80% of leaders plan changes in work flexibility. In such a world, management needs to understand how new forms of work affect business results. A discipline has emerged that improves the wellbeing, resilience and productivity of employees based on data.
Priority for 42% of HR leaders
Adaptation to new forms of work changes HR priorities. Recent data from Gartner (Gartner HR Priorities Survey, 2022) state that 42% of HR leaders in Europe have the priority "Future of Work" and strategy development in this area. But beware, according to the same source, half of them, exactly 49%, came across the fact that they do not even have their own strategy for this area yet.
What is a "Future of Work Strategy"
Instead of controversy, let's look directly at the definition of the Future of Work Strategy.
Definition:
It is a set of initiatives to address the uncertainties and consequences of future events that will lead to changes in forms of work and how, when and where work is done, or even what is considered work. These changes may be driven internally or by external trends, such as emerging technologies, market changes or demographic changes.
The manager remains in the center
As a recent analysis from more than 150,000 Microsoft employees has shown, managers are key to keeping teams up and running. As we move in hybrid forms of collaboration, companies around the world rely on managers more than ever. They need managers to keep employees involved in the company during the changes, while they feel supported and take responsibility.
It is hard to manage without a measurement
This is doubly true of "Future of Work". We need ongoing data that identifies, for example, a growing risk of burnout, managerial patterns of behavior that reduce or increase productivity, and other perspectives on the fitness of new forms of work.
In such an environment, it is not enough to do a classic engagement survey once a year or overburden employees with constant surveys. In addition, it is essential to maintain the principles of security of work with personal data in such a measurement, the results of the measurement can be very sensitive.
Employee Experience Platform
Yes, this is the new discipline in terms of tools - Emplyee Experience Platform. An example is Microsoft Viva. It is a central place where you analyze what is happening in your work from the perspective of the employee, manager and top management.
For example, they will tell you which groups of managers can keep their teams mentally well for a long time when implementing changes and avoid the risk of burnout.
It reveals what successful patterns of managerial behavior are, what manager training, wellebing activities, or even diversity and inclusion (DEI) should focus on.