Workplace in 2023: Trends reshaping the workforce

Changes in workplace priorities and structures are impacting economies all over the world, especially in Singapore. Two key trends that seem to be driving these changes are:

Hybrid - as people are returning back to office, both the employer and employee experience will be put to the test by hybrid work as many companies try to build a new hybrid work strategy. There are three important components:

· Redefining what the "workplace" really is - teaching managers and employees how and when to come into the new office, and refining collaboration and workspace tools to accommodate hoteling workers and part-time office holders.

· Creating better models for teamwork, team performance management, team alignment, and multifunctional teams. Employees in hybrid work teams operate in an agile way, so they often have multiple bosses, multiple team projects, and multiple assignments in parallel.

· Embracing a new generation of HR and workplace technology for scheduling, workplace optimisation, real estate planning, presence awareness, mobile video, and similar productivity tools that extend the employee experience into the workplace experience.

Ultimately, however, hybrid work requires a focus on culture. First, managers and team leaders must learn to be comfortable with remote, disconnected teams and learn how to lead them, listen to them, and help them. Second, senior leaders must trust that the "invisible workers" are really, in fact, working.

People Sustainability - Companies will move beyond employee experience and focus on "people sustainability." Throughout the last decade, and even before, HR departments have been launching on well-being programmes offering such things as coaching, education, and other services. But moving forward companies must try to address financial wellbeing, which is thought of as ‘the invisible problem of money’ - people worrying about their mortgage or rent payments, scratching to find money for bus and transportation, and poor diet or education from low wages.