We’ve nearly made it through 2021 with more than 18 months of pandemic-driven remote work under our belts, and as time goes on the future of work is clear - it will predominantly be remote. As remote work graduates from a necessity to norm, it’s time for companies and their HR departments to embrace this fact and make strides toward what’s now necessary and important to employees in the next year and beyond. Ten Spot sheds light on some of what we believe will be top of mind in 2022 with the following trends and predictions.

The War for Talent Goes Next-Level
One of the biggest challenges companies and their HR departments are facing is they are either having trouble finding employees, having trouble retaining employees, or both. Due to the Great Resignation, Great Reshuffle, or whatever the term of the day is, there’s no getting around that in the month of September alone, 4.4M workers left their jobs. Companies need to prepare for things to get worse, and for the war for talent to reach a fever pitch in 2022. Companies that want to have a fighting chance need to offer better salaries, benefits, and working conditions (even if that’s helping with an office set up at home). If companies are already trying these things and they aren’t working, it’s well past time to get on the same page as employees by simply asking them what they want.

Workers will Make the Rules About Returning to the Office - if They Even Want to
Several companies have charged forward with requiring workers to come back into the office, and that approach is just not working for a lot of employees. And now, with the Omicron variant spreading faster than previous variants, company leadership needs to give employees an active voice in conversations about returning to work - and need to listen or face the consequences. Employees will let leadership know if returning to the office is something that interests them, and will let them know in what way, and how frequently they want to do it if it is. Otherwise, employees who prefer working at home can now easily find another job where they can work remotely full-time.

However, it shouldn’t be left to the employees to choose when to come in or not on a whim - there should be structure as this will greatly impact women. Women will tend to work from home more frequently due to the roles we play outside of work. We all know fact-to-face time with leadership and management is important for advancement but companies need to consider who this will impact.

Companies Will Double Down on Training - Especially for Managers
Even before the pandemic, a report from 2018 indicated that 59% of managers hadn’t ever had any training on how to manage people. Because of the work transition everyone has been through, this number is likely even higher now. Managers desperately need training on just that - how to be managers - in addition to training on how to manage teams and people remotely. Training managers to effectively manage remote teams is a huge issue because managers are struggling right now, and when managers struggle, their teams and direct reports struggle as well.

The Gen Z Voice Will Get Louder and Shape the Future of Work
Looking across the workforce today there is a stark generational difference between the generation that will soon leave the workforce (Boomers) and the new generation on its way in (Gen Z). Gen Z is not only laser-focused on using technology to solve problems - 63% think that using an employee engagement and productivity platform could help their company improve the company’s culture, employee communications, inclusivity, and training and development efforts - but 86% have already experienced discriminatory issues or abusive behavior in the workplace. As a result, Gen Z will likely have a significant impact on today’s workplace as we know it - from how we use technology, think about company culture, the ways issues regarding workplace discrimination and diversity, equity and inclusion are addressed, and how companies deal with the most pressing social and political issues

Companies Will Initiate a Reset on Core Values & Bigger Issues
The new era of working from home combined with the wave of resignations the workforce is experiencing has companies questioning if their core values represent their existing employees, and will ramp up for a big reset. A Ten Spot survey indicated that many companies supported or took action in sociopolitical issues this year, with Black Lives Matter (40%), Women’s Rights (40%), and Mental Health Awareness/Programs/Initiatives (40%) leading, followed by local food banks (31%), Voting Rights (30%) and LGBTQ Rights. It turns out that how a company responds to social, political, and humanitarian issues has a significant impact on company culture, and working for a purpose-driven company plays a central role in determining an employee’s engagement and productivity levels. Overall, 56% of respondents say they would be more engaged and productive at work if their company was actively involved in addressing today’s critical social issues.