4 Interesting Trends That Will Impact Our Future Workplaces and Work Lives

Have you ever sat down for an interview with a potential new employee, only to be met with the question of whether they can work from home three days a week? Or perhaps one of your employees has asked if it's a good idea to explore a four-day workweek? Both of these scenarios are signs that our workplaces are undergoing change, and this is just the beginning. So here's a brief guide to some of the interesting trends that I believe will influence our future workplaces and work lives.

1. We Seek Silence and Solitude.

In a world where we are constantly interrupted by a new Messenger message or yet another email, peace and quiet are in short supply. We often feel like we're stuck on a hamster wheel, with never enough time or tranquility to prioritize the tasks we know we should be completing. The workplaces of the future should be able to create these breathing spaces for their employees. Here are three simple suggestions for solutions that can provide these moments of respite:

Create Areas with a Library Atmosphere.

Here, you can design workspaces that mimic the ambiance of one of those venerable old libraries, with soft lighting, comfortable seating, and a strict no-noise policy, enabling deep concentration in the workspace.

Think Like a Boarding School.

If there's one place where the need for regulating technology use is evident, it's in boarding schools. Here in Denmark, students must lock their phones away in lockers every night. What are your rules for technology use in your workplace? Is it okay to send messages on your phone during a meeting? Should employees bring their laptops to meetings? A digital code of conduct will make it clear to everyone what the rules are, providing breathing spaces and relieving the guilt of not immediately responding to a message.

Work Retreats:

Give your employees the opportunity for work retreats. These are stays in a summerhouse, cottage, or similar location in a peaceful natural setting where they can immerse themselves in a project. Being able to escape colleagues, cooking, and school runs for three days allows you as an employer to have full focus on a project for many hours, while also giving your employees a break from constant interruptions and the opportunity for deep focus.

2. We Struggle with Mental Health.

A fast pace, numerous choices, digitalization, and the expectation that we should be adaptable and deliver results put a strain on our mental well-being. Recent research shows that 82% of Danes will experience challenges with their mental health in their lifetime. This means that you can expect it to be more the norm than the exception to have employees dealing with poor mental well-being. Below, you'll find three suggestions on how to create a culture that is open to employees with mental challenges.

Train Your Leaders and Employees in Mental First Aid.

Offer courses and workshops in mental first aid, where employees, leaders, and HR departments learn to identify signs of mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, or depression, and how to provide support to their colleagues. Consider including mental health training as part of the onboarding process for new employees, especially younger ones, who will appreciate the security when starting and will promote a continuous understanding of the importance of promoting well-being in the workplace.

Mental Health Days.

Establish, for example, two days a year where you focus on mental health in all departments. These two days are well spent if you can reduce sick leave and long-term sick leave due to stress. Create a program that includes tools for managing stress, meditation, and facilitating discussions about mental well-being in each department. It creates a culture where employees know that management is willing to openly and honestly discuss a topic that has previously been taboo.

Appoint Mental Health Ambassadors.

Appoint employees as mental health ambassadors within the organization. These ambassadors can receive special training and serve as resources and support for their colleagues. They can also refer employees to professional help at an early stage.

Read the post about young people's well-being and what you can do as a leader: (Indsæt link)

3. We Seek Flexibility and Work-Life Balance.

Hybrid, remote work, four-day workweeks... the list of new work models is as long as you can imagine, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. These models primarily fall into three overarching categories:

1. Compressed workweek.

2. Flexible location.

3. Flexible working hours.

A significant portion of your employees are either struggling to make their daily lives fit together or they desire a job that allows them the time to build a passive income or work on a personal project on the side. Make no mistake, even if they think you're a great boss, many of them dream of breaking free from the hamster wheel. So if you haven't already started thinking about how to provide flexibility for your employees and decided which one or more of the three main categories you want to work with, it's time to start now.

But it's not enough to think only about how your current permanent employees can have flexibility; you also need a strategy for how you'll incorporate the Gig economy into your workplace.

The Gig Economy.

Especially young people, skilled in some digital skill, choose to step outside the traditional job market. Instead, they become part of the gig economy and offer their talents as freelancers. For them, the advantage is that they can work from anywhere in the world and choose the number and scope of their tasks. For you as a leader, it means first deciding whether you want gig workers and whether it fits your company. Next, you need to know where you can find these types of employees and how to structure and coordinate work between permanent employees and freelancers. The Gig economy and its challenges are worthy of a blog post of its own, so that's on my list of future topics.

4. We Are Attracted to Sustainable Practices.

You might be tired of hearing about sustainability, but whether we like it or not, its importance cannot be underestimated. Today's employees choose workplaces that demonstrate a clear commitment to sustainability.

The number of self-help books available on the market indicates that as individuals, we are seeking a reason for our existence, a purpose. We are seeking a reason to work 37 hours a week. At the same time, we are witnessing dramatic climate change, not just talking about it but actually experiencing it. The combination of these two factors makes sustainability, in relation to your future talent recruitment, a volatile cocktail.

The successful companies of the future will thrive because of their ability to attract the right talent, and these talents prioritize sustainability and making a difference. So you can't just think of sustainability as something you sell through products to your customers; it's also something you have to sell to your future employees.

Sustainability comes in many forms. Do you have a plan for which ones you prioritize? Here's a list of some simple questions that might kickstart your brainstorming on sustainability:

• Do you have a cause you're passionate about in your company?

• "What gets measured, gets done"... what sustainability parameters do you measure?

• Do you recognize and reward the best sustainability initiatives brought forth by employees?

• Do you encourage or allocate time for your employees engaged in volunteering that supports sustainability in some way?

• What proportion of your education budget is dedicated to educating employees in one or more sustainability areas?