By and large, the digital age of the contemporary workplace is stimulating new demands in today’s workforce. The more our culture can adapt to the needs of people, the more organizations will attract, train, retain and sustain talent.
Due to the advances of both technology and automation, there is no longer a large demand for a modern workforce to operate 40 hours a week in an on-site office space – unless, of course, the nature of the position requires an on-site presence. The increase in work-from-home days and other remote work benefits are becoming rapidly popular among organizations.
Recently, there are more and more studies being published stating that millennials aren’t as different at all from prior generations. According to a recent study, conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, the differences among millennials, Generation X and baby boomer employees have been grossly exaggerated.
As the culture continues to change in the workplace – due to the increasing number of millennials entering the workforce – there are several common findings of what different generations bring to the table.
The lessons from generations in the workplace include following examples of leaders today: older to younger generations bring company loyalty, know-how and adept interpersonal skills. The younger generation brings to the older generations modernization with technology, creativity and risk-taking.
On the other hand, until there’s a shift in acceptance within organizations themselves to adapt to the contemporary wishes of the emerging workforce, we may not see requests for flexibility being granted.
Here are a few considerations when choosing to offer office flexibility:
1.) Is the employee who is requesting to work remotely already a high-performer?
2.) What boundaries need to be set to ensure deadlines are met?
3.) What guarantees success for both the business and the employee?
Are you ready to challenge the new workforce while fostering these relationships? What are the ways you engage millennials and adapt to modernize workforce expectations?