly connected to the values and ethics of your organization, it could become unhinged and problematic. Almost everyone is going to be using AI in some form (and you probably already are), so it’s important to think about how AI fits in with your strategy. It’s not something to be pursued just because, but it’s a solution for an opportunity you may have right in front of you.
One of the things that AI can do for you is build capacity. If businesses use AI to create efficiencies, it should be saving time, money and production costs, leading the company to be more efficient and opening time that yesterday was not open. This efficiency allows companies to be more human and focus on what matters to employees from development to wellbeing, from belonging to purpose.
Companies need to be aware of the pitfalls of artificial intelligence. While AI can be useful to generate ideas and improve workflow, using AI for the sake of using AI can cross ethical boundaries. With a few clicks of a button, hiring managers can know every detail about a candidate before ever speaking to them. Maybe that is not always a good thing.
This isn’t to say AI is bad. The use of AI can be distracting because it’s shiny and new and fun, but if companies can learn how to use it for good – to help their employees become more efficient, less stressed and more involved with their coworkers – then it can be a great solution.
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Accessibility and autonomy
Our third trend focuses on flexibility, accessibility and autonomy. The idea of accessibility is a critical sticking point for many people when they think about their own employee experience. There have been ongoing conversations around remote vs. hybrid vs. in-office work, but the conversation is shifting toward accessibility. Are you accessible and what agency does an employee have in influencing their work?
This accessibility conversation reminds me of a friend of mine who is a Chief Information Officer for a large company. The company servers went down when he was on vacation, hiking in the Rocky Mountains. This was a big deal because no one could connect and do their work, so he needed to fix this right away. But he was on top of mountain. He sent me a picture of him sitting on the edge of a rock on his laptop, fixing server errors that were happening thousands of miles away. It’s the epitome of what accessibility looks like. Can you do your work, and do you have agency around that flexibility?
There is tremendous value in face-to-face conversations and the direct conversations we have with each other. Webinars and virtual meetings are a wonderful thing because we can all connect wherever we are, but it can also feel very disconnected if we never see that person in person. The value of a face-to-face or direct conversation is apparent when it comes to collaboration and driving innovation. There is a deeper, more human connection between employees when they’re able to collaborate. They feel more like they belong and that they have a purpose.
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Reskilling and upskilling
Reskilling and upskilling are a fourth major trend in 2024. As we face immense talent shortages, we need to rethink how we skill our workforce and what that looks like. Companies should look for opportunities for their employees to learn new skills connected to things that are important to them. The New Rules of Engagement® research by BI WORLDWIDE shows that employees who are given the opportunity to master skills that are important to them are 17.4x more inspired and 5.3x more committed to their company.
Talent mobility is a big focus for many organizations. It’s not just about promotions; it’s about the ability to move around to areas that employees find interesting and are able to grow in. It’s the idea that within your organization, employees are finding a career and not just a job. They’re finding their skills are connected to the needs of the organization, and those skills are meaningful.
Tools like BI WORLDWIDE’s Mastery MarketplaceTM can be helpful, innovative tools to reskill and upskill employees. Employees are recognized with points, and they are able to use those points to learn skills that are important to them both personally and professionally.
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Advanced people analytics
Our final trend is around advanced people analytics. But what are people analytics? Basically, it’s looking at the processes, functions and challenges that employees are facing in an organization and using that data to created actionable insights. What we focused on this year was employee engagement. How do employees think about their work and how do they feel about it?
Companies can use data analytics in a way that helps visually map the organization, connecting each employee together. This results in a connectedness score, allowing an organization to see the people connected across each team in the organization. On top of that map, companies can visually lay more data to show how people feel about their engagement, their levels of commitment, their levels of stress and their levels of wellbeing.
These insights have always been hard to find because we were looking at average scores rather than individual scores. What if we could look at data that has historically been hidden? Focusing on individual scores can help leverage insights and cascade them across the organization, ultimately leading to culture dominating conversations around engagement.
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These five trends are just the beginning of understanding what work looks like now. Technology is going to advance, and we’ll begin to see new innovations that help us change the way we work. How you use these trends and innovations will be different for each company.
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