5 Trends That Will Dominate The Workplace This Year

The workplace is undergoing significant changes: structural, tech, and mindset, thanks to the demands of the new generations of workers, plus the consequences left by the pandemic.

2023 workplace trends reflect these changes and challenge companies to an inevitable transformation. Basically, corporations are in check, they transform or risk companies’ stability.

There are five major trends that very few organizations will be capable of avoiding.

1. Remote and hybrid work: a trend that will become the norm

A slow but steady goodbye to traditional work modes. In 2022 some companies returned to the offices, while many others decided to adopt remote working modalities

According to the Inter-American Development Bank, 24% of the job vacancies in 2022 in Latin America were offered with at least one variant of remote work. In northern economies, the trend is prevalent, for example, Canada offered 30% of the jobs with a kind of remote modalities.

Why will remote job offers grow in 2023?

For two key reasons according to an Indeed study:

Workers changed their mindset towards work. They want to work outside the office for greater comfort and flexibility to move according to their wishes.
Companies experience a noteworthy brain drain, so they offer flexible working modalities to retain employees or persuade prospects from other parts of the world.

2. Flexibility and benefits: what workers are looking for in 2023

Work flexibility goes beyond the work modality, it also implies a paradigm shift around working life.

Within the flexibilities asked to implement during 2023, the possibility of working 4 days a week is growing, that is, reducing the weekly work to 32 hours.

Will this working-time payoff?

According to Boston University, this working time has juicy advantages for both workers and companies.

The researchers conducted a pilot study with a group of companies where they tested this working time. They concluded that worker productivity increased by 8% during the pilot.

Other benefits of working 4 days a week:

• Happier employees, less stress, and a healthy work environment inside the companies
• Productivity rates increase
• Effective ways of organizing work emerge
• Worker physical and mental health improves

The pilot was so successful that 70% of participants claimed they would only return to work 5 days a week if companies increased their salary from 10% to 50%. While 13% said there is no wage compensation to quit working only 4 days a week.

Surely during 2023, more companies will follow this trend.

3. Tracking tools and metaverse

While remote and hybrid work is established as the norm, the trend suggests that by 2023 the demand for tracking and control software will grow.

The goal of tracking software is to monitor the efficiency of workers during remote work.

How much time do you effectively spend working? Do the team use time work for personal activities? These are two of the many questions that this software answers.

The goal is to track workers’ productivity levels outside the office.

Despite its benefits, with the arrival of these tools, a very thin line is drawn between monitoring and invading workers’ privacy. This is something you need to be careful about.

Metaverse and workplace

The metaverse industry market is growing with the migration of work on-site to online remote work modalities.

During 2023, metaverse platforms will blossom to give you immersive experiences with avatars and digital spaces suitable to enhance productivity and foster dynamic meetings.

Ready for the new metaverse era?

4. Workplace wellness and social awareness: Non-negotiable

72% of workers between 18 and 38 consider turning down a job offer if the company and the manager don’t support social causes, such as equity movements, or environmental stewardship, according to Indeed & Glassdoor.

This is a reflection of the values that the new generations embody and won’t be negotiated in exchange for a salary.

The Quiet-Quitting movement is an example of how workers have a different approach toward working life. Thus, work is only an aspect of human development that doesn’t take all dimensions of a person’s life.

5. Challenges in retaining workers

This year will also have its own challenges, engaging and retaining employees is one of the most alarming.

According to Indeed’s statistics, there is a significant brain drain in labor markets, especially in countries such as the United States, Canada, Spain, France, etc.

To retain workers, companies diversified their strategies. They offer more benefits and flexibility, as well as hire foreigners to fill vacancies.

According to Indeed’s research, the greater setbacks to hiring talent outside borders are the barrier of language, certifications, and bureaucratic paperwork.

Workplace trends 2023 focus on workers’ and companies’ well-being. They reflect the desire of the new generation of workers, that is balancing working and personal life. Also, they show the inevitable transformation of work in the upcoming years.

Which trend will your company jump to?