Predictions for the world of work in 2022: The end of the 9-5 workday

The world of work today looks radically different compared to just 18 months ago. The pandemic accelerated both new and existing trends that have thrown us forward into a whole new HR landscape. But whilst 2020 was about quick pivoting, temporary solutions – and for many, adapting to survive – over the past year, we have seen businesses take these early learnings and implement bold changes for the long term.

With this, the future of work has been altered forever – and as we move closer to 2022, Laura Ryan, Director of International HR at Dropbox, shared some top trends for business leaders to look out for.

The demand for flexibility is here to stay

The focus on flexibility – be it hybrid work or fully remote – is here to stay. Over the past year, employees have enjoyed the freedom of not being held to one set location and outdated notions of presenteeism have finally been proven irrelevant. Businesses that seek to resist this change will struggle to attract the very best talent.

Research in Ireland earlier this year found that 90% of people would like to work remotely, at least part or full-time. Meanwhile, another survey found that 40% would consider leaving their role if their employer was unable to support this way of working.

If the early evidence wasn’t enough, we’re now starting to see people voting with their feet. Often called “The Great Resignation”, a new wave within the global job market is seeing employees leave their jobs in pursuit of more flexibility and purpose.

This is challenging businesses to rethink cultures and policies that measure employees on a 9-to-5 scale. Moving forwards, we will see more companies change as a result of this, offering greater flexibility in both how and where people want to work – with even the most traditional sectors getting on board.

The future of talent is distributed

Distributed work is having a huge impact on the movement of talent. For the first time, people are relocating in a record in numbers and this trend looks set to grow. Almost one in three Irish people are considering moving with remote work on this rise, opening up big opportunities for employers that can be flexible on their hiring locations.

However, in order to be successful, organisations will have to revisit their talent strategies and the collaboration tools needed to support employees across a more scattered footprint. Recent research from Dropbox, in partnership with Enterprise Nation, found that video conferencing, cloud storage, file-sharing and simultaneous editing software have been critical to business continuity during the pandemic.

But as teams around the world look set to remain more distributed, people will also increasingly need simple, easy to use document workflows that are capable of reducing friction. Meanwhile, messaging platforms such as Slack and screen recording tools like Dropbox Capture will become essential.

The rise of asynchronous communication

Any change in how we work requires a shift in culture – and in order to unlock the true flexibility of remote work, businesses will need to embrace an “asynchronous by default” mindset. When the pandemic first hit, employees everywhere were quickly hit by “Zoom fatigue”. Days filled with back to back video calls drained our energy – and most importantly, got in the way of doing meaningful work.

Unnecessary meetings are one of the biggest disruptors to a productive and effective workday and it is up to all of us to change this. By encouraging employees to remove all unnecessary meetings from their calendars – and to be more intentional about scheduling live conversations – people can more easily shift from “all day syncs” to “async by default”, bringing more flexibility and focus to their day.

However, the importance of live conversation still remains – and the magic lies in educating employees on how to recognise when a quick Zoom or a phone still holds value.

New frameworks, such as Core Collaboration Hours will also be needed to support this. By carving out clear, set windows of time for asynchronous and real-time collaboration, employees will be able to work more effectively with their peers across time zones, whilst gaining back precious time to focus on their passion projects and personal lives. Ultimately, we’ll see that companies embracing these steps will gain talent attraction, as they join the drive towards ending the 9-5 workday.

The role of the HR function has changed forever

Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen a huge shift in the role of HR around the world. Pre-Covid, human resources was a necessary business department that often kept things running behind the scenes. But now, the world of work has fundamentally changed – and the HR function has had to change with it.

As key players who’ve navigated us through these challenging and unprecedented times, HR leaders have finally been awarded a well-earned seat at the leadership table. Their role during Covid has arguably been as critical as that of CFOs during the 2008 recession – with their guidance needed at the highest level. Now, with their full value as strategic thought partners proven, their influence beyond HR is being recognised.

Even as the pandemic wanes, this seat at the table looks set to stay. In 2022, we’ll see more and more CHROs involved in company decisions across the board – opening up a wealth of opportunities for those willing to step up to the plate.

About Laura Ryan, Director of International HR and Dublin Site Lead at Dropbox

Laura Ryan is the Director of International HR at Dropbox, the content collaboration platform that helps keep work organised. Laura joined Dropbox in 2015 to lead the company’s international people strategy and operations – having previously spent five years at Google. Today, Laura has over 16 years of experience within the HR industry, having previously started her career at the insurance company Aviva.