What Is The Future of Work? According to Hive, It's Driven By These 5 Undeniable Trends

The future of work is here. It’s taking root in the turbulent labor market and economy. It’s in the emergence of terms like “quiet quitting.” It’s in the way Gen Zers talk about their career aspirations on TikTok. Whether you’re a leader or an individual contributor, paying attention to growing workplace trends will help you make more informed, impactful decisions.

Tara McMullin, host of the podcast and newsletter What Works, and Siobhan Fagan, the editor-in-chief of Reworked, share some of their insights on the emerging future of work trends below.

“The phrase ‘people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers’ has long been making the rounds, but definitely got dusted off again in 2021,” says Fagan. “What is starting to happen, and will hopefully catch on, is a reevaluation of who is made a manager, what sort of training they receive, and an acknowledgment of the critical role these people play in workplace success.”

According to her, reexamining – and elevating – the role of the manager matters for everyone, from employees to managers and executive leaders. It’s about understanding how performance, attitude and culture impact teams and affect performance and acknowledging the importance that management roles play in shaping those things.

”By being aware of the heightened attention to these roles and leadership styles, employers can better understand how to shape manager roles and support teams at a higher level,” she says.

Workers are beginning to recognize and resist “work intensification,” according to McMullin. And companies should take notes.

“Work intensification is what occurs as new technology and greater proficiency mean that each hour of our day can be more productive than it was the year before. We learn to squeeze more work into the same amount of time yet, most often, receive no additional compensation,” she says. “The fevered response to ‘quiet quitting’ is evidence that companies need to think seriously about what they’re asking workers to do—not for the worker’s benefit, but for the shareholder’s benefit.”

On that note, Fagan says that companies will be competing with each other on the basis of employee experience. “Firms like PwC are betting big on employee experience by investing time, money, and resources to improve the day-to-day lives of employees. Other big firms have taken similar approaches by establishing heads of employee experience to work across departments to ensure the needs of employees are being met,” she says.

“Since employees’ needs and wants are shifting, employers need to understand what their employees truly want from their workplace to continue to retain and attract the right talent. The bean bag chairs and pool tables of yesteryear’s generation may not suffice to lure the right talent if what they really want is a flexible working environment and options for remote work.”

With an increased focus on the employee experience comes an increased focus on accessibility and mental and physical well-being. “While companies make accommodations for more obvious impairments, they’ve not regularly considered ‘hidden” disabilities.’ Chronic illness (including long COVID), developmental conditions like autism, and mental health challenges like bipolar disorder are often the sole responsibility of the worker—often at great psychological peril,” says McMullin.

“Social media plays a significant role in increasing the visibility of hidden conditions with influencers sharing their experiences with chronic illness, ADHD, borderline personality disorder, etc. More and more companies (and workers) are recognizing the social model of disability and actively introducing measures to make the workplace more accessible for these workers.”

The gig economy will grow larger, for better or for worse, says Fagan. Until the economy settles and companies experience less uncertainty, the pull of temporary or contract workers will be an attractive alternative – no need to overextend payroll or risk initiating layoffs in the future,” she adds. But this doesn’t always lead to ethical, conscious business practices.

“Contractors and gig workers will continue to be in demand to fill in for short-term needs and projects. But gig work exists at multiple tiers, with some people able to demand high prices for their services while others scramble to juggle multiple, short-term jobs to make ends meet,” says Fagan.

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