Learning Insights from February 2024

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I've found interesting:

1. Deloitte: 2024 Global Human Capital Trends
Deloitte shares their 2024 Global Human Capital Trends, highlighting that work rules and realities have changed "We’re operating in a world where work is no longer defined by jobs, the workplace is no longer a specific place, many workers are no longer traditional employees, and human resources is no longer a siloed function."
The research reveals how human factors are emerging as the bridge between knowing and doing. The research covered seven trends: (1) Embracing human sustainability, (2) Moving beyond productivity to measure human performance, (3) Balancing privacy with transparency to build trust, (4) Overcoming the imagination deficit, (5) Creating digital playgrounds to explore, experiment and play, (6) Cultivating workplace microcultures, and (7) Making the shift to a boundaryless HR.

2. MIT: How to Delegate More Effectively: Four Approaches
The article presents a framework for effective delegation based on two dimensions: trust in people and trust in process. Depending on the level of trust in each dimension, the article suggests four approaches to delegation: direct, coach, empower, and align. The article also provides examples and tips for each approach and explains how leaders can assess and improve their delegation skills.

3. Gallup: The New Challenge of Engaging Younger Workers
This report from Gallup talks about why young workers (like Gen Z and millennials) are not happy or loyal at their jobs, unlike older workers (like Gen X and baby boomers). The report shows how different generations feel about their work and bosses around the world. The report gives some tips for leaders and managers to make young workers more engaged and loyal, such as communicating a clear, compelling vision of the organization's purpose, values, and goals, reviewing their job responsibilities, providing learning and development opportunities, etc.

4. HBR: What Employees Need from Leaders in Uncertain Times
The article discusses how leaders can engage and motivate their employees in times of extreme uncertainty and volatility. Timothy R. Clark, the author, suggests four strategies for leaders to help engage employees under unforgiving circumstances: (i) create thick trust, (ii) Inoculate with Vision, (iii) Increase Honesty and Transparency, and (iv) Frame Uncertainty as Opportunity.  Also provides examples and tips for implementing each strategy, as well as the benefits and challenges of doing so.

5. HBR: Building Cross-Cultural Relationships in a Global Workplace
Harvard Business Review's article explores the challenges faced by global professionals in building cross-cultural relationships. Using real-life examples, it introduces six core relationship elements, such as place, power, purpose, privacy, presence, and pacing. The guide emphasizes the need for cultural sensitivity, highlighting how understanding these elements helps bridge gaps, fostering successful connections in diverse workplaces.

Learning Insights from January 2024

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I've found interesting:

1. Accenture: Work, workforce, workers: Reinvented in the age of generative AI Accenture reports on how generative AI (gen AI) will reinvent work, workforce, and workers in the near future.
The report argues that gen AI offers a trio of opportunities: It can accelerate economic value and drive business growth while also fostering more creative and meaningful work for people. It also identifies four accelerators that can help organizations realize the full potential of gen AI: leading and learning in new ways, reinventing work, reshaping the workforce, and preparing workers.
The report provides examples of how gen AI is already transforming various industries and fields and offers recommendations for leaders to adopt a people-centric approach to gen AI.

2. myHRfuture: Nine Ways to Put HR Trends and Predictions into Practice in 2024
myHRfuture shared an interesting article with examples of the top HR trends and provided some actionable recommendations on how to put them into practice. Also, this article can help to take a proactive approach to topics such as workplace performance, happiness, engagement, and, critically, the retention of great staff.

3. MIT: What We’re Still Getting Wrong About Performance Management
The article points out the problems with how companies handle performance management. It argues that the current approach is confusing, combining different goals and making the process ineffective. The solution proposed is to have separate processes for measuring and improving employee performance. The article suggests a straightforward measurement system based on five key aspects. It also encourages frequent check-ins by managers as a better way to boost employee performance.

4. HBR: Bringing True Strategic Foresight Back to Business
In the article, Amy Webb emphasizes that in the past, strategy and foresight were inseparable, and it's time to reunite them. By identifying where to play, how to win in the future, and ensuring organizational resilience, leaders can make informed choices and propel teams toward superior performance. Webb highlights the importance of integrating strategic foresight as a core competency in all organizations, regardless of size.

5. World Economic Forum and PwC: Putting Skills First
The World Economic Forum and PwC highlight the need and the opportunity to put skills first. Applying skills-first approaches can help address talent shortages, close skills gaps and boost business growth.  The report identifies five key areas for effective skills-based solutions, outlined in the 'Skills-first Framework'
This report combines data from executive and employee surveys to identify the biggest business opportunities and highlights 13 Skills-First “Lighthouses” that demonstrate the ideas in action.

6. BCG: Psychological Safety Levels the Playing Field for Employees
The article shares the BCG research on how psychological safety is particularly effective at improving the workplace and reducing attrition for women, people of color, LGBTQ+ employees, people with disabilities, and people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The study also highlights the direct relationship between empathetic leadership to build psychological safety in the workforce, getting significant increases in motivation and happiness, feeling valued and respected, and feeling enabled to reach their full potential.

Learning Insights from December 2023

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I've found interesting:

1. SHRM: Help Remote Workers Become More Engaged
   The article addresses the challenges of remote worker disengagement compared to onsite employees and proposes solutions centered on managerial training and consistent accountability measures. Recognition of outstanding remote performance is recommended to boost morale, as Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report highlights. The article also explores personal factors contributing to disengagement, emphasizing the importance of creating a supportive work environment and ongoing responsiveness to individual needs.

2. Gallup: 6 Workplace Trends Leaders Should Watch in 2024

   Gallup’s research indicates that how employees are managed has about four times as much influence on employee engagement and well-being as on their work location. 
   Organizations are restructuring, leading to stressed and disconnected employees. Leaders should consider re-tooling their management strategies to better support the changing needs of their workforce and organizational culture. Gallup suggests focusing on six trends: (1) global worker stress, (2) slow recovery of engagement with areas for improvement, (3) the need for trust restoration, (4) challenges faced by managers, (5) the importance of a long-term hybrid work strategy, and (6) the potential benefits and challenges of hybrid culture.

3. Dave Ulrich: A Blueprint for the Emerging Mental Health Agenda

   The article provides a comprehensive blueprint for business and HR leaders to address emerging mental health issues in organizations. It highlights the increasing importance of mental health concerns, particularly in the post-COVID era, emphasizing their impact on employee experience and overall organizational outcomes. The author identifies three dimensions of mental health –believe, become, and belong– and outlines four levers for improvement: leadership actions, HR professional actions, HR practices, and fostering the right culture.

4. McKinsey: What matters most? Eight CEO priorities for 2024
Present eight CEO priorities for 2024, including Gen AI going from proof of concept to scale, how to outcompete with technology, what your superpower is, and learning to love your middle managers, among others. The article highlights what CEOs need to look at and care for themselves, too.
5. Culture Amp: 7 trends that will define HR in 2024
The article outlines seven HR trends expected to define the year 2024. The top challenges for HR leaders included talent competition, employee retention, flexible work balance, engagement, development, and performance management. Looking ahead, the focus shifts to regaining trust, particularly emphasizing leaders rebuilding confidence after widespread layoffs in 2023. The generational power balance is changing, with Gen Y in leadership roles and Gen Z already managing teams, bringing different expectations for communication and workplace culture. The article anticipates a closer collaboration between IT and HR teams to develop work tech stacks, incorporating AI for improved workplace insights and communication.

Learning Insights from November 2023

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I've found interesting:

1. Mercer: Evolving the CHRO role in a rapidly changing world of work
   The report explores how prepared top HR leaders in the US are for overcoming today's challenges and for future changes.
   Forty percent of CHROs wish they had had a greater depth of knowledge in non-HR topics (e.g., finance, operations). Seventy-nine percent see that the CHRO role is changing into a more strategic managing in the face of greater disruptions.

   The report provides insights into what CHROs can do to increase their effectiveness and proposes how CHROs need to adapt to be ready for the future of work.

2. Gallup: 6 Worrying Workplace Numbers — And What You Can Do About Them
   The article shared the most concerning insights Gallup has discovered this year about what the future holds for the workplace and how to turn them around in your organization. Some of these concerns are: (1) Only 23 percent of U.S. employees strongly agree that they trust the leadership of their organization; (2) More than half of employees (53%) say they don’t feel prepared to work with AI, robotics or other advanced technologies, (3) 51 percent of currently employed workers around the world say they are watching for or actively seeking a new job.

3. Dave Ulrich: Overcoming the Know/Do Gap in Human Capability Value Creation
   The article discusses the importance of cultivating enduring human capabilities (EHCs) in the workforce to create new value that goes beyond the financial realm to those of customer and worker experience, brand, social impact, and others. It addresses the fact that even when we know so many things about human capability, it is not reflected in our actions. The author proposed ten specific coaching tips to help business and HR leaders close the know/do gap in human capability by focusing on self, others, and the organization.

4. MIT Sloan: Leading in the Age of Exploding Transparency
   The article discusses the challenges that leaders face in a world where information flows at the speed of light and how technology is eroding the information advantage that leaders have enjoyed since the dawn of the working world. The article suggests four practical strategies for leaders to maintain sanity and clarity in a hyper-transparent world. These strategies include dialing up the right kind of organizational honesty, creating a culture of transparency, embracing the power of social media, and building a network of trusted advisors.

5. HBR: Helping Employees Succeed with Generative AI
   The article discusses how to manage performance when new technology brings constant and unpredictable change.  The author has devised a framework called STEP, which consists of four interrelated activities: (1) segmenting tasks for either AI automation or AI augmentation; (2) transitioning tasks across work roles; (3) educating workers to take advantage of AI’s evolving capabilities; and (4) evaluating performance to reflect employees’ learning and the help they give others.
   The author argues that AI-enabled digital tools are designed to change by themselves continuously, and users have less and less time to learn from one another. Therefore, it is essential to manage employees when the capabilities at their fingertips are constantly changing, and the effects of those changes are unpredictable.

Learning Insights from October 2023

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I've found interesting:

1. Gartner: Top 5 HR Trends and Priorities for 2024
   Gartner surveyed more than 500 HR leaders across 40 countries and all major industries to identify and assess the top HR trends, priorities, and expected challenges for 2024.

2. Gartner: CHRO Vision for 2024

   Based on the previous study, Gartner shares (1) the main trends that are affecting the role of the CHRO, (2) how to prepare for next year, and (3) the skills and capabilities that CHROs and their teams must develop for success.

3. SHRM: People + Strategy journal (Fall Edition)
   This Fall 2023 edition of the People + Strategy journal analyzes how recent workplace disruptions are shattering the tradition of employing only full-time, long-term workers. New workplace models and evolving employee expectations are coming together at full speed, and the deterrents of independent work are fast disappearing in the digital economy.
   This edition includes, among others:

   • Josh Bersin describes how the traditional idea of “employee” is breaking down and how companies should respond to emerging work arrangements.

   • David Rock explains what neuroscience can tell us about the differing needs of employers and employees in today's return to office debate.

   • RJ Milnor highlights four key questions for CHROs on how the demand for fractional work (and fractional workers) will transform the workplace.

4. Dave Ulrich: Six Actions for HR to Create More Stakeholder Value
   The article highlights six specific actions and questions that enable organizations to create more value from HR. The six actions are: (1) Articulate a point-of-view. (2) Define, seek, and track outcomes more than activities. (3) Prioritize what matters most. (4) Apply innovative and relevant methodology. (5) Translate to stakeholder value. (6) Scale, leverage, and improve work.

5. BCG: How Leaders and Employees Can Be Partners in Change

   The article explains how people closer to the decision-making feel more favorably toward change than those further away and how leaders can mitigate the effects of change distance if they actively increase employee agency. The authors shared a framework of four steps to build employee agency.

6. MIT Sloan: The Role of Culture in Enabling Change

   The article suggests that a strategic approach to culture involves an active effort to create the environment and infrastructure to promote the necessary information flow between strategy and execution — treating them as complementary components of purposeful doing. The authors also identify four key factors that contribute to a positive corporate culture: respect, leadership, compensation/benefits, and job security. It concludes that a culture of contextual awareness and adaptability enables the business to perform better in its current environment and to prepare for future success.

7. Mercer: Health Care Trends 2024
   In August 2023, Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB) surveyed 223 insurers across 58 countries outside the United States to explore the key trends shaping employer-provided health benefits and produce our Health Trends 2024 report. They highlight four trends: (1) Over half of the markets are facing double-digit cost increases, (2) Health systems are undergoing a transformation as they face disruption from skills shortages with digital healthcare still at an early stage. (3) Insurers are responding to the need for cost containment (4) More action is needed on gaps such as mental health, women’s health, and inclusive benefits design.

8. Microsoft: The Art and Science of Working with AI
   The article shared how Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI-powered tool that helps users work more efficiently by augmenting human capability and accelerating everyone’s innate ingenuity. The article highlights that there is both an art and a science to working with AI, and what you get out of it depends on how you ask. The more detail you give in your prompts, the better the answer will be. By learning the best practices, leaders can empower their people to embrace this new era of AI-powered productivity and reap the benefits for their organization.

9. HBR: Why You Should Build a “Career Portfolio” (Not a “Career Path”)

   The article suggests that instead of following a linear career path, individuals should focus on creating a “career portfolio.” Unlike a singular pursuit, a career portfolio represents a diverse professional journey, including twists and turns made by choice or circumstance. It’s self-determined, reflecting your unique identity, and includes a mix of skills and experiences. In an uncertain world, those who build a career portfolio will be better prepared to connect their various skills to new opportunities.

10. Gallup: Office Workers: Quietly Changing
    The article highlights that in a world where remote work has become the norm, nine out of ten office workers are resisting a return to the traditional way of working. This shift in workplace preferences calls for a strategic response from leaders. Effective hybrid work strategies are now essential to accommodate the evolving needs of employees. As the workplace landscape quietly transforms, organizations must adapt to this new reality to foster engagement and productivity.

Learning Insights from September 2023

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I've found interesting:

1. Lean In and McKinsey & Company - Women in the Workplace study Recently, Lean In and McKinsey & Company launched the 9th edition of the Women in the Workplace. This year’s report debunks four myths about women’s workplace experiences and career advancement—most notably, that women are becoming less ambitious. In reality, women are more ambitious than ever, and workplace flexibility is fueling them. Yet, despite some hard-fought gains, women’s representation is not keeping pace. Read the full report to learn more.

2. Deloitte - The skills-based organization: A new operating model for work and the workforce

   The article presents various data regarding significant changes in the structure of work. Organizations are transitioning to a new model that places a stronger emphasis on skills rather than traditional job roles. What the article reveals is that companies embracing this early adoption of skills-based approaches are achieving superior business outcomes compared to those adhering to job-centric practices. The article also delves into the necessary changes in business operations and the guiding principles that companies are employing. This shift allows for greater flexibility in tailoring work to individual capabilities and evolving business needs. For more in-depth insights, read the full article.

3. Mercer - Generative AI will transform three key HR roles

   The article shares how Generative AI (GAI) will reshape HR function. The study found that 58% of employers plan to use GAI in HR by 2024.

   Also, the article reimagines three HR roles: HR Business Partners (HRBPs), Learning and Development (L&D) specialists, and Total Rewards leaders, showing how GAI can make them more efficient. For HRBPs, it's estimated that 36% of their work could be done by GAI, saving around $30,000 per year.

   The key idea is that GAI shouldn't be seen as a way to cut jobs but as a tool to combine human skills with technology for a more effective HR department. So, HR professionals who use GAI may actually become more valuable. The future of HR is changing with the rise of GAI.

4. RBL Group - What Makes an Effective HR Function?

   The article discusses the importance of HR in creating value for everyone involved. It also looks at recent research on how HR works in companies, reviews some research by The RBL Group, and gives advice on making HR more effective. The article also provides a way to measure how well HR is working in ten different areas, with the aim of improving the value it brings.

   This is a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about HR operating models.

5. EY - How can a rebalance of power help re-energize your workforce?

   The EY 2023 Work Reimagined Survey reveals that employers and employees have distinctly different perspectives on the “next normal” of work. They found that building trust and having leaders who focus on people lead to better results, like a positive culture and higher productivity.

   The article also poses three important questions for organizations based on the results: (1) How can organizations re-inspire their workforce after years of disruption? (2) How can generative technologies add value to the human experience of work? (3) How can leaders better connect the “how” and “where” of work to the “why” of work?

6. McKinsey & Company - Some employees are destroying value. Others are building it. Do you know the difference?

   According to new McKinsey research, employee disengagement and attrition could cost a median-size S&P 500 company between $228 million and $355 million a year in lost productivity. The study shows how segmenting into six types of employees companies can re-engage workers and amplify the impact of top performers.

7. HBR: When Diversity Meets Feedback

   The article shares how to promote candor across cultures, genders, and generations. Top executives have praised the benefits of honest feedback at work, and employees agree that it helps. However, with diverse workplaces, feedback can be misinterpreted as hostile due to different expectations based on culture, gender, and generation. This article explains how to navigate the divides: Understand the norms of feedback recipients and adjust to them. Follow the three A’s—make sure any advice is intended to assist, actionable, and asked for. Last, get everyone on your team on the same page by establishing a common approach and building regular feedback loops into your collaborations.

Learning Insights from August 2023

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I found more interesting in August.

1. BCG - Making Flexible Working Models Work: The article discusses the impact of the pandemic on work flexibility and the need for thoughtful work policies. It suggests that leaders should prioritize productivity and employee happiness by understanding how people work best. Flexibility doesn't always mean remote work, and one-size-fits-all policies aren't effective. The article also highlights the importance of employee involvement in deciding work models. It mentions that flexible work options are vital for retention and diversity. It provides five steps for organizations to implement flexible work successfully, including leadership alignment and continuous measurement of key indicators.

2. Microsoft - In the Changing Role of the Office, It’s All About Moments That Matter: When does in-person interaction make a difference? This was a key question Microsoft aimed to answer. After nine months of research, three significant times have emerged at Microsoft when in-person connections have a lasting impact: (1) It helps teams feel more connected, especially when most of the team is in the same place (this changed from 61% before the pandemic to 27% now). 2) When someone starts a new job, joins a new team, or begins at a new company. (3) Launching new projects. The article offers data and examples for each scenario.

3. MIT - How to Deliver Career Development for All: Companies must expand career development beyond high-potential employees to stay competitive. Many want career advancement but lack good advice, and managers alone can't fulfill this role. Successful companies offer visible career opportunities, skill-building, and feedback, ensuring autonomy in seeking information. Redefining career development to include various growth avenues, such as mentoring and coaching, is essential. Talent hoarding by managers can be addressed by transparently sharing career paths and conducting talent reviews to identify emerging talent, allowing HR to intervene when leaders hinder employee development.

4. BCG - How Generative AI Will Transform HR: The article has three main parts. First, it talks about how generative AI can transform HR into a more strategic role by improving self-service, boosting employee productivity and experience, personalizing HR programs, and using skills data for talent management. Second, it mentions that generative AI can potentially increase productivity by 30% across the employee lifecycle. Finally, it offers guidance for HR leaders in using generative AI for both the whole enterprise and HR itself.

5. McKinsey - The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year: The recent McKinsey study on AI's current state underscores the powerful impact of generative AI and how top companies are surpassing their competitors. Three key findings that should interest both business and HR professionals are: (i) These leading companies are three times more likely to say they'll train over 30% of their employees in the next three years because of AI. (ii) They care less about just reducing costs with AI. (iii) Companies keep seeing benefits from using AI, including in HR.

6. Forbes - Cutting Through The Hype Cycle Of Generative AI: This article gives a short and helpful introduction to something called Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and the four different types of AI: rule-based systems, machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI. It talks about how generative AI is changing jobs, explains the differences between regular AI and generative AI, and lists four ways AI can be useful: making fewer mistakes, reducing differences, getting more work done, and making big advancements.

7. People Analytics Partners - 10 Metrics to Unlock Value in Your Organization: This article discusses the importance of using specific metrics to unlock value in organizations and help employees thrive while aligning with business goals. Ten recommended metrics are presented, covering areas like focus time, psychological safety, ROI, trust, belonging, mobility, profit per employee, employee engagement, turnover rate, and turnover cost. These metrics help identify and remove obstacles for teams, fostering a productive work environment.

8. Harvard Business Review -  Survey: Remote Work Isn’t Going Away — and Executives Know It: This article discusses the shift in remote work trends since the pandemic and highlights that many executives are pushing for a return to the office, but they don't expect it to succeed. The Survey of Business Uncertainty shows that senior executives predict both fully remote and hybrid work will continue to grow in the coming years. Several reasons support this prediction, including advancements in remote-working technology, startups born during the pandemic favoring remote work, the U.S.'s strong position for remote work, and the fact that employees value the flexibility of remote work. While some concerns about productivity exist, the article suggests that hybrid work models may offer the best balance between office and remote work, benefiting both companies and employees.

9. Human Resources Executive - 4 ways HR is already solving business problems with AI: This article discusses how AI is transforming various aspects of business, including HR. It mentions that AI is being used for tasks like code writing, product design, marketing, and customer service. The article categorizes HR tech vendors into three groups: those adding AI to existing tech, those with built-in AI features, and those built entirely around AI. It highlights the importance of understanding how AI solutions solve business problems, such as improving accuracy, compliance, and data quality in HR operations, enhancing employee and candidate experiences, and addressing issues like culture, diversity, and talent gaps. The article emphasizes the need for strategic thinking when implementing AI solutions to prioritize and effectively address specific business challenges.

10. Dave Ulrich - Human Capability and Boards of Directors:  The article emphasizes the growing importance of human capability for boards of directors. Traditionally, boards focused on strategy and finance, but now they recognize the need to prioritize discussions on individual competence, organizational capabilities, leadership, and HR practices in every board meeting. This shift improves the likelihood of achieving strategic goals and financial success. Additionally, boards are encouraged to include members with human capability expertise, and governance should reflect high-performing team characteristics. As human capability becomes more critical, it becomes a key factor in enhancing stakeholder value for boards.

Learning Insights from July 2023

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I found more interesting in July.  

1. Gallup - State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report: Gallup's report reveals that employee engagement has rebounded, reaching a record-high 23% in 2022 after a drop during the pandemic. However, when combined with actively disengaged employees, low engagement still costs the global economy $8.8 trillion or 9% of global GDP. Stress levels remain a concern, with 44% of employees worldwide reporting significant stress, and over half of employees are actively or passively looking for new job opportunities. The report provides in-depth data, visualizations, and regional breakdowns of these findings across 99 pages.

2. McKinsey Global Institute - Empty spaces and hybrid places: This excellent McKinsey article talks about the pandemic’s lasting impact on real estate and how hybrid work is here to stay. On average, workers are going to the office 3.5 days per week, 30 percent below pre-pandemic levels. The report explores its impact on demographics, real estate, and city vibrancy, which is essential for leaders in location strategy, workplace design, and workforce planning.

3. Josh Bersin - Understanding AI in HR: Josh Bersin and the team shared a whitepaper for HR professionals presenting insights on AI's impact on HR and work. The report covers foundations, vendor offerings, AI solution categories, and pre-investment considerations.

4. My HR future - How Can AI Transform Human Potential and Redefine Meaningful Work?: The article discusses how AI is revolutionizing the workplace by augmenting human capabilities and enabling personalized experiences. Contrary to fears of job displacement, AI amplifies human potential, freeing employees from mundane tasks and allowing them to focus on higher-value, fulfilling work. AI-driven talent management provides personalized training, career development, and performance feedback, fostering a sense of growth. Additionally, AI can help eliminate unconscious biases in decision-making. To embrace AI-driven transformation, organizations need a cultural shift that places the human experience at its core, fostering continuous learning, collaboration, and innovation. HR leaders play a crucial role in driving this transformation and enabling meaningful work in the future.

5. Harvard Business Review - 3 Ways to Reenergize Your Team When Morale Is Low: Employees everywhere face chronic low engagement, reduced productivity, and increasing stress, exacerbated by economic uncertainty and the potential impact of AI on jobs. To attract talent and foster appealing work environments where people thrive, rediscovering the human qualities of work is crucial. Managers' role is pivotal, influencing team morale, performance, and organizational behavior by up to 40%. The article presents three action areas for managers and leaders to improve team morale, well-being, and performance, especially during challenging times.

6. Microsoft - It’s Not a Career Ladder, It’s a Career Playground: The article highlighted that the traditional goal of climbing the career ladder has become outdated in today's hybrid and flexible work environment. The new career landscape resembles a climbing wall, offering numerous opportunities for individuals to find steady footing as they pursue success. Job transitions are more frequent, with people prioritizing happiness and well-being over reaching the top. The focus now lies on seizing diverse opportunities, embracing transferable skills, and creating personalized career paths based on individual interests and passions. The article emphasizes the need for organizations to adapt and celebrate unique career journeys to attract and retain top talent in this evolving job market.

Learning Insights from June 2023

Here are the articles about what is happening in the workplace that I found more interesting in recent months.

1. Microsoft Work Trend Index: The report explores the question of whether AI can fix work. The index reveals three key findings. Firstly, outdated systems and processes create "digital debt" that hampers innovation and prevents organizations from fully utilizing AI technologies. The study highlights that 68% of people feel they lack uninterrupted focus time during the workday, and workers spend a staggering two full days per week on email and in meetings. Secondly, there is a growing trend towards a new alliance between AI and employees. Instead of fearing job replacement, employees now view AI as a tool for augmentation. Organizations are also prioritizing AI ethics and transparency. Lastly, the study emphasizes the need for every employee to have AI skills. Upskilling and fostering a culture of AI literacy are crucial to empower employees to collaborate effectively with AI technologies. By addressing digital debt, nurturing the AI-employee alliance, and investing in AI skills, organizations can unlock the full potential of AI and drive workplace innovation. According to 82% of leaders surveyed, employees will need new skills to adapt to the growth of AI.

2. World Economic Forum - The Future of Jobs Report 2023: This is a fascinating read, packed with data, insights, and cool visualizations. They collected information from 803 companies and a whopping 11.3 million workers to examine how jobs and skills will change in the next five years and how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will continue to shape the world of work. The report is pretty long, almost 300 pages, but I'll share some of the highlights that caught my eye. First, they predict that 23% of jobs will change by 2027, with 69 million new jobs being created and 83 million disappearing. That's a significant shift! Second, they estimate that 44% of individual workers will need to update their skills by 2027. It's important to stay up to date! Third, they identified three main drivers of job change: the green transition, technology (both creating and eliminating jobs), and the economic outlook. And finally, the top two most sought-after skills in 2023 are analytical thinking and creative thinking. Those are some valuable skills to have!

3. McKinsey - New leadership for a new era of thriving organizations: This excellent McKinsey article talks about the need for a new kind of leadership in today's thriving organizations. They believe that we're moving away from having individual leaders and towards having leadership teams that work together to guide the organization. They highlight five important shifts that leaders need to make in order to succeed in the modern business world. These shifts include adopting an owner's mindset, embracing ecosystem leadership by collaborating with external partners, leading with empathy and purpose, building organizational resilience, and promoting a culture of continuous learning. The article gives examples of companies like Netflix, Aon, Intuit, and DBS Bank that have successfully implemented these shifts. For example, Netflix empowers its employees to make decisions and take risks, Aon collaborates with external partners to add customer value, Intuit creates a strong sense of mission and purpose among its workforce, and DBS Bank adopts a forward-thinking approach and embraces digital transformation. By embracing these leadership shifts, organizations can thrive despite constant disruption, driving innovation, resilience, and sustainable growth. These companies understand that creating an environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging and psychological safety is crucial for unlocking the full potential of their employees.

4. Deloitte - Beyond Productivity: The journey to the quantified organization: Deloitte recently published a report discussing the future of work and generative AI. The report defines a "quantified organization" as strategically measuring what it should rather than just what it can. These organizations responsibly utilize new data sources and AI tools to improve workforce trust and achieve higher levels of financial, reputational, and operational performance. The report emphasizes the opportunities presented by leveraging work and workforce data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the organization and create value for individuals, teams, the organization itself, and society. It is divided into three sections: exploring new data and its potential, creating shared value through data (based on four levels of shared value), and building trust through responsible practices (based on four principles of responsibility).

5. MIT - Managing the Cultural Pitfalls of Hybrid Work: The article discusses the challenges and benefits of hybrid work models in the context of the pandemic era. It highlights that while hybrid work reduces attrition rates and improves employee satisfaction, it also poses cultural pitfalls. Remote work has weakened company culture for some leaders, particularly affecting younger employees who struggle to integrate. The article provides 11 suggestions to help leaders build a thriving hybrid work culture, including developing new mentoring and coaching models, establishing virtual communities of practice, creating social bonding time through virtual events, identifying in-person opportunities for connection, and leveraging digital tools to reinforce culture. Ensuring equity among remote, hybrid, and in-person employees, challenging in-group/out-group thinking, and fostering initiative-taking are also emphasized.

6. Harvard Business Review- How the Best Leadership Teams Navigate Uncertain Times: The article discusses the challenges faced by CEOs and senior management in the current global economy. It highlights seven common factors among high-performing companies: fostering a "company-first" culture, thinking and acting across the enterprise, maintaining a focus on reinventing the business, freeing up dedicated individuals for business transformation, embracing diversity in leadership teams, encouraging healthy debate while maintaining unity, and striving for humility and objectivity. These factors play a critical role in driving success, growth, and shareholder value in the midst of ongoing economic challenges.

Learning Insights from October 2022

Here are some articles and news about what is happening in the workplace that I found more interesting and relevant to you. I hope you enjoyed:

1. Microsoft Special Report:  The Work Trend Index, which was published in September. It’s all about productivity. While 87% of employees believe they are more productive remotely or with a mix of in-office and remote work, only 12% of leaders agree, and 85% of leaders believe the shift to hybrid work has made it challenging to have confidence that employees are being productive.

2. MIT: What Outperformers Do Differently to Tap Internal Talent: Research shows that lateral mobility offers a win-win for employee satisfaction and employer performance.

3. Harvard Business Review: Meeting Overload Is a Fixable Problem: The authors of this piece have been studying how organizations can make the right things easier. In every workplace they’ve studied, they find out how to reduce that friction by “repairing” meetings. They used what they learned to create a step-by-step guide to help managers identify, eliminate, and repair broken meetings.

4. World Economic Forum: Busting global myths on hybrid work: here's how flexibility can help companies and employees thrive. The debate around hybrid work continues to create much discussion, with detractors voicing concerns about the negative impact on productivity.

5. Women in Workplace Report 2022, a collaboration between Leanin.Org and McKinsey. The headline finding “Women leaders are switching jobs at the highest rates we’ve ever seen—and at higher rates than men in leadership. That could have serious implications for companies.”

6. Organization View: The most important analysis you can do with employee pulse surveys: Here, Andrew Marritt presents a powerful example of treating the open text comments in regular pulse surveys as panel data to analyze how individuals’ perceptions change over time.