Is “No-Office” the New Office? The Once-in-a-Generation Workplace Shift

55 % 

Percent of Millennials, The Conference Board recently reported, who say they have doubts about returning to the office. 

45 % of Gen Xers react similarly while 36 % of Boomers report the same feelings. 

Reluctance to return. New found flexibility. Accelerating office digitalization. 

The U. S. workplace is being transformed in a once-in-a-generation shift. And three factors are driving that transformation. 

Reluctance returning to the office. As the opening number suggests, there is a real resistance to returning to work as usual and, this reluctance is especially true among younger employees. 

One reason contributing to this is employee burnout.  Employee burnout is definitely a problem today and researcher Spring Health reported recently that they found 76 % of workers saying they were experiencing employee burnout. So there it is. 

New found flexibility. New research from McKinsey today reveals that 52 % of employees prefer a more flexible work environment post pandemic. Hard to give up all those kids soccer games and naps that had become possible in the middle of the day, right?  

Accelerating digitalization at the office. Researcher Source reports that 38 % of companies are currently implementing digital technology, up from just a year ago. Other researchers say Covid has dramatically upped the pace of digitization in the workplace. 

Finally, 5 G, A I and robotics have done even more in transforming the way we work. 

And an alarming fact: 2/3’s of companies say they lack a plan for the new “hybrid” work! 

Time to step it up a notch now, what do you think? 

We have options now. And choices. Options that are new to us. And how and where we work is shifting in a once-in-a-generation phenomenon.  

So as I usually do at this point, I’d like to suggest a few business tips for addressing this transformational shift. 

Business Tip #1. Put a plan in place for the new Hybrid Workplace and quickly, This shift is upon us now and it’s important to have a broad strategy in place which addresses your employees present concerns. 

Tip # 2. Identify your company’s “culture” in terms of this “new workplace” so, as an example, if your organization is more of a “control mentality” ( count the paperclips ), find a way to introduce this new “flexibility” your employees say they want going forward! 

So there you have it! A once-in-a-generation shift! 

Until we kick some more ideas around the table together then, ok? 

Ciao.