Keeping Up With The Modern Workplace

Do you know what the workplace looked like before business casual became the norm? Prior to the 1990s, the workplace was never a fun place to be. Employees were expected to conform to several cultural norms, dressing in a particular fashion and working under close scrutiny of their managers. It was the standard 9 to 5 routine in a very rigid office space where employees must spend most of their time. The performance review was often given at the end of the year.

In the last few decades, we have seen several changes in the workplace that some old-fashioned executives do not agree that we are making progress. There is less emphasis on how employees must dress, and work-life balance is encouraged across all levels. Depending on company culture, it is not uncommon to see employees dressing in sweatpants to work. It is becoming apparent to new business leaders and executives that the rigidity associated with workplaces in the past did not really help anyone. There are proofs that a fluid, casual environment engenders job fulfillment and enhances productivity.

Today’s modern workplace is designed to meet new challenges.  The need for employees to collaborate effectively over long distances, for instance, is one of the key advantages of the modern workplace. The modern workplace environment is not limited by physical location. It also has a blended workforce and is more responsive to problems. The old rigid workplace couldn’t meet up with these and several other needs. Communication in the new system is much more efficient, with employees using several collaborative software like Google Docs and Skype to connect and share information with colleagues in different parts of the world.

The need to adopt the relevant changes that define the dynamic modern workplace cannot be overemphasized. To meet the needs of everyone in the organization, the workplace will continue to evolve. Employers and employees are expected to keep abreast with trends and work together to make things work. Here, we will look at five modern-day workplace trends and how they are changing the way we work. These are the trends you should consider adopting if you haven’t done that already.

The modern workplace requires collaboration.  Most projects a business will embark upon, require full team collaboration.   This means everyone involved in the project must be at the top of their game for the project to work successfully. This can be challenging, even for a workplace that has every member of the team under one roof. It becomes a lot more challenging when there are remote workers involved in the project.

Imagine what goes into creating a post-click landing page. It appears like a simple project but may require three different employees in three different locations – a copywriter, a designer, and a manager or VP of the business. To get any optimized landing page created, a lot of communication between the parties involved will be required. This is to ensure that all the post-click elements will help to get the desired result. A lot of changes may be made too before the final page is published.

Achieving the level of collaboration needed in modern workplaces is not often easy. While there are tools and technologies that make communication easy and efficient, getting everyone involved in a particular project to be on the same page can be a daunting task. This is why vibrant project managers are needed in any organization. The project manager must be able to efficiently coordinate the copywriters, editors, designers, and other parties involved. Feedback must be sent in time and changes reviewed as early as they are sent. It is also important that a common communication channel be maintained to keep things moving smoothly.

Efficient collaboration cannot take place when there is no robust IT infrastructure. To ensure that your team members and everyone involved with different projects in your organization work smoothly, the IT system has to be top-notch. This is where an IT Managed Service Provider like KMT comes in. The MSP will set up your system to facilitate efficient communication and collaboration across the board.

While some people are panicky about the potential job losses that can result from technological advances, it is becoming clear to some that employees may have to spend more hours doing job-related tasks and communicating with team members even after work hours. In fact, the near-constant business cycle some organizations are proud of requires that most employees stay connected always, sacrificing their freedom.

While keeping the business processes gin even during odd hours will make an organization look good in the eyes of some observers, it doesn’t always go down well with employees. Again, the modern workplace doesn’t encourage excessive work culture. It has been found that making employees to work extra hours inside or outside the office can hamper productivity and morale. A good work-life balance is recommended and has become the norm in many organizations.

A good work-life balance has also been found to be one of the important things that convince millennial’s to take a particular job. Many employers have been emphasizing it of late, in a bid to attract the best talents and also show that they are keeping up with trends. For some potential employers, targeting work-life balance is a way to stress emphasis on their personal interest. Most employers, on the other hand, have realized that offering good work-life balance help to keep the productivity of most employees high. Informed employers have shifted the focus from hours in the office to deliver outcomes of engaging each employee on projects.

In the traditional setting, performance reviews are normally given at the end of a year. This means employees will work a solid one year before being reviewed, which can be a problem for some. While it is clearly inefficient, it also has the potential of dampening morale at some point.

In today’s workplace, some employers and managers give employees responsive feedback on a weekly or monthly basis. Employees can also receive reviews at the completion of certain projects. Frequent performance reviews mean employers don’t have to wait for an entire year to see how the performances of employees matched their job responsibilities. Rather, it clarifies objectives on a regular basis and boosts the employees’ morale steadily. A Deloitte study found that companies that review employees’ performances regularly perform at a higher level than companies that stick to annual performance reviews.

It is obvious that the modern workplace will continue to change with time. The trends discussed here are just the beginning. Other notable trends on the rise include boomerang employees, employee well-being programs, and organizations emphasizing team performance over individual performance.

As the modern workplace continues to change, employers and business owners must keep up with trends in order to compete. Businesses will also need to up their IT infrastructure to efficiently handle the challenges of an evolving workplace. Working with a dedicated IT Managed Service Provider like KMT can make things easier.