Ramesh is the CEO and President of ExpertusONE, a global leader in cloud-based unified learning management solutions for corporate training.
Over the past few years, there’s been no shortage of media commentary about the changing workplace. Hybrid working has gone from radical to routine, skills have overtaken qualifications, career stereotypes have collapsed and artificial intelligence has firmly rooted itself in every employer’s toolkit. We’ve had the “Great Reset,” “Quiet Quitting” and a soft reboot of workplace operations as businesses attempt to improve their productivity levels.
However, by far, one of the most overlooked—and critical—aspects of this tidal wave of digital change is centered around the shape of the workforce itself. For the most part, rigid work-based roles no longer exist, replaced by a more fluid and dynamic skills-based economy. Technology is emerging as a key enabler in upskilling employees in line with company objectives and their own career goals. Technology is also helping businesses redefine their workforce—how it learns, grows, adapts and collaborates.
Based on my observations and experience, in this article, I identify and explore five overlooked trends that are shaping the workforce in 2024.
Trend 1: Team Office Versus Team Anywhere
In 2023, prominent employers including Google, Amazon and Disney appeared to reverse their hybrid working policies by asking employees to return to the office. Now, according to KPMG researchers, 64% of CEOs “predict a full return to in-office working by 2026” and 87% expect in-office working to become closely linked to “financial reward and promotion opportunities.” Business leaders want—need, even—employees to return to the office.
However, this attitude potentially puts bosses on a collision course with their employees, who prefer hybrid work arrangements. Employees have proved themselves capable of leveraging technology to work from anywhere. Culturally, however, there’s continued work to be done to address the drawbacks of hybrid working, such as reduced cross-functional collaboration, poor communication and a weaker sense of workplace culture. These aren’t necessarily roadblocks but challenges to be overcome.
Trend 2: The Era Of “My Role Plus Technology”
We’re witnessing a shift from role-based to skill-based learning, by which employees continually adapt and grow their capabilities, often across multiple roles, while keeping up with the accelerated pace of technology. Take salespeople as an example: Rather than basic sales training or a crash course in a particular piece of software; it’s about making sure they’re equipped to leverage AI-driven insights and new technologies as they emerge. Likewise, highly skilled professionals, like surgeons, will be expected to adapt to robotic innovations and new diagnostic tools and methodologies that traditional qualifications don’t cover.
The combination of job-specific training and technological know-how is something we can refer to as “my role plus technology” and is being shaped by targeted skills gap analysis, anytime-anywhere learning opportunities and personalized, AI-driven training solutions. This approach not only redefines how we view professional development but is also essential in ensuring that employees remain competitive and productive in a landscape marked by rapid technological change and diverse, evolving job roles.
Trend 3: Skills Acquisition Under The Spotlight
As the shift away from rigid job roles toward skills-based hiring and training continues, expect skills acquisition to become a touchstone topic and a key battleground for talent and retention. Specifically, a skills-centric approach to talent management, learning and development allows employers to zone in on the skills required to succeed and evaluate candidates or existing employees for their potential to learn rather than relying on their experience or professional qualifications. This approach is more effective at addressing acute talent shortages for sectors or disciplines that are in high demand than the traditional method of plugging skill gaps with job roles. Employees back it, too: Two-thirds of workers are “more likely to be attracted to and remain at an organization” where skills and potential are valued over qualifications or specific role suitability.
Trend 4: Workplace AI Goes Mainstream
The last two years brought large-language, generative AI capabilities to the public consciousness. In 2024, GenAI will become embedded in the workplace. Despite early concerns about AI, workforce acceptance is growing as employees develop a more nuanced appreciation of what it can do and, specifically, what it can do for them. Serious voices in AI discourse increasingly see AI as enhancing workforce opportunities. Employees welcome the benefits of, for instance, virtual assistants that guide and help improve their output, whether that involves improving the language they’re using, nudging them into upselling opportunities or providing time-saving summaries of meetings. Additionally, AI-based training platforms capable of high levels of personalization can enable workers to brush up on the specific skills they need to excel at their jobs.
Trend 5: Dialing Up The Focus On Soft Skills
Workplace skills discussions often focus on hard skills, where skills gaps are most easily measurable. By contrast, skills such as communication, leadership, time management or a growth mindset tend to be more universal and less role-specific. Soft skills are often indicative of a candidate’s attitude, culture fit and potential. In fact, in 2022, Gartner researchers identified a “workforce-wide erosion of social skills” such as negotiating and networking that has disproportionately affected Gen-Z.
The Workplace Outlook For 2024
Organizations and workers alike are grappling with change in the workplace, heightened by global innovation and economic uncertainties. Although notions of flexible and hybrid working will mean different things to employers and employees, in areas where organizations feel the talent crunch most keenly, workers will likely have the leverage to set their boundaries. Traditional job roles and their associated training and career trajectories are crumbling, making way for a workforce that’s agile, skills-focused and keen to learn.
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