Are You 'On Trend' In 2023?

Hello Human

I’ve been focused on shiny trends lately. ’Trends’ are often the same stuff repackaged and rebadged year to year.

My curious-workplace-and-organisational-trends-eye stays focused on trends for two reasons. One, so that I can add them into my Programs where important and relevant. Two, so that I can call BS on them when it’s essential (or fun) to do so.

So, for a bit of fun, read on.

The trend machine is in fine shape. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. Buckle in trend-setter, here’s a taste of the BS I’ve been reading:

● There’s a ‘silent burnout’ crisis happening in organisations.

● ‘Meaning’ is becoming a key differentiator for organisations.

● The ‘Great Resignation’ has morphed into the ‘Great Reshuffle’.

● ‘Learning in the flow of work’ is a thing.

● There’s a need to manage ‘complex integrated workforce?ecosystems’, and reinvent ‘the role of the office’.

● I read ‘deskless workers’ may be about to fall victim to ‘proximity bias’.

● There’s good news for deskless workers too. The pandemic highlighted the importance of deskless workers who were on the front lines fighting the pandemic as nurses, in supermarkets, or processing food on an assembly line. (Sidenote: I must have missed the trend that converted essential workers to deskless workers).

● While on the subject of desks and offices, note this profound wisdom - the layout of a space influences how people use it. A round table invites discussion, while a rectangular table tends to be more hierarchical.

● It’s reported that organisations are pursuing more ‘engaging interactions’ with remote candidates.

● I read that virtual events, employee onboarding, career fairs, and meetings are set to take place in the metaverse.

● Something about ‘Frontline-First Employee Experience’?

● The metaverse opens up the possibility of reimagining a productive, collaborative, and creative work environment unconstrained by physical norms too.

● Have you heard about the ‘worth it equation’?

● Note, the fourth industrial revolution isn’t over.

● Who knew there’s a prevalent leader / worker disconnect in 2023?

If you are in HR here’s a helping of trends for you too:

● HR can help leaders understand the ‘mood in the organisation’ and navigate any relevant issues.

● HR will also help build soft skills, including empathy and active listening amongst its leadership population, as employees look to their leaders as a trusted source of information.

● Creating a great place to work for deskless workers will be HR’s major focus in 2023.

● HR needs to offer deskless workers the same opportunities as their deskbound counterparts.

● 59% of HR leaders are prioritising critical skills-building in 2023, because learning new things is a top motivator for frontliners.

● Challenges to navigate for HR include the changing expectations of leaders who must now ‘personify the company purpose’ and lead with a ‘human-centric approach’.

Thank F@#K these trends from 2022 and earlier are still on-trend for 2023. It means there’s less work to be done by people like me to get up to speed with the latest trends:

● Quiet quitting.

● Flexible work.

● Hybrid work.

● Employee experience.

● Digital Transformation.

● Psychological contracts.

● Reskilling and Upskilling.

● Culture.

● Automation.

● Analytics.

And just when I thought it might have been put in the bin, ‘doing more with less’ still has space on the trend-floor, phew!

Rest easy, leaders and managers everywhere, because in 2023:

● Now is the time to listen to your frontline employees.

● Things like chatbots, streamlined workflows, artificial intelligence, automated onboarding processes, and instant manager approvals will make everyone’s lives easier.

● We’ve entered a human-first era that sees organizations not just as structures for maximizing profit and effectiveness but also as drivers of meaning for empowered, engaged, and diverse workforces.

Rest a little less easy, though because ‘today’s leadership pipeline is filled with new candidates that have little to no managerial experience.’ Oh my!

As I said in my opening, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. The Buzzword Bingo masks some ever-present and important issues for humans at work: listening, trust, skills, meaning, learning, over-work, and empathy to call out a few.

Imagine if we spent as much time focussing on understanding and fixing the things that matter as we do on renaming, repackaging, and relaunching them to ‘set the trend’ at the start of each new year.

Send me your musings.

I am off to do some work on my ‘worth it equation’ and ‘streamline my workflow’ in my ‘deskless office’. Hopefully I don’t get smacked by ‘proximity bias’ in the ‘metaverse’.

Go well (and stay trendy) Human