Gone are the days when workplaces were rigid, where employees were expected to be dressed in formal attire and work non-stop from 9 to 5. Modern workplaces are nothing of that sort. Modern workplaces are more casual and don't require employees to come dressed in formal wear daily. You can go to work wearing sweatpants unless you don't have to attend a formal meeting with your bosses!
Attire is only one of the many features of workplaces that have changed drastically. Modern workplaces are entirely different from what workplaces looked like a few years ago. It took employers quite some time to realize that rigid workplace culture and the environment weren't doing them much good and were causing a decline in employee productivity and efficiency. This led to the majority of employers switching to modern workplaces. Those employers who are still sticking around with traditional workplace cultures are losing employees.
It's critically important in today's date to keep up with modern workplace trends because if you don't, you will lose business due to poor employee productivity and efficiency and lose employees.
This blog post highlights some of the most popular modern workplace trends and also discusses why it's so important to keep up with them!
1. Remote Working Model
Switching to a remote working model was the only option during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, now that the dark phase is over, many employers continue to proceed with the remote working model. Flexible work schedules are the leading modern workplace trend. Smart employers have already adopted it. The question is, have you?
You're in for massive losses if you still haven't accepted the remote working model. Hiring a remote workforce can help you save millions of dollars on the administrative expenses of operating a physical business. Not only does it save money for the business, but it also helps businesses achieve better results.
The remote working model offers flexibility to the employees around their working hours. This enables the employees to manage their work and personal life better. It also enhances employee comfort and reduces employee burnout. The employees also get to save money on commuting. All of these factors play an active role in boosting employee productivity and efficiency, which means all the good things for a business; better results, better profits, and better employee retention.
Apart from this, adopting a remote working model also makes a bigger talent pool available for employers. They can hire the best employees without having any restrictions regarding where the employee is located!
2. Smarter Workplaces
The next big modern workplace trend is designing smart workplaces. Many modern workplaces are adopting smart technologies to compete with the ever-changing needs and ever-evolving workplaces. Technologies like advanced analytics software, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and new computer applications are now common. These technologies make processes smoother and allow employees to utilize their time and skills more efficiently.
One of the most common features of smart workplaces is high-quality cameras and video conferencing equipment to make way for smoother and seamless remote working. Employers can stay in touch virtually with their employees from anywhere in the world. Then there's Artificial Intelligence that has facilitated automation. Automation has organizations with better productivity, higher efficiency, and higher value for the business. AI isn't only robots and self-driving cars. There's so much more to this technology. Some of the most common applications of AI today include chatbots for customer service, recruitment matching for HR, analytics-driven meetings, and digitalized workplaces.
These are just a few examples of how smart offices benefit employees and employers and why you should consider designing a smart office.
3. Modern Collaboration Channels
The remote working model's widespread acceptance comes with a need for better collaboration channels. Every task goes through several processes before it can be completed. Multiple individuals and multiple departments are involved. With proper collaboration, timely completion of tasks is possible, even in physical offices.
If you're still following conventional collaboration methods, let's say, getting documents signed by all stakeholders separately before you can finalize it for record-keeping, know that you're wasting a lot of time. A document would keep lying on the desk of the concerned individual till you don't follow up. It can still take many days for you to get the document signed off.
Designing advanced collaboration channels can save a lot of time and hassle and get things done faster and more efficiently. For example, you can upload the document on the online channel and have all the stakeholders review it and give feedback. You can make the marked changes in real time and have feedback from several individuals simultaneously while you're at it. This is just one of the many ways in which advanced collaboration channels can help you get things done more efficiently. It's high time you develop an internal collaboration channel for your business and start reaping the benefits of a modern workplace.
4. Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM)
Thanks to the Bring Your Own Meeting solution, conducting meetings and conferences remotely has become so simple. The ultimate meeting space solution allows you to host meetings remotely and as efficiently as you do in person.
Through Bring Your Own Meeting, a single user controls the meeting through their device. All the participants or attendees are connected remotely through their devices. The user can use any conference application they like to walk into a BYOM space. The cameras, mics, and audio of the host's device are automatically bridged with the participants' devices, which cuts down the need for any dongles, room panels, or touchscreen to launch a meeting.
5. Ergonomic Offices
Designing ergonomic workplaces is one of the most popular trends today. Thanks to the widespread awareness about the importance of workplace ergonomics, an increasing number of organizations are working towards creating ergonomic workplaces.
Modern workplaces don't have the traditional office furniture and equipment you're familiar with. Instead, these workplaces are equipped with ergonomic work desks and chairs, adjustable monitor mounts, ergonomic keyboards, and mice, and are brighter and lively, unlike the dull and gloomy offices we saw a decade ago.
Ergonomic office furniture provides employees with a comfortable work environment. This furniture encourages the employees to work in the correct posture, which reduces the risk of work-associated fatigue and work-related musculoskeletal disorders, thereby enhancing employee productivity and efficiency. When the employees are comfortable at work and don't experience discomfort and pain due to uncomfortable furniture, their productivity is enhanced, and they deliver higher-quality results. Other ergonomic equipment like ergonomic keyboards and mice and adjustable monitor mounts also ensure the employee isn't exposed to the risks of poor posture and poor workplace ergonomics.
Brightly lit offices with large windows with plenty of natural light during the day are also common today. Not only does this office design help employers save on electricity bills, but it also boosts employee morale and productivity. Ergonomic office design also has a positive impact on the employees' mental health and overall well-being as well!
Ergonomic workspaces offer tremendous benefits for both employers and employees. If your office is still equipped with traditional furniture and equipment and is gloomy and dull, it's about time you revamp your workspace and make it ergonomics-friendly.
6. Modern Presentation Methods
You're way behind if you still hire employees based on their PowerPoint presentation skills. PowerPoint was once the best option for presentations, but not anymore. Today, numerous options allow you to design more interactive and graphical presentations that aren't possible with PowerPoint. You can now use these modern presentation tools to wow your clients. Not only this, but modern presentation tools also help you make corporate videos and animations, which help you save hundreds and thousands of dollars on hiring a professional to make them for you!
7. Modern Performance Review
Do you conduct performance reviews with your employees once every year, where you sit them down and discuss their performance during the past year? Well, you've got a lot of catching up to do! One of the most promising workplace trends today is the modern performance review. Instead of sitting your employees down once a year to discuss their performance, you should look into a more efficient way of evaluating performance.
Designing a system or an online portal where the employees can track their progress month-by-month and where the managers can give real-time feedback will help the employees know where they stand precisely and will also help the employers see how their employees have progressed over the year. Instead of evaluating their employees based on the completion of specific projects, employers can evaluate their employees in various aspects and ensure that no aspect of their employee's performance goes unnoticed.
Final Words
The world is evolving, and so is everything in it. Technology is advancing more with each passing day. Organizations that are reluctant to accept modern trends are falling behind those who readily accept modern trends and methods. If you haven't been keeping up well with modern workplace trends, it's high time you do. The sooner you do it, the better your chances are to get back into the competition with your industry's giants!
