Perkbox predicts 2020 trends that will be shaking up workplaces

Internal communications and workplace flexibility will reign supreme in 2020, as startup and corporate cultures converge and CSR gathers momentum.

 

• Flexibility reigns supreme. 2020 will be a year where we provide even more flexibility in the workplace as it becomes a necessity to attract top talent. 
• The rise of internal communications. Communication specialists will be in high demand in an effort to combat workplace communications overload.
• The corporate vs startup culture clash will be a thing of the past, when it comes to Employee Experience (EX). Traditionally conflicting organisational cultures will converge to form an ‘employee first’ culture with elements of both.
• The digitalisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). 2019 saw an increase in the demand for CSR practices from employees. Advances in technology will make these easier to address for employers in 2020. 

 

London, UK 9th Janurary 2019:  Perkbox, Europe’s fastest growing employee experience platform, predicts internal communications and workplace flexibility will reign supreme in the 2020 workplace. The convergence of the startup and corporate company cultures will lead to the emergence of ‘employee first’ culture when it comes to EX, while CSR initiatives will increase with the help of digitalisation.

In the not so distant past, flexible working was seen as a perk provided only by certain businesses and in many instances only in isolated occasions. Today, in contrast, flexible working is the make or break factor for many employees. This has led from the smallest startup to the largest corporate, like Barclays, Cisco and Vodafone offering flexible working. Some, such as Simply Business have gone as far as starting to offer 4-day weeks. Expect many many more of this in 2020. 

One of the challenges technology has brought to the modern world is communication overload. Gone are the days where we only communicated by email. Tools such as Zoom, Notion and Slack are becoming an everyday fixture in the modern workplace. This in turn, has led to a rise in communication specialists as organisations try navigating new complexities such as lower productivity, increasing stress levels and more confusion (where the intention was clarity), associated with these initiatives. 

As we head into 2020, the startup and corporate culture clash will become a thing of the past, particularly when it comes to EX. We are already seeing large corporations moving closer to that startup feel by offering cooler, more inspirational workplaces - a huge change compared to the traditional office environment of the past. On the flip side, many startups are moving rapidly into the scaleup territory, with thousands of customers and hundreds of employees, and with this, they too, are seeing a new level of formality required across communication and administrative systems. Expect to see these two traditionally conflicting cultures converge and the emergence of an ‘employee first’ culture, combining elements of both, in 2020. 

Finally, CSR policies will also come into sharp focus next year as employers become under increasing pressure to provide initiatives for a socially-conscious generation, while partners and clients also start to pose questions about CSR. Currently, 63% of Brits don’t get any time off for volunteering illustrating there’s clearly work to be done. With this, addressing climate change and helping the local community come top of the pile, and online platforms such as Beam, the world’s first crowdfunding network for homeless, will make it easier than ever to support them. 

 

Louise Jones, People Advisor at Perkbox, comments: 

“Often in the midst of day to day business and targets we forget to pause and reflect as employers on what our goals are to improve the employee experience of our company. Let these predictions be a timely reminder to put employee voice at the forefront as we enter the new year”.  

 

ENDS 

 

Perkbox

Perkbox is a platform that provides a unique employee experience, enriching the personal and working life of employees. It offers a suite of products including a platform with access to best in class Perks, Perkbox Medical, Perkbox Recognition and Perkbox Insights. It serves companies of all sizes from SMEs to large companies such as Whole Foods, Nando’s, Caffe Nero and Levi Strauss & Co. Headquartered in London, Perkbox has offices in Sheffield, Paris and Australia.