The future of work: Top trends for 2022

What emerging trends will define work, the workplace, and the workforce in 2022? We bring you our forecast for the coming months By People Matters editorial Team

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year, companies need to keep a close eye on the progression of trends that will define 'work' in 2022. Here's a look at the key trends we suspect will shape the year:

The rise of the long-term hybrid work model

Remote work has evolved from a limited benefit to the norm, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. One global study by the Capgemini Research Institute found that three-quarters of organisations across the US, Europe and Asia expect 30% or more of their employees to be working remotely, and over a quarter expect over 70% of staff to work remotely.

At the same time, the fluid workplace is emerging as the norm for the future. A fluid workplace places little importance on location or geography, and employers will explore various work models to stay competitive. Randstad research indicates that new work models like gig work, hybrid work, and part-time work are in the exploratory stage, with hybrid emerging as the most likely model of the future.

Hybrid has already become popular – and productive – and we believe it will become a permanent feature for organisations that realise that a flexible work culture will enhance employee productivity, satisfaction, and work-life balance. In many cases, the hybrid work model, driven by secure and agile technology, has proven to be effective for both companies and their employees.

It's therefore not surprising that organisations across all industries, sectors, and geographies have incor-

porated hybrid into their long-term work design as a way of future-proofing themselves, with the focus on employee-centric implementation.

Labour shortages and steady wage growth

The war for talent isn't easing off. Last November, a survey by US-based The Conference Board forecast a 3.9% jump in wage costs for US firms in 2022, compared to a 3% rise predicted in April. Shortly after that, US Labor Department statistics showed a record number of people quitting their jobs. S&P Global also forecast that it will ‘likely remain tough’ to find workers in 2022, and those workers will cost businesses more.

What this amounts to is a very high chance that wages across all levels of the organisation will increase over 2022, driven primarily by labour shortages – not just in the US, but in every country that's seeing symptoms of the 'Great Resignation'. It may become a make-or-break factor in employee retention, especially for new hires.

Inflation may have a mixed effect here; on the one hand, it could make the wage growth more palatable to employers, but on the other hand it could result in wage compression, making the increased salary no more attractive to employees than the original.

Companies in the Asia Pacific are ahead of the curve here, though. ECA International’s Annual Salary Report puts the predicted average increase after inflation at 1.9% in the APAC region, more than twice the forecast for the average global real salary increase (0.9%).

Culture transformations – aligning individual and community values

One suspected factor in the 'Great Resignation' is a growing desire among employees to find purpose in their jobs. Alongside this expectation, there has been an increased interest in the quality of organisations' corporate citizenship – whether they are doing their part for community and society, whether they are attuned and responsive to broader social movements, whether they are being responsible in their operations.

Internally, employee expectations have also given rise to other shifts in organisational culture. Some of the more prominent trends are an increased focus on wellbeing and health, rethinking innovation at work, and identifying ways of continuously learning. Even where these were not initially a front-of-mind considera-

The rise of hybrid; labour shortages; wage growth; ongoing dependence on the gig economy; and more. We identify the trends that we believe will shape 2022

tion, they are now becoming central to business operations.

That said, cultural transformation does not happen overnight, and what started with the pandemic may take years to achieve, depending on the organisation's level of maturity and where it is on its journey.

HR – setting trends and fueling organisation-wide change

COVID-19 made reality what had previously been abstract: the idea of HR getting a seat at the table and HR being a business leader. 2020 and 2021 became the year of the CHRO, as businesses realised the importance of people; HR professionals suddenly became involved elbow-deep in the business; and HR leaders have been kept busy reimagining workforce and employee planning, performance and experience strategies.

In 2022, this trend can only continue. The HR function will increasingly influence other apparently unrelated aspects of the business. Some high-level areas where we already see HR professionals taking the lead are: • Introducing and implementing new practices that benefit both business and people • Challenging the status quo around the concept of work • Bringing the important matters of people and community to the forefront • Creating balance between business and employees’ priorities • Social responsibility and embedding sustainability

What will define 'work' in 2022? As we enter the third year of the pandemic, here are some of the major changes that will continue into the foreseeable future

The rise of AI, and integrated talent and work management solutions

In 2021, we saw AI in action primarily in the area of recruitment, playing a dominant role in the borderless talent hunt. AI's importance will only scale up over the coming months, as organisations broaden their search for talent in the quest to bridge skill gaps and keep pace with the changing environment.

At the same time, integrated technology systems have more than proven their worth in the shift to remote work and management. Performance appraisals, employee benefits, learning, recruitment, and other time and resource-consuming jobs have been not only streamlined, but made virtual-friendly. Come 2022, we can expect to see organisations further sprucing up their technology landscape to improve their workforce management strategies – be it in terms of onboarding, attendance, payroll or even employee experience.

Renewed focus on business sustainability and cybersecurity

The pandemic underscored the value of business continuity plans (BCPs) as businesses that had prepared contingency plans were much quicker to adapt and recover. Over 2020, we saw organisations with BCPs hurrying to update their continuity plans, and organisations without BCPs rushing – belatedly – to get plans in place. Now, with resilience recognised as a major priority, business sustainability will continue to be a significant, if understated, trend in the year to come.

In 2021, cybersecurity has also emerged as a critical subset of resilience, especially in the remote working world. The number and frequency of cyberattacks soared over the last two years as attackers took advantage of digitalisation and the remote working trend. Today, cybersecurity is one of the most coveted

skill sets in many industries and will continue to be an area of focus - and concern - for knowledgeable organisations in 2022 and beyond.

Meeting well-being needs and ensuring talent diversity/inclusivity

While the virtual world maintains the physical distance among colleagues, the past year has witnessed a greater demand for narrowing the emotional gaps in understanding and experience at the workplace. While COVID-19 saw employers come forward and support the physical health of the workforce with helplines and resources, it also put the spotlight on emotional needs, the absence of which could paralyse workplace culture. The focus on mental health and efforts to provide access to medical help, beyond conversations on destigmatising, saw greater acceptance from organisations, big and small, across the globe.

Employers have recognised the need for a thoughtful and compassionate outlook towards both work and the workforce, making way for newer ways of working that foster a sense of well-being and inclusion for one and all. Interestingly, the physical distance forced by the pandemic fueled a monumental shift in mindset, one that today acknowledges and embraces the need for social well-being and inclusion. While several policies and practices have been introduced to address concerns in the two segments, how employers enable a shift from mere lip service and documented policies to an everyday reality for each and everyone will be core to sustainable well-being and inclusion. Increased dependency on contingent workers

Over the last two years, the gig economy has grown significantly, driven partly by the mass layoffs in 2020. Now, with those layoffs having resulted in manpower shortages, companies are inclining more towards the gig economy. With the talent pool constrained by border restrictions across different countries, organisations around the world are even more likely to leverage this pool of foreign manpower to meet their talent needs in the coming year.

The gig workforce is already in high demand among developed economies and developing economies are also moving to greater reliance on it. For instance, a report by ASSOCHAM – an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group – India’s gig sector is likely to grow to US$455 billion at a CAGR of 17 per cent by 2024.

Employers shouldn't take this as a cue to exploit perceived cheap labour, though. Gig workers around the globe have agitated for better labour protection for the last few years – and in many countries they have gotten it, as governments crack down on perceived abuses. Just as with the fulltime workforce, employers need to pay attention to the needs and expectations of contingent workers.