BCG Boston Consulting Group
December 17, 2021
As you plan for the year ahead, take a moment to reflect on key lessons about ways of working from 2021:
- People want flexibility.
- Companies can craft hybrid models.
- Talent is on the move.
These trends are here to stay.
1.People want flexibility
The pandemic has taught millions of people around the world that they can do their jobs effectively without ever setting foot in an office. For most of them, that lesson will carry into the future.
89% of people expect to be able to work from home after the pandemic
This is true across job types. Our survey found a broad desire for some flexibility in where they work, ranging from digital and knowledge workers to those in manual labor and manufacturing roles.
But there’s a big disconnect between executives and nonexecutives: according to a Future Forum survey,
- 44% of executives want to return to full-time office work — but
- only 17% of nonexecutives do.
What leaders need to do in 2022:
- Understand the possibilities of flexible working and what people want, and then
- find the compromises that will work for your organization and your people.
Explore How to Decode Global Ways of Working
2.Companies can craft hybrid models
After more than a year in the largely remote working mode, 40% of employees say they feel overworked or exhausted.
Many employees are feeling burned out by digital overload:150% increase in meeting volumes.
How can we preserve the benefits of remote or hybrid work as offices reopen without institutionalizing the downsides of virtual models?
- Start by identifying the right model for your organization: fully onsite, partially remote, primarily remote, or some custom version of those scenarios.
It will depend on the nature of the work being done, the teams involved, and the preferences of individuals.
What leaders need to do in 2022:
Enable your new ways of working with
- skill development and training,
- tools and technology,
- a redesigned space,
- policy guidelines, and
- metrics to track progress.
Understand the How-To of Hybrid Work
3.Talent is on the move
It’s clear that people are willing to change jobs to get what they want. We are in the midst of the “great resignation.”
57% of workers are open to looking for a new position this year
This is about to be the fiercest race for talent we’ve ever seen. Already, businesses are reporting difficulty in filling positions.
If a company won’t provide new work options, competitors that are willing to provide flexibility are likely to cherry-pick employees who want that kind of independence.
To put it bluntly to companies that aren’t recognizing what employees want: you snooze, you lose.
What leaders need to do in 2022:
- Rethink your talent models — including what a “job” looks like — and understand trends in jobs and skills.
- Also rethink how you manage workers: instead of monitoring them in a central workspace, figure out how to motivate and measure outcomes.
Learn Why the Way We Work Is Broken
- As the nature of work changes — profoundly — leaders must adjust. With an eye on evolving trends, leaders can continue shaping the future of work by considering four key aspects of their approach:
(a) how they work,
(b) how they lead,
© how they organize, and
(d) what they need.
Check Out Our Related Content
- Six Strategies to Boost Retention Through the Great Resignation
- What 12,000 Employees Have to Say About the Future of Remote Work
- Three Tips for Leaders to Get the Future of Work Right
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