Emerging Hybrid Trends: Three Types of Workers

Over the course of the pandemic, we at Microsoft have attempted to be students of the future of work, conducting research and analysis, and listening to our customers and partners across the world as they prepare their people for this?fundamental?shift. Because we believe we will all be better off?if we share what we learn along the way.??

That’s why?I?am kicking off this new LinkedIn story series. Every few weeks,?I’ll?share my?early?thoughts?and?top-of-mind?insights?on what we’re learning from the data on where work?is heading.?While?I?certainly won’t have all the answers,?I?hope this helps?organizations of all sizes and sectors?as they chart a?path forward?into this?new world of work.??

First?up, hybrid?work is a fundamental?rewiring?of the labor force that?is?redefining?and?differentiating?existing categories of workers.?

More?than a year and a half since the pandemic triggered a mass move to remote work,?it's?increasingly clear that we won't be going go back to “normal.”?The?shift to remote and hybrid work?represents a change to the modern labor force?and economy? not witnessed since the end of World War?II.?

Changing?worker expectations,?particularly around demands for more flexible and remote work styles,?are?re-defining?existing jobs?and creating new?ones, along with new?ways of working that we would not have conceived?of?before. And we’re seeing this?span all types of workers, whether they be on a factory floor,?in the office,?or at home.??

From my vantage point,?when we look across the three types of workers that make up the global workforce –?Information, Frontline, and Flex workers – we’re seeing something we’ve never seen before. All three categories are?undergoing?massive change at the same time. Though the?nuance of those?changes?varies by type of worker,?it’s clear?there will be lasting?implications across the board.??

• Information Workers?

First up,?information workers.?We?think of?information workers as?people?in?roles where the primary task?is working with?information -- documents, numbers, presentations, drawings, designs.?These are your data scientists,?software engineers, accountants,?writers, etc.?Over the course of the pandemic,?many people?who?fall within?this group?realized they may?not need?to go?into a physical office – and?this?is?changing many?of their?expectations and demands for the future.??

In fact,?Gartner?recently forecasted ?more than?51% of?global?knowledge workers (what we dub?information?workers), will?work at least part of their time from home?by the end of 2021.?This?is an astonishing shift?I?only expect to?accelerate.?It?both?underscores the need for organizations to?create an effective hybrid or remote work environment?and a new opening for every organization to attract and retain the best?information workers when geography doesn’t determine your hiring pool.?

• Frontline Workers?

There are varied?definitions of?frontline?workers,?and?we define them somewhat uniquely. To?us, a frontline worker?is anyone who?works?on site and?uses?physical skills to?deliver?a service or create a product.?Under this umbrella, frontline workers?include everyone?from a nurse?to a?field service technician?to?a?coffee shop?barista.??

As the pandemic triggered a sudden rise of digitization,?the jobs of frontline workers are changing at warp-speed?as organizations are?increasingly?infusing technology?into these roles ?in brand new ways.??

Take an organization?like?Canadian Tires ,?a powerhouse?retailer?in Canada for?nearly?100 years.?Before the pandemic, just a fraction of the?Canadian Tires’?sales were made online.?The need for social distancing and widespread store closures due to COVID-19?forced the company to rethink their operating model.?To deliver on their ultimate business objective – getting product?into the hands of customers – they had to rethink the role of their physical stores. They?added to the capabilities of?their stores?(and store workers)?to essentially become?fulfillment centers for online orders.??

Now, frontline workers are using a Microsoft Teams-based solution?to create a?chat?network?between workers and customers to coordinate pickups.?By?utilizing increased access to?technology,?Canadian Tire’s?frontline workers have an?easier, more productive and fluid way to connect customers with their orders.?This?is just one example of a structural change for frontline workers?I?expect to outlast the pandemic.??

• Flex Staff?

Finally, the role of?a flex?or contract?worker appears to be on the rise due to the?increased flexibility this work model can provide?both for organizations and?individuals. At Microsoft, we define this group of workers as contractors and agency temporary workers. We are seeing an uptick?of this labor force across?industries, as many workers are?opting to take on more part-time contractual?work,?in lieu of full-time employment.?And employers alike are?integrating more of these workers?into their operating models to access surge?capacity, so they have the agility to staff quickly?in response to sudden changes?in the market.??

Organizations?like?We are Rosie ?are taking an innovative approach to harnessing the potential of these flex workers.?We are Rosie?brands themselves as “your flexible talent solution.” Essentially,?Rosie?has created a network of thousands of marketing professionals, who specialize in a variety of fields from media relations to event coordination. These workers define themselves the parameters of how much they want to work, whether it be 20 hours a week or?three-month?spurts,?and We are Rosie plugs?them into companies who are seeking flex staff with these given parameters.??

As workers continue to opt for more flexible work options, organizations like We are Rosie could to?continue to thrive and grow in the years?ahead.?However, as many organizations build out their flexible work programs in the new hybrid workplace, there could be a potential slowing of this trend as more workers are offered both the stability of full-time employment and the flexibility they desire to work (and live) in a way that works best for them. But?adapting to this new flex style of working could provide your organization with a unique opportunity to attract new and emerging talent that will help you sustain?lasting growth in this new economy and labor force.??

We?are on the precipice of a monumental?transition?in the way we?work, and?it?will certainly be no small challenge for every business leader and organization. But with great?challenge,?I?see even greater opportunity?ahead.??

Similar to the post-World?II?period,?I?believe we are?entering?into?an?era that will lead?to the?creation of technologies, advancements fueling unprecedented economic growth and productivity.??

From?attracting and retaining talent, to?streamlining?finance and sales,?human resources?or?information technology,?each of?us has?what?just?might be a once?in a lifetime opportunity?reform and position the entire operating model of our businesses?to ride this wave of growth?in the era ahead.??

That’s some opportunity.??

More to come soon.?

--Jared??