Trends That Will Shape Work in 2021

While 2020 was the most volatile year many of us have seen, it would be a mistake to think the disruption is over.
Employers who support staff life experience see a 23% increase in staff mental health, and a 17% increase in physical health. Support for mental health, financial health, and work/life balance issues like health, sleep, childcare, and education have become high stakes in benefits to employees.
74% of employees expect their employer to become more actively involved in cultural issues of the day. CEOs who have spent resources here have been rewarded with 20% more highly engaged employees.
Flexibility in time and location – Organizations that offered this flexibility understood the increased staff need for more flexibility, and saw 55% of their workforce as high performers, by measuring productivity not hours worked.
Remote workers – As companies listed about 33% more skills in job ads during 2020, and will “rent” talent to fill skills gaps, some States are offering moving bonuses for individual talent instead of relying on corporate relocations.
Watch for new regulations to limit remote worker monitoring. While 1 in 4 companies bought monitoring software, 44% of employees don’t receive any feedback regarding data collected about them (a significant morale challenge).
Source: Gartner 2020 ReimagineHR survey quoted in Harvard Business Review