[The Future of Work Exchange will be back next week with all-new content and insights to kick off the new year. Until then, enjoy our “Best Of” series that revisits some of our most-read articles from 2022.]
Earlier this year, the Future of Work Exchange featured a piece that discussed why the Future of Work movement required more humanity:
“This is where the “human element” enters the picture. Today’s business leaders don’t have to wrap every one of their approaches in a sheen of empathy, they just need to integrate more humanity into how they manage and structure their workforce, as well as how the overall enterprise gets work done. This transformative strategy towards leadership requires a bit of “reimagination” and a dedication to emotions and being purposeful with those emotions.”
Today’s business leaders have been bombarded with recommendations from both sides of the Future of Work coin, feeling they must improve their technology utilization and acumen and enhance they way they manage and lead. It’s the type of pressure that can be too much to bear, especially considering that 1) we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, 2) there’s a war raging on the other side of the world that is both a humanitarian and economic crisis, 3) supply chain disruptions are still the norm, and, of course, 4) a tight and competitive labor market is one giant staffing nightmare (hello, Great Resettling!).
But, the truth is this: no matter how much like it feels we’ve returned to “normal” in some aspects of our lives (back to concerts? Movies? Restaurants?), the business arena is one that will forever be altered by the many Future of Work accelerants that transformed it over the past near-26 months. And it cannot be said loudly enough: the workplace itself has changed and must continue to change in the months ahead.
There’s a “heart” in the center of every organization, one that beats in tune with the way the enterprise treats its workforce, partners, suppliers, and customers. A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic forced us, as people, to give more heart to ourselves and each other. We’ve seen this in parallel with many businesses around the world…but there are too many out there that haven’t bought into this concept. The Future of Work, in 2022, is about empathy. It’s about emotional intelligence. It’s about the humanity within ourselves, our leadership, and our workforce. It’s about the way we treat each other when things are great…and when things aren’t so great.
That beating heart at the center is reflected in workplace culture. It’s reinforced by the way leaders allow staff the flexibility they need to get work done and be normal, functioning humans, parents, caregivers. We’ve talked about conscious leadership, empathy-led leadership, and other non-technological shifts that have welcomed the Future of Work into businesses across the world. The best workplace cultures are ones that prioritize enterprise values and support “beyond-perk” attributes for their staff, such as hybrid work models, true flexibility, and behaviors that reflect corporate, ethical, and social responsibility.
The heart of workplace culture must pump with purpose, fueling both leaders and workers alike with a sense of inclusion, diversity, and wellbeing. These non-technological attributes, when combined, form the foundation of a corporate culture that is appealing to new and existing workers, helping to redefine talent retention. And, critically, in a business arena in which approximately 43%-to-47% of talent operates remotely (according to Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research), the permeation of a positive and human workplace culture means that even staff that aren’t in the physical location will benefit from this major shift in business leadership and corporate transformation.
