The Future of Work - Trends 2023
As the shiny new chapter of a fresh year begins, we remain in the early stages of a work-life evolution, collectively chasing a silver bullet solution to the ‘new normal’ of work (*spoiler alert* there is none). Despite a degree of uncertainty, with this flux comes opportunity when it comes to decision making, business strategy and, of course, workspace design. So let’s reframe the uncertainty and use this moment to consider ‘how do we want to work in the future?’.
Here are some common themes and hot topics proving to be a continual source of discussion and debate amongst ourselves and our clients.
Designing a hybrid working team
Flexibility around where we work is now widely offered. In the post-pandemic working world, being able to divide your working week between office and home is perceived as important to happiness as a 6.7% pay rise (10% in the finance and technology sectors). While not for all, the fact remains that a high proportion of workers are used to the rhythm of hybrid working. A recent study by LandSec found Tuesday to Thursday are the busiest days in the office, with Mondays at 50% capacity and Fridays almost as quiet as the weekend in the City of London. This mode of ‘partial remote’ has nearly doubled since the beginning of the pandemic with 59.2% of businesses offering this. Interestingly after a sharp uptake mid-way through 2020, the number of businesses saying they can be fully remote has now halved, as teams and companies recognise the value in coming together in the office to collaborate for part of the week.
Hybrid working benefits have been proven over the last two years so it is inevitable they will prevail and will prove to be another asset for companies wishing to remain competitive in the job market. Of course there is no one size fits all here, but gradually organisations are finding their teams’ best rhythm although it is not without its challenges; 70% of workers want to choose the specific days they work from home, but about the same number, 75%, say that when they do come into the office, they would like their colleagues to be there. Is 2023 the year we will figure that one out?
Designing the right hybrid structure requires planning
Flexible working can offer a better work life balance
Flexible working
While this covers hours, location and the amount of time an employee is required to work - it is important to recognise this is not just about working from home. Flexible working can offer a better work-life balance for those with differing access needs or for parents and those with other dependents and caring responsibilities. It can therefore boost inclusivity within the workforce and help close gender inequalities. At the end of last year a new ruling in the UK stated that workers will be able to put in a request for flexible working from Day One of their employment and employers will need to focus on how it can work rather than why it won’t. Another win for increased flexible working is that it has reduced quit rates by 35%.
The 4 day working week
When trialled by 100 UK companies, many decided to permanently adopt the four day week with no loss of pay. It does, however, require effort and a shift in working practices with some challenges to overcome. The basis of a shorter week is a ‘get stuff done quicker’ approach, which in real terms equates to 25% more output on the four days you are at work. It requires discipline around many aspects of the working day including length of meetings, reduced socialising and implementing new technology platforms to find efficiencies all round. Interestingly the fish and chip shop that took part, has adopted a five day week in peak tourist season, dropping to 32 hours in September and 24 hours in winter so a seasonal approach works well for this business. Many companies adopted strict ways to monitor output and how days were used which were not loved by all. However for most participants it was an opportunity to reassess how we work and once strategies were implemented found the time savings easy to come by. One SME involved joked that it took six months of working six days a week to build the infrastructure for a four day week. Time will tell if this will be adopted by more businesses.
Can the 4 day working week provide the same output as 5?
Many trials are being conducted to find the optimal solution
No ‘new normal’
There are numerous trials happening regarding managing the flow of the working week, including putting ‘in office’ auto emails on for the days when teams are together and therefore not focused on emails. Also under review is reducing the number of meetings held or a reduction in standard meeting time to 45 minutes instead of an hour (this is particularly helpful for those facing death by Zoom). This week Shopify announced no meetings should be held on Wednesdays and that they were deleting all recurring meetings with more than three invitees, which they believe will save 76,500 collective business hours. UK business The Foundation have adopted ‘Wednesdays + 1’ to ensure that the whole company is together at least one day a week - a move that has proved very popular as workers reported missing the culture that came with all being together. It’s exciting to see so many ideas being trialled as companies experiment with what works for their teams.
Mind the gender gap
This is an important one to consider in 2023 as statistics show an unfortunate increase in gender inequality / pay discrimination since the pandemic, when the childcare load led to more women becoming full time/at home parents and/or carrying out the majority of childcare and homeschooling duties. In the UK, the gender pay gap rose 14.9% - 15.4% between 2020-2021 (in Belgium, the world leader for pay equity it is 3.9%). Pay transparency and reporting is expected to increase to combat issues around pay discrimination. Additionally a McKinsey report in 2021 found female Senior Leaders were 60% more likely to offer emotional support to teams than men and 26% more likely to help team members manage workload and navigate work life challenges. As women make up only 30% of leadership roles in the UK, it would appear that the people who work hardest in these positions are finding it hard to get them.
The gender pay gap increased rather than decreased in the UK in “21
Up-skilling employees as a mean to retain talent
Recruiting and retaining talent
Whilst we may be post the ‘great resignation’ there are still huge challenges around hiring and retaining the right talent. Alongside offering individuals choice in regards to where and how they work, creating a well considered and well designed environment is hugely effective in supporting retention. It is also anticipated that we will see an increase in benefits offered, such as parental leave, increased holiday and even pet insurance! Up-skilling workers will likely also become a key focus of retention strategies and demonstrates the willingness of employers to invest in employees' development and growth. Soft skills such as collaboration, time management, communication and leadership are all desirable qualities so it makes sense that these should be invested in.
Sustainability in the workplace
As society addresses the impact of climate change, so must business. Recent years have seen a rise in ‘greenwashing’, but talent and potential employees as well as consumers, can now see through this. Millennials cite ethics and sustainability as major factors in deciding whether to take a job offer, so it is important to have clear and (critically) honest communication around your ESG pillars. Sustainable working policies such as powering down all equipment at the end of the day; cycle to work schemes; purchasing energy efficient products; management of waste and monitoring supply chains are easy wins and show some responsibility. Sustainable design starts with the procurement process so if you’re embarking on an office design refurbishment or fit out be sure to make this a core part of your office design brief.
The need to ensure sustainability isn’t just greenwashing
Wellbeing and mental health
Economic, political and environmental instability is likely to further increase mental health challenges for everyone and many employers are rightly concerned about their teams. The pandemic was a catalyst to provoking important conversations around this topic and finally wellbeing at work is no longer a tick-box exercise. Hybrid and flexible work solutions have seen an increase in diversity in the workplace and offered another way to work for those with physical and mental health challenges. Providing access to mental health resources and offering emotional support is now (or should be) a reasonable step for all leaders and employers and in turn will benefit performance and productivity. Wellbeing approaches are being incorporated into office and workspace strategies to great success and help demonstrate how seriously companies take their employees’ mental health.
Whilst we live through this time of workplace evolution it is going to continue to be critical that organisations remain agile and open as they learn, evolve and adapt to the post-pandemic world at work.
Author: Emma Morley, Founder and Director
Emma founded Trifle* in 2010 after a career in marketing, event design and production. Frustrated by the fact that only advertising agencies had inspiring spaces she had a desire to make good design the norm for all office workers. Emma has worked across well over 150 interior projects during her career at the helm of Trifle*, she remains passionate about making amazing spaces but also making the industry more accessible, more human and more diverse.