10 Future of Work Trends for 2023 (and Beyond)

Let’s explore what future of work trends are shaping our HR practices, changing our management styles and creating a better working environment for our employees

Though the pandemic might feel very much in the past for many of us, the reality is, it has shaped and changed the way we work and manage. Certain shifts and adjustments were required to survive the pandemic, and while we’re returning to normal, we’re seeing a return to strategic leadership to support recovery and growth.

However, this doesn’t mean we’ll be going back to traditional leadership styles. Rather, employees will expect leaders to demonstrate those same levels of empathy, compassion and honesty that emerged during Covid, as we tackle key issues including inclusivity, hybrid working and psychological safety.

Here, we explore 10 future of work trends that will help inform your HR planning for 2023 and beyond.

10 Future of Work Trends Predictions for 2023

With our experience in management, HR and employee engagement trends, we believe the following work trends will set the standard in 2023 and shape the workplace for years to come.

1. Hybrid working will continue to grow in popularity

As we all know, the pandemic forced us, out of necessity, to adapt to a new way of working. The alternative was to fail. So businesses across the UK quickly changed their workplace practices and procedures to accommodate remote working, while prioritising ongoing, transparent communication and efficiency. 

While more businesses are deciding to ask employees to return to the office, all statistics indicate that there is no going back completely. Some employees happily remain remote, while a large percentage have decided to ask for hybrid working options. Such agreements allow businesses and employees to touch base with in-person meetings and occasional days in the office, while maintaining a degree of flexibility. Employees can remain remote for a percentage of the time, having demonstrated (during quite a trying time), that they were fully capable of working remotely without issue.

One report states that 40% of employers say they expect more than half of their workforce to work on a hybrid basis. This future of work trend can be incredibly beneficial for company and employee, when done well. Employees get to enjoy greater work-life balance, reduce commuting time and focus while they are feeling productive, rather than restricting themselves solely to traditional office hours. Employers, meanwhile, benefit from happy, engaged employees who are likely to remain with their organisation for years to come.

To make hybrid arrangements work, businesses must ensure that hybrid workers are included and appreciated in much the same way as those who work in-house, while keeping lines of communication open.

2. Empathy as a strategic force  

New research from Catalyst shows how vital leader empathy is for driving employee engagement and employee retention. The newly crowned ‘empathetic leader’ will play a key part in 2023 people programmes.  

Employee feedback highlights the changing needs and demands of staff when it comes to their leaders. They want leaders to be visible and to confront challenges and difficult conversations head-on. This includes everything from acknowledging industry challenges and changes that might impact your organisation, to openly discussing issues such as Diversity & Inclusion and mental health. 

To keep employees engaged and motivated in 2023, leaders will need to demonstrate their empathetic skills by: 

• Sharing honest and transparent comms about the state and future of the organisation  
• Demonstrating that the employee voice is valued, listened to and heard through employee surveys, direct conversations and focus groups  
• Making themselves vulnerable to feedback and development, for example by taking part in 360 feedback and tackling their blind spots  
• Openly talking about ‘taboo’ subjects like mental health, inclusivity, and the strains and stresses of the pandemic  
• Recognising how work is changing and adjusting working arrangements to balance organisational performance with life  

3. Psychological safety will drive success

Moving forward, we expect to see much more emphasis on the value of psychological safety for business performance, employee engagement and innovation.  

Psychological safety is about creating spaces where employees feel comfortable speaking up with ideas, raising concerns, and owning up to mistakes without the risk of being punished or embarrassed. This might mean different things to different people, and part of this process will mean asking individuals what safety at work feels like to them.  Creating a culture of psychological safety is an important part of developing strong employer-employee relationships between line managers and employees. 

Some examples of psychological safety at work include:  

“I don’t feel afraid to say I made a mistake. My manager won’t blame me for it, and together we’ll find a way to fix it.”

“I’m happy to give feedback to my manager, my team and even to one of our clients if I spot something I feel could be improved or done differently.”  

“My ideas are always considered, even if they aren’t adopted.”  

“I feel confident disagreeing with a point, even if everyone else in the meeting agrees with it.”  

“If I’m struggling with something outside of work, I can tell my manager and rely on their support.” 

The behaviour of leaders and managers will have a huge part to play in building trust between employees and enabling safe environments at work. While this process will take time, managers can start to actively build safe environments by: 

• Stopping people from interrupting others in meetings  
• Praising others for giving feedback and constructively challenging ideas  
• Encouraging people to talk about their personal lives  
• Making an effort to invite inputs from less vocal members of your team  
• Being available for unscheduled chats and virtual ‘watercooler moments’  

Stay up-to-date with future of work trends with our monthly newsletter ‘The People Insider’.

4. A shift towards inclusion over diversity  

UK survey data highlights the inequalities that still exist in the workplace and the need to speed up progress. The sense of belonging to an organisation – measured by the survey question ‘I feel like I belong here’ – has emerged as a key driver of employee engagement and in the future, we expect to see organisations ramp up their efforts to improve inclusion at work. 

While often spoken about together, there is a difference between Diversity and Inclusion. Diversity usually refers to having representation from people of different backgrounds, identities and abilities, while Inclusion is about an environment in which everyone feels welcome and of value.  

When it comes to working inclusively in 2023, organisations can learn from the adaptability of the pandemic. Moving to remote working almost overnight has paved the way for further change, with flexibility seen as a positive for business growth.  

“The pandemic taught employers important lessons in opening up their workplaces to be more inclusive when they are attracting and retaining disabled workers.” 

– James Wilkinson, Disabled People’s Employment Champion 

With the rise of hybrid working, our physical office spaces – often a barrier to entry – alongside policies about how and where we work, can be redesigned with inclusivity in mind. For example:  

• An office can be distracting for neurodiverse employees. Private pods, telephone booths and cornered off ‘quiet zones’ help to keep noise levels down and concentration levels up.  
• Providing suitable door handles and openings for people with limited manual dexterity, such as levers instead of knobs. 
• Switching to gender-neutral language in job applications – there’s an app that helps you check.  
• More sensitivity around everyday comms and ‘banter’ between teams – tools like Alex help pick up on unconscious biases in the language you use.  
• Improving physical environments to meet the needs of an ageing workforce (by 2035 there are predicted to be 1 million more workers in the UK aged 50+). BMW, for example, have transformed their production line to create the right conditions for older employees in order to retain these highly skilled workers.  

5. Avoiding proximity bias

Research shows that leaders and managers look more favourably on people they see more often – a phenomenon known as ‘proximity bias’. 

In the context of hybrid working this bias could mean that people in the office get better perks, are offered bigger projects or opportunities, or receive more support and training from their managers. Imagine being dialled into a meeting that everyone else is together for; it’s hard to speak up, you miss out on body language cues, and aren’t part of any conversations that happen after the call has ended.  

With more than 80% of UK businesses moving to hybrid working, organisations will need to act swiftly to ensure that employees are fairly treated regardless of where they are working from. Workplace dynamics and ways of interacting with colleagues are bound to be different in a hybrid environment than a traditional office, and organisations should adapt accordingly. For example, meetings might need to be run virtually for everyone, even if some people are in the office. Or managers might need a new system for allocating projects, to avoid those people in the office being selected first.  

Some organisations are taking this further by hiring a whole new role – a Head of Remote Operations. This role is responsible for creating equitable working practices and actively working against proximity bias.  

6. Companies are going green for good

In the wake of 2021’s COP26 summit, environmentalism will remain high on the agenda for businesses in 2023. Customers, investors, employees and potential recruits will look critically at businesses’ green credentials before choosing to work with them. In fact, 34% of UK workers would turn down a job offer if a company’s environmental values were different to their own. Young people are also looking for sustainable places to work, with almost half of millennials happy to take a pay cut to work for an environmentally responsible company.  

A Forbes study found that while 90% of leaders think sustainability is vital, only 60% of businesses have a plan in place. 2023 will see leaders commit to a sustainability strategy and start making real progress with it. Employees and customer alike are savvy to ‘greenwashing’ tactics – when something is misleadingly branded as eco-friendly – and will hold leaders to account to create meaningful change.  

Truly going green will mean examining every aspect of an organisation from how people travel to work, to the employee perks on offer. We’re already seeing green initiatives from organisations with the Bank of America offering employees $3000 cashback for switching to hybrid cars and many of our clients incentivising employee survey participation by planting trees via Eden Reforestation Projects.  Look out for plenty more like this in the year ahead. 

7. AI in the Workplace

AI has taken the world by storm in 2023. McKinsey suggests that nearly all occupations will be affected by automation, certainly earning its place in our future work trends line-up. AI has substantial potential in the workplace, by way of automatic tasks and minimising errors. AI has the ability to eliminate repetitive, boring tasks for employees, allowing them to focus their brainpower and attentions elsewhere on more creative, innovative tasks.

8. The growth of the multigenerational workforce

One future of work trend, which may become a substantial workplace challenge to address, is that of the multigenerational workforce. Many businesses are having to juggle the priorities, needs and wants of multiple generations, and doing so effectively can be a struggle. What engages a Gen Z employee will not necessarily work with a Baby Boomer, and what a Millennial wants from an organisation might be at odds with what Gen X wants. Knowing how to serve the needs of each generation to get the best out of them in the workplace will be a priority for businesses, certainly for the next few years.

9. The rise of ‘quiet hiring’

We all know about ‘quiet quitting’, but in 2023, forward-thinking businesses are turning this trend on its head by employing ‘quiet hiring’. Instead of adding new full-time employees, quiet hiring focuses on internal talent mobility and upskilling. Essentially, organisations are leveraging existing employee capabilities to acquire new skills rather than recruiting. Given the difficult financial times we’re entering into, this workplace trend is becoming increasingly popular.

10. A focus on purpose, mission and meaning

At People Insight, we’ve always been passionate about purpose. Companies who thrive and succeed are those with a clear mission and a focus. They also know how to communicate this meaning with their employees, while getting them excited and engaged to take part and do their part to help the company succeed. Increasingly, employees are looking for more from their workplace – and we don’t mean compensation or perks. They’re looking for a role, and an organisation, with a clear sense of meaning, above and beyond the bottom line. Employees want to work for something worthwhile, to spend their working time contributing to a clear purpose. Companies who prioritise this and make it part of their everyday culture will reap the rewards in terms of recruitment and retention.

2021 saw organisations continue to adapt to the uncertainties of Covid-19 and reinvent how, when and where their people work. We’ll continue to see this flexibility in 2023 and beyond, with empathy, psychological safety and inclusion emerging as key drivers of success. And, as ever, organisations will need to listen to their people in order to evaluate the employee experience and create positive change.

Keep up with future of work trends by bookmarking our Employee Experience Glossary