Why employee experience will be different in 2022?

With everything that has changed in the world especially in the last two years, one question remains the same “what will be the employee experience in coming years and why?” since we are approaching the year 2022 we can redefine our question to “why employee experience will be different in 2022?”

Here’s why!

The divide

The workforce of today has experienced more choices in the pandemic than ever before, thanks to digitisation. But with all the convenience that this digitisation brings, it also shapes the employee experience in a number of ways. For those who can enjoy flexible working options; they have their own set of challenges like struggling with visibility, limitless working hours and lacking the everyday social interaction. On the other hand for those who can enjoy the visibility and social interaction on everyday basis by being on premises; there are concerns for their health and safety and many of them experience a great deal of social anxiety after prolonged period of social distancing.

Struggle for HR

Whereas HR caters to matters related to employees, it is important to remember that individuals in HR departments are also employees and their experience has changed significantly as well. In fact the experience of employees in HR has changed much more than the employees in other departments. On one side they have to upskill themselves in order to deal with the new challenges head on and cultivate a smooth and favorable employee experience. On the other side, they have to cope up with the changes in mindset and policies etc that can complement the new flexible working arrangements where employees are not present in the premises and they lack the sense of control which they previously enjoyed.

Psychological Experiences

The psychological experiences of employees are also going to be different in the coming years.  Their perceptions of what is meaningful, what is acceptable and what comprises a positive experience has also changed as a consequence of the recent pandemic. When more than 40% of the global workforce is considering leaving their job; It is quite evident that there are major change dynamics at play.

Technological Advancements

Technological advancements like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have indeed been the saviors for corporations and changed the employee experience for good but also bad. Whereas these technologies tend to make work easier with their algorithms and Intelligence; they also overwhelm those who struggle with complex technologies and a need for connectedness 24/7.

Changed Preferences

Previously, the employees were not familiar with the range of options that they could have for work and hence did not have much of a choice for what they preferred. This change of preferences is likely to shape the personal experience of every employee differently. Whether they choose to work in 9-5 or a flexible arrangement, whether the managers prefer meaningful work done from anywhere and anytime or they stick to a conventional “at-office” setup for fixed hours irrespective of the quality and amount of work; all of these factors would determine the employee experiences in the coming year.

 Source: Future proofing your employee experience by HRZone