By Melisa Marzett
Everyone knows that there is nothing more permanent than change. This saying is true, especially when it comes to job trends and future working conditions.
If you had looked into the office of any organization a couple of decades ago, you would have seen endless rows of desks and office cubicles. Today, many remote employees are working from all over the planet.
The most popular professions, such as the mobile application developer, social media marketing manager, etc., did not even exist fifteen or twenty years ago.
Our world is forever changing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay current. However, there is cheering news – we have gathered useful information about what to expect in the marketplace in 2019.
Major Tendencies in the Employment Market 2019:
- More centralized information sharing
- Greater attention to the match of work and personal time
- The brisk pace of work
- Growing mentoring opportunities
- More attention to gender equality
#1 Trend: More Centralized Information Sharing
A full up inbox is a problem familiar to everyone, and only a couple of years ago we believed that instant messaging would save it.
Messengers do have their advantages. However, because of them, many employees are beginning to suffer from information explosion and increased levels of stress.
In a survey conducted by ReportLinker, those surveyed using text messaging systems around the office stated that they feel the need to reply at once. Besides, they faced other undesirable factors, including the inability to focus on the work in process and participation in lengthy discussions.
Chats and messengers in the format in which we are accustomed to using them at the job, of course, will not go anywhere. Nevertheless, we believe that they will begin to back down.
Think about this fact: the average employee spends 20% of time searching for the necessary inside information, while 87% of workers believe that communication with management is ineffective.
Therefore, many companies have already realized that they need a single platform that can unite various systems, consolidate projects, and enable information exchange. It will allow associating the activities of workers with the overall objectives of the company, increase labor productivity, and most importantly, significant correspondence will be in one place.
A more optimal and centralized way of exchanging information thus becomes one of the current trends that will be on the rise in 2019.
#2 Trend: Greater Attention to the Match Between Job and Personal Time
Thanks to digital tools, workers can now work anywhere, anytime. Nevertheless, the desire to maintain an adequate balance of job and personal time will still be essential for a great number of employees. In the labor market, it will remain one of the trends that is impossible to ignore.
To be competitive, companies must declare the balance of work and personal life to be a universal value.
Following the Randstad survey of employer brands, a reasonable match of job and personal time is one of the most essential conditions that applicants consider when evaluating a potential employer. The only thing that matters more is high salary and long-term job security.
Maintaining this harmony is vital not only in hiring employees but also in the process of retaining them. During a survey on stress and efficiency, more than half of respondents admitted that they start to job hunt when stressful situations at the current place of work become unbearable, while 25% quit.
What is this going to lead employers to do? They will have to find ways to create flexible working conditions for employees and at the same time ensure productive work. Transformational leadership is one way in which managers can produce employees who are more loyal, engaged, and productive.
An additional degree of freedom will mean a lot to both parties, but it will bring specific problems to employers. They will have to define precisely the limits and anticipations, on the one hand, to encourage teammates to carry out their tasks; and on the other, not to tie everyone to the workplace and not expect each worker to be in touch every minute of the day, but to look at the whole picture and track overall outcomes.
Because of the growing uncertainty associated with the increasingly flexible working conditions, we expect to witness the emergence of more official rules governing communication with employees during non-working hours. For instance, a French law adopted back in 2017 requires organizations with more than 50 workers on staff to use electronic correspondence during off-hours only by agreement with workers.
#3 Trend: Brisk Pace of Work
Do not misunderstand, a more harmonious match of job and personal time does not mean less work. Therefore, we will have to work faster.
Thanks to the introduction of collaboration platforms, automation, patterns, and other useful tools, work has become incredibly easy. The emergence of new technologies means that work is more efficient, and there is less burden on workers.
Work is speeding up, companies are growing faster, and project participants manage to accomplish more in less time. According our data, the average program execution time has fallen by about half since 2014.
Most of the discussions on the issue of ability to work more quickly come down to the topic of artificial intelligence. In 2019, robotization will play a significant role in changing the game rules. Following McKinsey, in about 60% of professions, at least 30% of operations will be fully automated.
Do not worry – this does not mean that people will lose their jobs due to automation. On the contrary, it will help to carry out their tasks faster and better.
If this trend is confirmed (and we are confident that this is so), companies will have to look for ways to effectively manage such acceleration and at the same time avoid the emotional burnout of workers, by creating the right match of work and personal time for them.
#4 Trend: Growing Mentoring Opportunities
Indeed, the future is not only about technological progress. Certain human qualities are going to be in the spotlight too.
Young employees strive for career growth. Studies show that 91% of millennials believe fast career advancement as their priority. Moreover, by Willis Towers Watson, more than 70% of workers admit that they are ready to change jobs for a more successful career.
Given these data, the year 2019 promises to be the year of the regenesis of mentoring. Workers will seek more related programs and projects to support employee training and career advancement. A partnership of young and more experienced professionals is the easiest and most advantageous way to provide such support, increase motivation, and retain workers.
A poll of specialists from the millennial generation, conducted by Deloitte in 2016, showed that workers who intended to work for their firm for more than five years worked twice as often with mentors (68%) than employees who did not have them (32%).
Of all the trends, mentoring will be most prevalent in 2019.
#5 Trend: More Attention to Gender Equality
It is not a new topic for discussion, and it will still flash in the headlines in 2019.
Some progress has already been on this path, but in our opinion, in 2019 we will see new steps, primarily aimed at ensuring that women get more seats on the boards of directors.
Future Tendencies: New Year has come
Our world is forever changing. The day of tomorrow will be very different from yesterday.
Perhaps this thought makes you want to root about in the drawers of the table and dig out a long-forgotten crystal ball. One way or another we can be sure – you do not need magic to discover what is there behind the future curtains.
Just remember these five trends, and you will be ready for any news.