These are my top three article picks for the week of June 27th on the future of work, artificial intelligence, the metaverse, and humanizing work. This week's selection includes insights on Microsoft's shift from measuring engagement to measuring thriving, how working extended periods in the metaverse impacts employee health, wellbeing and productivity, and getting remote work right. I hope the articles inspire and ignite your imagination about the future of work and provide insights and strategies you can leverage to help your organization thrive and make work more human.
This article made the top of this week's list because it hits at the heart of what the future of work demands in humanizing worker experience and focuses on creating environments that enable employees to thrive. The article is about how Microsoft's researchers shifted from measuring engagement to measuring whether or not employees were thriving. Microsoft moved from conducting annual employee surveys on engagement to bi-annual surveys. According to the article, the bi-annual surveys focused on "The 5 Ps. Similar to Maslow's Hierarchy, it breaks down employee fulfillment into five key, successive components: pay, perks, people, pride, and purpose. In a time that has prompted many to reflect on the role of work and career in their lives, it felt critical to recalibrate our listening systems to measure our progress towards that end goal — a sense of purpose." Microsoft defines thriving as "energized and empowered to do meaningful work." It is a new core aspiration that challenges the organization to ensure that employees feel that they are pursuing that sense of purpose. According to Microsoft, "This is the new core aspiration we have for our employees, one that challenges us to push ourselves every day so every employee can feel they're pursuing that sense of purpose. Our focus on thriving isn't just about recovering from the impact of the pandemic or matching pre-Covid employee sentiment scores. It's about coming out the other side and doing even better. The article concluded with Microsoft's excitement about continuing to study the data to understand how thriving can be "unlocked across different work locations, professions and ways of working."
As work continues to move into the metaverse, particularly recruitment, learning and development, and aspects of remote work, human resources must understand the impact of working in the metaverse for extended periods on employees' mental health and productivity. A study by researchers from several European institutions of higher learning examined the experiences of nearly 20 participants who spent a 35-hour workweek in physical offices and a week working in virtual reality. The study revealed that employee anxiety increased by almost 20%, and their perception of workload increased by 35%. According to the article, participants reported their "frustration" with being unable to complete work in a timely or efficient manner increased by 42% while in VR, while self-reported productivity fell by 16%." Additionally, the study revealed that participants reported cybersickness symptoms, instances of eye strain, visual fatigue, and nausea. The authors suggested that a hybrid working schedule split between the metaverse and the physical world is a better option for employees. As human resource leaders design work in the metaverse, balancing the impact of the transformational nature of virtual environments on HR processes with employee experience, engagement and wellness must be prioritized.
Remarkably, remote work increased from 6% to 22% since the start of the pandemic. According to the article, “workers are clearly registering their resistance to returning to the office, and there will be no holistic return to normal. Normal has irrevocably shifted towards remote.” However, finding equilibrium in the transition continues to be a challenge for most organizations. The authors suggested that leaders should start the decision process with a simple question instead of trying to decide on a remote or hybrid strategy or avoiding both. “How can I build a company that helps people thrive?’ Think about how power is embedded in the question! In my view, the last sentence of the article provides incredible insights on moving past paradigms that can impede making remote strategy work. “We have to let go of old beliefs and habits and embrace new ones. We have to be willing to experiment, and be wrong, and try again in the pursuit of a work environment that fosters connection and the cultural needs of the new workforce as much as it does productivity.”
Be resilient, be relevant, be bold and let's thrive in the unfolding of the future of work together! Want more insights? Click on my logo below and sign up for my newsletter. Want to learn more about training to prepare your leaders and teams to thrive as the rapid unfolding of the future of work continues? Click on my logo below and schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation. Need a futurist speaker for your next event? Click on my logo below, download my speaker sheet and schedule a complimentary consultation. Have you purchased your copy of my book titled Force Majeure: A Futurist's Guide to Boldly Thriving on Your Terms in the Future of Work? If not, grab it today, it too is a must read!
