My view of the future
Heraclitus of Ephesus is given credit for penning the phrase, “The only thing constant is change.” While reflecting upon my 57+ years in this world I would tend to agree. I could wax on about the changes I have encountered in my life, but I would rather spend a little time today sharing what I see coming in the not too distant future, starting with 2017. You may agree or disagree, but I feel pretty strongly about these assumptions and would be interested in seeing whether you agree or disagree:
- “Telecommuting” or working from home will continue to grow. Data shows that 3% of the workforce now works from home at least half of the time
- Studies show that most employees are not at their desk 50-60% of the time, only further supporting the move toward workplace mobility
- Multilingual capability will continue to grow as a core workplace need, especially in roles that deal with clients directly
- “Baby Boomers” will continue to exit the workforce, but many will stay on in contract or part-time roles, helping to soften the blow that occurs when this institutional knowledge leaves
- Workplace regulation will reduce with the transition from the Obama to Trump administration in Washington, DC. I believe that there will be significant removal of some of the onerous and restrictive regulations that have been promulgated during the last 8 years in the area of workplace regulations.
- Employers who allow pets in the workplace will be favored over those who do not. While I am personally not a fan of this trend, I see it happening more and more and many people have stronger bonds with their pets than they do with human beings.
I have a few more that I need to give further thought to. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this list, and also what you think I have missed.
What trends do you see coming in the workplace?