Every New Year inevitably brings a great deal of change.  For 2021, this is particularly relevant for the workplace .

Since 2020 sparked the biggest change to the world of work following the global pandemic, and now that a third lockdown is underway in England, it’s likely that many new trends and changes will emerge once again in 2021.

In particular, this year looks set to spark new culture trends within the workplace and one workplace culture expert believes that the pandemic and its fallout will accelerate further changes at a speed and scale that has never been witnessed.

In short, inclusive and connected workplaces must be prioritised going forwards.

Leaders and HR professionals need to be prepared for the challenges ahead as they tackle the fallout from the pandemic. There must be a concerted effort to heal broken and damaged workplace cultures while building on the positive developments as a result of COVID-19.

Inclusive, connected and purpose-driven workplaces must be prioritised and it’s time to drive technological advancements to bring people together. 2021 needs to be a year of deliberate and positive transformation.

Key Trends expected for 2021:

Organisational culture

Now that many employees are carrying out their daily jobs from home, there has been a shift with regards to physical culture; no longer are work perks such as free beer, table tennis and bring your pet to work days relevant. With months of remote working taking its toll on the workforce, many organisational cultures need to heal and fix themselves. Leaders will need to find ways to bring people back together, even if it means doing this remotely, and some leaders may even need to strip everything back and re-build a more positive, connected and purpose-driven culture from the ground-up.

Work has changed – for good

Research published by O.C Tanner Institute previously discovered that 77% of employees say their workplace culture will never return to pre-COVID-19, suggesting that the way we work has changed forever. Now with the third lockdown in place, remote working is looking set to continue well into 2021 and as many employees have proven that work can be conducted from home, this is looking likely to remain in place for the foreseeable.

Importance of Diversity and Inclusion.

Organisations can no longer remain silent on social issues. Employees expect their companies to be vocal on issues of injustice and inequity and this includes a greater emphasis on D&I.  O.C Tanner stated. With several studies suggesting that fewer employees believe their companies are sincere when it comes to their D&I strategy, this year will require more business leaders to take real action and make a difference to D&I.

Gen Z’s wanting purpose

Employees from the Gen Z generation now make up the vast majority of the workforce and are more concerned when it comes to social issues perhaps more than any other generation. As such, businesses need to think about how best to attract these individuals and how purpose can be integrated into a business strategy.

Digital transformation is on the way

There’s no doubt that the global pandemic has forced many businesses who may have been reluctant to embrace digital transformation. And according to O.C Tanner we will only “continue to see more technological developments this year, with a focus on bringing people together despite many employees still working apart”.

Executive Grapevine Jade Burke Jan 2021

OC Tanner