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Angela Howard – Culture Expert
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This article is part of the Allwork.Space 2023 Future Of Work Forecast. Click here to read about other trends we expect to see in the new year and how they will impact the future of work.
- Organizations are beginning to consider how they can make work more accessible; this includes AI and automation.
- With the right learning technology, company leaders can understand where the skill gaps exist within their organizations and provide tools and data to fill those lapses.
- 2023 will bear witness to how the metaverse will fare in terms of utilization in the worksphere.
PART OF OUR 2023 FUTURE OF WORK FORECAST
It seems changes and improvements to technology get more astonishing and dramatic each year.
It is inevitable that 2023 will bring tech innovations that we don’t yet know about. But, the new year will also feature an array of tech trends that we can already see creeping their way into the world of work.
Here are five tech trends that Allwork.Space predicts will alter the future of work in 2023.
1. Workplace tech will become more accessible
Workplace tech will most likely become simpler to use and accessible for all, and should be intuitive in the ways that it supports a team’s collaboration and work.
Organizations are beginning to consider, more and more, how they can make work more accessible in a way that fosters productivity.
Jeff Lowe, EVP and CHRO at SMART Technologies, shared his thoughts on tech in the new year.
“Overall sentiment when considering workplace tech for 2023 should be how the three legs of the stool need to align: Facilities, HR and Tech,” Lowe said. “It’s not just tech in isolation that’s going to solve anything. It’s how workplace design, flexible policies and collaborative tech align that will define if the workplace tech provides value to remote, hybrid and in-person workers.”
Tech investment will increasingly be made with flexible policies in place, and companies should address what it looks like when colleagues come into the office and need spaces for collaborative, connected work.
2. AI/automation will prove that it can make employees’ lives easier
“As we head into 2023, we are seeing renewed efforts to provide an excellent employee experience, which includes access to technology that makes employees’ jobs easier,” Jennifer Kraszewski, Vice President of Human Resources at Paycom, told Allwork.Space.
Artificial intelligences such as Siri and Alexa will become more common in the worksphere. Voice search technology has rapidly advanced in the last decade, and 41% of adults and 55% of teens now use voice search daily.
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This type of AI is faster than typing, and voice tech might make its way out of the home and into the workplace in 2023.
“Greater integration with emerging technology will afford more automation and AI-assistance that improves efficiencies, saves time, and reduces redundancy frustrations, creating better work-life harmony,” said Kayla Lebovitz, CEO and Founder of Bundle Benefits.
The technological revolution that is underway will continue to uproot how people work, showcasing more effective work options in the digital space.
According to Lebovitz, the emerging technology convergence will deliver more opportunities to connect people remotely — with as much as a 40% increase in virtual collaboration and communication.
“Technology trends for 2023 will be all about consolidating what we all learnt during the pandemic, namely prioritizing technology solutions which not only engineer connections between employees in a remote-first world, but that also reduce the burden of unnecessary admin with automated workflows,” added Melinda Vedder, Chief People Officer of Xplor Technologies.
3. Organizations will increasingly upskill their workforces with learning technology
With the Great Resignation shifting into the Great Reshuffle and rattling the labor market, companies can’t afford to ignore the missed opportunity of upskilling.
“Organizations must invest in learning technology as an essential retention strategy and prioritize making training and development an alluring part of the employee value proposition,” John Peebles, CEO of Administrate, told Allwork.Space. “Boosting employee retention rates will remain top of mind for business leaders, and a great way to accomplish this is by upskilling employees.”
With the right learning technology, company leaders will be able to easily understand where the skill gaps exist within their organizations and provide tools and data to fill those lapses. The ability to rapidly identify these gaps and coordinate that with employee development is already happening in our current workforce.
For example, over the next four years, PwC is committing $3 billion to upskilling. This will primarily be invested in training their workers, as well as in technologies for supporting clients and communities.
4. Employers will utilize tech to show appreciation for their employees
Employee appreciation is not only good for morale, it’s good for business. Employers are using technology to ensure employees feel seen, heard, and appreciated as many of them continue to work remotely.
In 2023, virtual recognition alternatives will come in handy when managing remote or hybrid employees, especially since connectivity has historically been built through in-person relationships.
Workplace recognition might become one of the top ways to curb “Quiet Quitting” and increase retention, and it can all be done virtually with the use of workplace technology.
“Managers are desperate to improve employee satisfaction in the workplace, so through implementing appreciation initiatives (thank yous, work anniversaries, birthdays, and more) they can ultimately create a sense of belonging that is not only beneficial to an employee’s feeling of connection to the company but also imperative to employee retention,” said Aaron Rubens, Co-Founder and CEO of Kudoboard.
Some examples of this technology that is increasingly being utilized is Bonusly, an employee appreciation platform that helps employees give small bonuses to colleagues.
Praise is most effective when it’s public, which is why so many employers use team communications platform Slack to show employees that they appreciate their hard work, usually in channels especially for congratulating staff.
5. Organizations will decide where they stand on the metaverse
In 2022, the idea and popularity of the metaverse proliferated. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg said he wanted Meta to be used for virtual work meetings (among other things), but it’s unclear when this will come to fruition.
Individuals as well as organizations invested billions into the metaverse…only for the hype to dramatically die down toward the middle-end of this year.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, has said it will likely take 10-15 years before its investments fully pay off and the technology behind both the metaverse and its headsets reach their full potential.
Tech-savvy organizations might not want to wait that long to implement the metaverse and VR into their workplaces, and 2023 will bear witness to how the metaverse will fare in terms of social popularity and utilization.
