We’ve all noticed it by now: our work habits have little in common with those we had 10 or 20 years ago. Today’s employees want more flexibility. This need will be met by the working environment of the future: the digital workplace.
Faced with the increasing permeability of the boundaries between professional and private life, the evolution of work modes is becoming a necessity—particularly to assure employees’ quality of life.
What will tomorrow’s work look like? And what will be the place of the digital workplace in this new future of work?
Future of work trends
The best way to get an idea of what might happen tomorrow is to look at the trends that are emerging today. These new ways of working are only expected to intensify in the future.
Studies abound on this topic, and they all share a common thread: the emphasis on an aspiration for greater flexibility—particularly with regard to working hours and location. A 2016 study conducted by human resources firm Kronos shows that for 71% of French people, teleworking is a real revolution. In fact, 96% of those surveyed said that it improves the well-being of employees.
Also read: The Digital Workplace: The Tool that Makes Teleworking as Easy as 1-2-3
Furthermore, regular use of teleworking would reduce the number of sick leaves and achieve productivity gains of around 22%.
This study, corroborated by those carried out after the lockdown due to COVID-19, clearly shows that teleworking is still popular among employees today.
The digital workplace, working environment of the future
The digital workplace responds directly to this desire for flexibility. A true digital office, it allows employees to work anytime and anywhere in a secure way.
Also read: Jonathan Chan: “Agility is Tomorrow’s Soft Skill”
Sometimes accused of being harmful to interpersonal relations, digital technology becomes here the preferred tool for promoting collaboration, maintaining and strengthening relationships within teams. The digital workplace thus contributes to a real simplification of collaborative work.
The digital workplace is also a strong asset up the corporate sleeve, as it helps reduce the costs associated with employee travel, develop employee productivity and improve workplace well-being.
Also read: How the Digital Workplace is Transforming the Employee Experience
What’s the future for the digital workplace?
The digital workplace is not science fiction. It already exists and has already been adopted by many companies.
As the workspace of the future, it will most certainly have to evolve further by integrating still newer technologies on the horizon. In the near future, it will have to massively rely on the Internet of Things, virtual reality and artificial intelligence—particularly to assist in decision-making.
The digital workplace is a revolution of how we work. It has widely evolved within organizations as an ideal response to a necessary digitalization. And the innovation continues: tomorrow’s technologies will provide opportunities for digital workplaces.
Also read: What are the Best Digital Workplace Solutions?
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In our white paper “The Future of Work: Make Way for Hybrid!” you’ll discover the eight main challenges of hybrid work; best practices managers, HR, internal communication, IT and employees all can adopt; and the tools for facilitating hybrid work.
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Author: Paul Maubareyt
