Workplace Trends for 2020

The business world is ever-evolving and about as dynamic as any complex hierarchy can be. Due to its rapidly changing nature, it should come as no surprise that there are new workplace trends to cover year on year bar none.

Staying up to date with these trends is key if you hope to maintain a productive and happy workplace. In this article, we’re going to cover some of the most noteworthy trends that are likely to persist throughout the rest of the year. Let’s get right into the latest and greatest with KeepSolid!

Why should you care

Some people are wondering why such an emphasis is put on trends. After all, things have worked just fine for decades. Why try and fix what isn’t broken? Well, it all comes down to staying competitive against the other businesses that are out to get your employees.

If your company doesn’t keep up with the times, your employees will start looking for alternative employers who do. This was evident during the initial rise of remote working arrangements. Employees transferred en masse to companies who allowed them to work from home.

Keeping yourself informed on the latest trends will help your company maintain its lead against competitors and ensure that your skilled workers don’t jump ship just because other businesses are more modern in their way of running things. All in all, the effort definitely pays off.

Top 2020 workplace trends

Automation

More and more workplaces are turning to AI for administrative tasks, and there are a few key reasons for this shift. First of all, it’s cheaper to automate these managerial duties than to hire an actual full-time employee and assign the job to them.

Beyond cost-effectiveness, employees also tend to trust AI managers more than their human counterparts. Automation even cuts down on the frequency of workplace disputes since people don’t really get into spats with non-human superior officers.

A prime example of this is Hilton Worldwide Holdings who has implemented a chatbot that helps them with the recruitment process. You can see why a company so large would need the help of artificial intelligence to fill positions at their virtually countless locations.

Liberal Arts

A degree that was formerly looked at as nothing more than a running joke is finally getting traction in the wake of automation. While everyone thought that STEM graduates would exceed LA majors for decades to come, no one was expecting just how fast automation would hit.

The fact is that it’s much harder to automate the type of work that liberal arts graduates do in comparison to other fields. Empathy, creativity, and good communication have become highly-desired traits since these are all key human aspects that AI is yet to match.

While the starting salary for liberal arts jobs is likely to remain below that of STEM professions for quite some time, the speed at which their pay rises will far exceed their scientific counterparts. Applying to jobs will also be easier with Infosys hunting for 10,000 LA majors.

Office Therapy

No, the subheading above isn’t describing a new form of treatment where people spend time in an office to relieve stress. Rather, this section seeks to cover the growing trend of more companies providing therapy to employees right in their offices.

Studies show that 75% of Gen Z employees have resigned from a job due to mental health issues and the strain that their profession put on them. Resignations are an HR nightmare, which is why an increasing number of companies are putting their focus on mental wellbeing.

Employees are also more likely to leave their job if they feel that the company they work for doesn’t pay enough attention to the mental health needs of its workers. One study shows less than half of all employees feel like their company puts enough emphasis on mental health. 

Sustainability

In the midst of environmental concerns that span the entire planet, more big brands are trying to gain favor with the public by going green or at least staying carbon neutral. This is evident in customer-facing scenarios such as coffee shops and restaurants banning straws.

However, it’s worth noting that there are just as many changes happening behind the scenes in the name of sustainability. While saving the environment is definitely important, there are other benefits that companies are able to reap by going green — and productivity is one of them.

For instance, one study reported a 30% reduction in employees taking sick days after their company went green. This means projects will be completed sooner, marketing campaigns will run smoother, and customers will be more satisfied — all while reducing the carbon footprint.

Software

Software tools have been influencing the business world for ages, but it still deserves a spot on the trend list. Its adoption continues to skyrocket beyond the expectations of industry leaders.

Slack is used by over 600,000 organizations. That in itself is a staggering statistic, but when you consider the fact that Slack is only one tool yet already has over half a million companies using it, you start to see just how significant the growth of business software is.

In addition to the rising percentage of companies that use software solutions, the number of tools per company is also increasing. Nowadays a business may have a project manager, planning and collaboration tools, video conferencing solution, CRM, funnel builder, team communication software, corporate network security, and other tools in use.

Purpose

With the turn of the decade, more large companies are diversifying their mission statements and abandoning the sole focus on profit that has long defined the domain of business. After all, 64% of people believe that companies should have the betterment of society as their purpose.

This was based on a survey ran by Fortune. Other indicators back up Fortune’s data. For instance, new terms such as compassionate capitalism and conscious capitalism have been coined by leaders at Salesforce and Whole Foods respectively. 

Don’t get us wrong, there’s nothing inherently bad about making a profit. But it’s refreshing to see some of the largest brands in the world putting emphasis on the goal of making a positive impact in the world. This sets a good example that smaller businesses can follow.

Older Workers

Many people are focusing on the increasing number of Gen Z employees in the workforce. That really shouldn’t come as a surprise since it’s to be expected that more members of the younger generations will start working as they come of age.

What’s more noteworthy — at least in our opinion — is the fact that older workers from previous generations are coming out of retirement to re-enter the workforce and once again serve the economy with their skill sets. Their experience will be invaluable and can be passed on.

In fact, one tech company known as SAP (based in Germany) has a mature talent program. In this program, older and younger employees mentor each other. Younger employees teach their more mature counterparts about tech while the experienced employees teach time-tested tricks.

Conclusion

The business landscape is continuing to shift, at times not only annually but also on a monthly basis. While some trends that we see today may not make it past the first quarter of this new decade, the ones that we’ve covered in the article are likely to have long-lasting impacts.

If you found the information in this article helpful then be sure to share it with a friend or two so that they can leverage the latest information and reap the benefits of these trends. That’s all for now, but have a happy and healthy day at work!

Author bio: Jake Lizarraga is a content writer who reviews software for the Chanty blog. The combination of humor and conciseness makes every piece of his a fun read. When he isn’t writing, Jake loves watching movies, practicing Muay Thai, and geeking out about the fact that Melissa Benoist now speaks Russian on CW’s Supergirl.