Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2021. Read them in this 13th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Work 2021: Prepare for a Flexible Future
By Tim Minahan,
Executive Vice President of Strategy, Citrix
Fueled by technology, work will happen anywhere,
and employee engagement and productivity will soar
A year ago, not much about the way we worked had really changed
in decades. Most companies still organized work around major hubs in large
cities and their workforce was comprised of local talent that commuted to the
office every day, regardless of the type of work they needed to complete. Then
the global pandemic hit, and everything changed. Flexible work models replaced
traditional ones as people were forced to work from home, and work became an
activity, not a place. And the change has just begun.
In the year ahead, flexible work models will become the new
norm, driving levels of employee engagement, productivity and economic impact
the likes of which the world hasn't seen since the first industrial revolution.
And four key trends will fuel them:
Haters will no longer hate
The universal work from home experiment set forth by the pandemic
has changed long-held misconceptions about remote work. Once dubious that ‘real
work' could get done outside the office, executives and managers are now
realizing the positive impact it can have on employee productivity, work-life
balance, mental health, costs, and the environment.
According to a
study conducted by Citrix and OnePoll, 70 percent of 10,000 employees
across six countries feel they are as or more productive working remotely. And
83 percent feel they have a better work-life balance when working outside the
office.
Savvy companies are taking note of this and in the year ahead will
embrace technology-enabled remote work models that allow them to tap into new
skills and talent pools that are beyond commuting distance to traditional work
hubs (offices, call centers, etc.) and reap the benefits the benefits they
provide.
Employees will shun the office
Historically, the office was the place where collaboration
and innovation happened. Outside meeting spaces, colleagues held casual
conversations in hallways, cafeterias and gyms. But protocols designed to slow
the spread of the coronavirus have changed this. Employees must be screened before
they enter an office and wear personal protective equipment and socially
distance once inside. Safety guidelines will limit office capacity for the
foreseeable future, causing even knowledge workers to transition to shift work.
Many employees simply don't want to deal with the hassle and
anxiety associated with all of this. In
fact, 64 percent of 2,000 US workers who responded to a separate
Citrix-OnePoll survey said they would not feel comfortable returning to
the office for one month or more. And three percent said they don't ever want
to go back full time.
Recognizing this, companies will reimagine the role of the
office and shift from designing places to purpose-built spaces where regardless
of where they work, employees can efficiently and effectively collaborate with
colleagues, partners and customers to drive innovation and value.
Urbanites will take flight
It used to be
that if you wanted a big-league job, you had to move to a major city to find
and keep it. But as work has gone virtual, location has become less critical to
career success and opportunities than ever before. One in four respondents to
another Citrix poll
of 2,000 US knowledge workers indicated they have abandoned their city
dwellings, or plan to do so because:
-
Their job is now
100 percent remote and will be permanently (37 percent)
-
They now only
need to go into the office once a week (25 percent)
-
The pandemic has
proven that they can do their job from anywhere (22 percent)
Companies
will go where the talent lives
The
battle for talent hasn't ceased in light of the pandemic. In many ways, it has
only intensified as companies evolve their businesses to accommodate changing
market dynamics and customer needs. While it may be scarce, there is
talent out there. According to the results of a study
conducted by the Centre of Economics and Business Research (Cebr), if given
the chance, 95 percent of 2,500 knowledge workers polled who are currently
employed say they would work from home 2.4 days per week, on average. And
between 60 percent and 70 percent said they'd do so from
local coffee shops, shared workspaces and other remote locations at least one
day per week.
Leveraging flexible work models and digital
workspace technology, companies
will reach out and engage a forgotten part of the workforce that has in-demand
skills but has opted out because traditional models centered around work hubs didn't
fit their lifestyle or obligations and create the space they need to
work and succeed, wherever they happen
to be. And in
doing so, Cebr estimates they could drive upwards
of $2 trillion in economic gains across the US economy and an increase
in GDP of 10.2 percent.
While it's never
clear what the future holds, it is certain that companies will continue to face
challenges that disrupt work in the year ahead. Those that embrace
flexible models and digital technologies can create a better way to work that empowers
employees to be and do their best and power
their business forward.
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About the Author
Tim Minahan is the executive vice president, business strategy and
chief marketing officer (CMO) at Citrix, where he has a proactive role in
helping to drive focused strategic initiatives and the company's overall
business strategy. In addition, he leads global marketing strategy and
operations for the company's vision of securely delivering the world's most
important apps and data to enable people and businesses to work better.
A technology industry veteran who specializes in defining new markets and
positioning companies to own them, Minahan has served in a broad range of
business leadership roles at leading enterprise software, cloud, and services
firms. He most recently spearheaded SAP's successful transition to the cloud as
CMO of the company's Cloud and Line of Business unit. Minahan joined SAP when
the company acquired Ariba, where he was SVP of Business Network Strategy and
global CMO.
Minahan is on the board of Made in a Free World, a non-profit technology
company that is using the power of networks and big data to detect and mitigate
forced labor from global supply chains. He holds a bachelor's degree from
Boston College and completed the CMO Program at Northwestern University,
Kellogg School of Management.