Last week, I looked back at 2014 and discussed three important workplace changes. This week, let’s look forward to 2015 and explore three trends I think we can expect based on the copious amount of reading I’ve done lately -so you don’t have to- and what I’m hearing out in the field.
First, let’s look at a trend called “Continuous Job Search”. Partly stemming from millennials propensity to switch jobs quickly, from underemployed workers looking for other opportunities, and from the technology/social media convenience of sites like LinkedIn, continually searching for a job is becoming the new norm. And it can all be done from your mobile phone. You can program job sites to notify your phone when your type of jobs become open, or you can “follow” companies you’re interested in and get alerted when jobs are posted. The economy is improving, hiring will increase in 2015, and the “continuous job search” will pay off for many and will therefore remain popular.
The second trend is “Working in the Cloud”. You don’t have to a techie to know that a lot of software (Word, Excel, QuickBooks) has moved away from your PC or device and is now “cloud based” and accessed via the internet as needed. The “cloud” has made collaboration easier. So, for example, you don’t email a document as an attachment to 5 committee members and ask for revisions, resulting in countless email back-and-forths. Instead, you can all work on the same document in the cloud. The convenience and efficiency of the “cloud” is undeniable and businesses are flocking to it.
The third and last trend is “The Rise of Millennials into Leadership”. Whether they’re starting their own companies or rising up the traditional ladder, currently about 25% of millennials are in leadership positions. Sure, many still lack the skill-set needed to handle those roles, so organizations will need to invest in their development. But, statistically, the rise of millennials makes sense. They’ll make up the *largest percentage of workers in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And according to shrm.org in 2020 (that’s five years from now!) millennials will comprise 46% of the workforce. Stop and think about that.
What trends do you see?
© Copyright Eva Del Rio
