The world of work
is constantly changing. It is therefore important that we understand how the workforce and workplace is evolving and being influenced by a range technological and demographic disruptions.
In his latest LinkedIn blog, Hays’ CEO, Alistair Cox, outlines three major trends he believes will shape our workforces and workplaces in 2017, namely: the rise of flexible working and the gig economy; workforces becoming more and more multi-generational; and the increased demand for adaptable and resilient employees.
The rise of flexible working and the gig economy
Hays’ CEO highlighted that with more economic uncertainty ahead in 2017, organisations will be required to budget for short-term posts and embrace the opportunities presented by the expanding flexible workforce:
“We’ve all heard about the increasing popularity of flexible working – it seems to be rarely out of the news. But I expect we’ll be hearing much more about it in 2017 as more companies turn to senior freelancers to progress one-off assignments.”
This stance was supported by a recent Deloitte report which discussed the rise of the gig economy, where 42% of executives surveyed expected to ‘increase’ or ‘significantly increase’ the use of flexible workers in the next three to five years.
Workforces will become more and more multi-generational
Due to improved quality of life and increased life-expectancy, today’s workforces are becoming more multi-generational than ever before. Mr Cox emphasised that this is leading to a workforce which is a mix of baby boomers (born between 1940 and 1960), Generation X (1961–82), Generation Y (1983–95) and Generation Z (since 1995) all working together under the same roof. Indeed, today’s organisations will be presented with the challenge to manage as many as five generations of workers as highlighted in Deloitte’s report.
Demand will increase for adaptable and resilient employees
In 2017 employers will be increasingly searching for what Alistair Cox calls ‘mouldable candidates’ – adaptable and resilient individuals who are open to learning new skills and want to push themselves out of their comfort zones. Employers, as Alistair highlights, will then “look to these employees to become ‘tech and data ambassadors’ within their own departments.”
In his LinkedIn blog, Alistair also provides a recommendation for the wider pool of employees on how to leverage this opportunity:
“Employees working in more traditional functions can increase their value-add by becoming more tech-savvy and acting as a bridge between the technical, specialised personnel and the wider business.”