Future of Work Trends for 2024

These work trends will affect talent decisions over the next one to five years. Gartner recommends evaluating these trends to succeed in 2024 and beyond. Consider how these changes may impact your organization. This will enable you to address the challenges that may arise. For more insights on navigating these trends, visit blog.vave.com.

Shifting EVP

• Four-day workweeks have gone from radical to routine. A talent shortage is making it harder to attract and keep employees. Organizations consider a shorter workweek for employee flexibility and company goals. 63% of candidates considered the “four-day workweek” the best job perk.
• The cost-of-work crisis is reaching a breaking point. Employers are mandating that remote employees return to the office. But after years at home, these employees now have a sharper sense of the cost of coming to the office—in time and money. Returning to the office will stay contentious unless we resolve who will pay for the work and why.
• Climate change protection is becoming the new must-have employee benefit. Severe climate events are becoming more common. They are also lasting longer. Organizations will seize the chance to clarify their response and employee support plans.

New Manager Necessities

• The ability to resolve conflicts among employees is becoming crucial for managers. Elections and crises, labor strikes, and climate change are coming. There’s also pushback to DEI efforts. The stage is set for differing opinions. Supervisors who address interpersonal conflicts among employees will influence the dynamics of their organizations.
• DEI does not disappear; it becomes the way we work. After a flood of corporate attention in 2020, disillusionment with DEI has grown. The leadership commits to these programs and initiatives. So, companies will pivot from DEI in a silo to embedding it throughout the organization.

The Collapse of Career Assumptions

• Skills overtake degrees as the “paper ceiling” crumbles. College degrees are the top rule listed in yesterday’s job descriptions. Yet, the industry is breaking the “paper ceiling.” It is welcoming workers with alternative credentials. This is a result of the constrained job market and decreasing graduation rates.
• The traditional notions of careers are shifting as the workforce undergoes changes. Unusual careers are going mainstream due to the rising retirement age. People now take mid-career breaks and shift across industries. They also embrace contingent work and other nontraditional jobs. This will hinder how organizations hire and keep people. They rely on flawed assumptions and shortcuts.

Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Work

• AI creates, not diminishes, workforce opportunities. Many fear that AI will cut jobs, but we see AI creating jobs. Implementing GenAI will create new roles. It will also enable employers cut the time spent learning new technology. This will make it easier for them to avoid hiring talented people in these areas.
• The GenAI experiments will likely teach hard lessons. They will be painful and costly unless enough risk management is in place. GenAI outputs have many errors, which creates a significant need for data governance. Quality control and good employee judgment are also necessary. Ensure that you train your teams to prevent reputational, regulatory, and legal issues. They need to develop judgment about the validity and how to use GenAI.

Three things to tell your peers

Gartner’s annual Future of Work Trends Research aims to help you prepare. It’s for your organization’s talent challenges in the coming years. This research highlights key trends to help your organization navigate workforce changes.

The trends for 2024 cover four key themes:

1. Shifting Employee Value Proposition (EVP): Companies need to meet changing employee expectations. This includes offering more flexibility, better well-being support, and meaningful work. This change also includes a four-day workweek and climate protection as a benefit.
2. New Manager Skills: As the workplace evolves, managers need new skills. They must be great at resolving conflicts. They must add diversity and inclusion to daily operations. They must lead teams through complex social and political issues.
3. Crumbling Career Assumptions: Traditional career paths are becoming obsolete. Focus on skills. The focus is moving away from degrees and toward skills. This recognizes diverse career paths and embraces nontraditional work models. Organizations must rethink their talent strategies to attract and keep diverse employees.
4. Artificial intelligence is transforming the workforce landscape. Despite worries about job displacement, AI also generates new employment opportunities. Implementing AI requires robust risk management, good data governance, and continuous learning. These things ensure that employees can adapt and thrive in an AI-enhanced environment.

Recognize these trends. Analyze them. Focus on them as you set goals for your workforce and technology. By doing so, you can enhance your organization’s resilience and competitiveness. Embracing these trends will help you stay ahead of talent challenges. It will also help you build a workforce that can adapt to change.

Understand these key themes. Add them to your strategic planning to prepare your organization for the future of work. This approach will prepare your organization for the complexity of the modern workplace. It will also ensure its growth and success.

Final Thoughts

To succeed in the future, companies need to understand and adapt to new work trends in 2024 and beyond. Key areas to focus on include:

1. Updating employee value propositions.
2. Training managers with new skills.
3. Rethinking career paths.
4. Integrating AI.

By prioritizing these trends, businesses can stay competitive and better handle talent challenges. This will help them set fair goals for their workers and technology. It will also help them stay adaptable in a changing world.