5 factors that will impact the future of work
You don’t need to be a medium or skilled at reading piles of tea leaves to get a glimpse into the future of work.
Many of the trends we’re seeing now in areas like remote work, as well as the growing popularity of nearshoring and borderless hiring already paint a pretty vivid picture of what’s to come.
Best of all? You can save your tea leaves strictly for steeping.
Now, let’s look at five factors that we believe will have the biggest impact on tomorrow’s working world.
Prediction #1: Businesses will embrace nearshoring on a bigger level
Not that long ago, businesses would take advantage of cheaper labour costs by offshoring tech and IT-focused roles to lower talent cost regions like Eastern Europe and India.
But today? We’re seeing a growing trend towards nearshoring, where instead of offshoring say software development to a remote team halfway across the world, they bring on talent from a neighbouring country with a shared language and time zone.
According to Bloomberg, around 80% of organizations in North America are actively looking to nearshore their operations. Why? Nearshoring, especially within North America, still offers strong cost savings on salaries. Right now, there is as much as a 25 to 30% difference when paying in Canadian dollars vs. US currency!
Plus – when hiring a remote team that is in the same geographic region or time zone as your business – i.e., the U.S. and Canada you avoid culture clashes, scheduling headaches and job security concerns that can come when work is offshored.
Companies and employees also tout additional benefits of nearshoring, such as seamless collaboration and communication (as employees work within the same time zones and speak the same language), and a very similar work culture and ethics.
Prediction #2: Companies will turn increasingly to borderless talent
According to global management consulting company Gartner, 58% of organizations worldwide (as of 2022) employ borderless tech talent.
We believe that number is only going to grow going forward as the draw of moving to tech hubs like Silicon Valley wanes and top talent opts to stay put or move to lower cost centers.
One of the things that makes borderless hiring so appealing is it expands your available tech pool outside of your immediate city or state. This makes it easier to find people with those niche or hard-to-find skills, resulting in more diverse teams.
Because you’re hiring remotely, you can put your focus on the skills and insight an employee will bring to your business, without worrying about where they live. As well – borderless hiring, with the help of an employer of record(EOR), means you can avoid the headaches and delays of navigating employment and tax laws in a different state or country, or the cost and logistical issues of having to relocate talent.
Prediction #3: Hybrid working models will become the future norm
Perhaps in our pandemic-induced haste, we (collectively) may have been too keen to predict the demise of face-to-face, office-based work.
In reality, a hybrid work model is likely to be the new norm. What does hybrid work mean? For many companies, it could involve local employees working from a physical office and home, with at least two or three “mandated” in-office days a week.
For some more remote-friendly organizations, that might be allowing employees to work the majority at home and only coming to an office for key in-person meetings and activities.
The reality is that some jobs are best performed face-to-face, while other tasks and roles lend themselves perfectly well to remote-only. Likewise – some people may love working from home for the flexibility it provides, while others crave the direct, social interaction of the office.
Ultimately, the employers who listen to their employees and take flexible, common-sense approaches to hybrid work will successfully siphon talent away from companies who are far too rigid! Just look at the backlash Amazon is now facing for mandating employees spend five days a week in the office.
Prediction #4: Productivity will be measured by hitting goals, not logging office time
Much of our current working culture is still obsessed with the idea of time. Employees still feel the pressure to grind it out late at the office, attend ALL the meetings and be responsive to Slack chats and emails at all hours. Partnering with an Employer of Record Canada service can help create a more flexible and balanced approach to work.
Here’s the thing: The pandemic helped demonstrate just how feasible it was for businesses to function with a remote workforce. In many cases, there was no manager physically looking over employees’ shoulders.
This is why the best companies will abandon time in office as a measure of productivity and focus instead on accomplishment of goals and deliverables.
Prediction #5: We will see a shift to more purposeful business travel
Racking up frequent flier miles may become a thing of the past. Businesses are entering a new era of more “purposeful” work travel brought on by rising costs and social pressure to reduce one’s carbon emissions. As well, millennials, who now comprise almost 50 percent of all business travelers, just aren’t that into it as their travel-hungry predecessors.
Where does this leave things? Companies understand that there’s still value in business travel, but travel budgets will be evaluated on tangible outcomes delivered versus just accepting insane expense budgets as the ‘cost’ of doing business.
In other words – does the entire marketing department need to go down to Vero Beach for that trade show, or would a couple key team members suffice?
Bridgewater TI: Keeping your business ahead of the curve
Here’s a bonus prediction: Employer of record services will enable businesses like yours to access a deep, global talent pool and seamlessly employ perfect candidates, regardless of where they live. How? An EOR acts as a legal employer on behalf of your business. So, for instance you don’t need to have a legal entity in the countries (like Canada) when hiring a Canadian.
Plus – EORs have an encyclopedic knowledge of that country’s labour laws and tax regulations. This means you have the most streamlined and stress-free way to grow your business with the best talent – without getting bogged down in red tape or being limited to hiring candidates in your immediate area.
With our deep experience and full slate of Employer of Record services, Bridgewater TI can help you seamlessly employ the ideal Canadian talent for your business. Let us help you build the best workforce and grow your business.
Get in touch today!
