Adapting to the New Workplace Culture
According to a recent Forbes article, 2022 will be the year of the workplace culture. The seismic changes in the workplace environment caused by the pandemic have left employers struggling to both retain employees and manage remote workers. The traditional workplace as we know it no longer exists.
A new report from Glassdoor finds that the tight labor market trends will continue into 2022. Employers are going to have to reinvent their workplace culture and figure out how to engage and motivate employees in a dispersed workplace environment. So how can employers rethink their workplace culture and adapt to this changing environment?
The Flexible Workplace is Here to Stay
According to a Harvard Business School survey, 81% of employees who have been working from home through the pandemic do not want to either go back or prefer a hybrid schedule. The study found that employees want flexibility from their employers to allow them to maintain the new work/home balance and productivity they have come to enjoy.
To recruit top performers, employers will have to embrace a flexible workplace culture. The Forbes article describes several emerging trends that employers will have to recognize:
- Employee recognition will become more important. Employers will have to reconsider how they define visibility in the workplace. That includes building trust and leveraging data that provides more insight into employee engagement and performance. Employees need to feel appreciated to be satisfied and productive. By creating a workplace culture that celebrates recognition, companies will attract and retain top talent.
- Connection will drive workplace culture. ADP Research Institute found that U.S. workers who feel strongly connected to their employer are 75 times more likely to be engaged than those who do not feel connected. Companies will need to increase their focus on people-centered programs including diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.
- Employee development will become a priority. More and more teams have taken on new or changing roles in the last 12 to 18 months. As a result, many workers want to broaden their skillsets. By facilitating professional development, employers ensure their teams remain at the forefront of industry trends and best practices. When organizations invest in their employees, their abilities, engagement, and retention rates grow.
- Technology will play a pivotal role in workplace culture. With employees more dispersed than ever before, the role of technology in workplace culture cannot be overstated. Applications must be personalized, integrated, and easy to use. The good news is that most employees feel good about the future of technology in the workplace. Employees understand that advanced technology will improve their work experience and establish a greater connection with the organization and one another.
Imperative for a Robust Recognition Technology Platform
Redesigning your workplace culture will require a recognition technology platform that can overcome all the challenges of a hybrid workplace environment. You are going to need unprecedented flexibility in your ability to recognize and reward employee performance in disparate workplaces. You will require a recognition and reward platform that can be easily changed at the speed of light. Because that is what our work life is going to be in 2022 – changing at the speed of light. We can help you navigate that speed. Contact us today to learn more.
