The 2030 Workplace

Balancing choice and control

The average person chalks up 90,000 hours at work before they retire. Put into perspective, that’s a third of our lives; work is our number one activity after sleeping. Considering how much of our lives we devote to it, it’s no wonder we expect our work environments to reflect changing personal and cultural priorities. 
 

By 2030, the U.S. workforce will be dominated by Millennials and Generation Z, about 136 million individuals who prioritize work-life balance and demand greater choice and control at work than any generation before them. The most recent Mercer Global Talent Trends study showed 54% of respondents saying prioritizing work-life balance is one of the top five things their company can do to help them thrive. The cultural tide is turning, and the employers that will attract the best and brightest of the 2030 workforce are already adapting. They know that technology will play a starring role when striking the right balance between choice and control for their employees.

A study by Mars Drinks reviewed the attitudes of 4,000 workers across North America and found that participants who report they “have control over the things that are important to me” were also highly likely to have a sense of well-being at work. A sense of control also correlated with better performance, with these workers 57% more likely to be engaged, 55% more likely to be collaborative, and 53% more likely to be productive than those lacking a sense of control. 

As the baby boomer generation continues its exodus from the workforce, there are fewer workers who remember that once-upon-a-time workers spent the majority of their career with just one employer. This notion of lifetime employment is not only a relic of the past, it has less appeal than ever before, especially for millennials who embrace not only changing employers, but also careers. This is partly a reflection of the times we live in; the pace and degree of change driven by technological advancements, evolving social norms, and disruptive business models, have nurtured change agility in younger generations. The nature of work is also increasingly temporary and project-based, enabling workers’ desire for more choice. The time is right for employers to reimagine the workplace. 

Support for greater employee choice and control is now frequently happening before the employee has even signed a contract. When a job candidate reaches the offer stage, more organizations are using a “choose your own adventure” format to determine work arrangements that were previously rigid and austere. Some members of younger generations are coming to work with expectations such as being able to work four days a week, with two of them from home. In other cases, employers are even allowing new employees to choose their project and their manager. 

There can be more troubling outcomes from flexible scheduling. Erratic and uncontrollable work schedules pose a significant risk to lower-income, part-time workers, especially as more people adopt the practice of working multiple jobs at the same time. Considering that Generation Z will be the first workforce that can’t remember a world without smartphones, organizations should consider how mobile technology can help feel workers feel more in control. For example, mobile scheduling apps can let employees select their own schedule or swap shifts with a colleague. The same can be said for professional development and training. According to The Center for Generational Kinetics, 85% of Generation Z watched at least one video online in the past week to learn a new skill, a trend that future-looking organizations should consider when onboarding and upskilling workers.

The 2030 workforce is also likely to see new attitudes towards compensation and payment. According to Doug Politi, President of Compliance Solutions at ADP, "The way millennials are interacting with tech and money, the expectation of immediacy will ultimately change the way we get paid.” Some organizations are exploring the idea of giving people options related to how and when they are paid. Wal-Mart, the biggest employer in the U.S., is utilizing an app called Even to provide employees with instant access to their wages, and we might predict similar technologies will be rolled out to more organizations as workforce demand for choice continues to increase.

This could also translate into employee demand to “pick your perks.” For instance, if you are comfortable with the risk, you may decide to take the bulk of your compensation in the form of stock options, potentially double a traditional salary. Or if you’re risk-averse, you may choose the lower salary paired with a Cadillac benefit plan that will ensure complete coverage of your health-related needs. Approximately 32% of payroll is now spent on benefits (a 19% increase in the last eight years) and the wellbeing market is growing (currently estimated to be a $46 billion industry) so we are likely to see more options and flexibility as we move toward 2030. In addition, the 2030s could see artificial intelligence (AI) platforms introduced to organizations to help employees pick the right benefits for them. Employees could chat with AI-powered virtual assistants about their personal lifestyles, goals, and requirements and receive tailored, data-driven advice on their benefits plans.

Workplace stability has given way to a wide variety of options about where we work, when we work, how we work, and with whom we work. In the next decade, we’ll continue to see technology fueling the power to be selective about our work lives. A gold watch in return for forty years of loyal service may not be available to the next generation, but a newly empowering structure of work may prove to be much more valuable in the long run. 

Marcus Mossberger is Senior Director, Industry and Solution Strategy at Infor. Visit www.infor.com  Connect Marcus Mossberger Follow @infor