Workplace trends are necessary for your companies to remain competitive in the market and attractive to 
talent. Below are 5 workplace trends for 2012 that support, lead, and create more efficient operations and performance. These trends are strategies that companies use and can be useful to employees to bring out their best in learning new things and creating new ways to adjust to a changing environment.
This will is the 2nd in a 3-part series exploring various workplace trends that will shape the future of Corporate America and local, state, and Federal governments.
Healthy and Sustainable Environments. Your work environment is a bid part of your life. As much as your personal life affects your attitude and performance at work, your work life affects your personal life as well. Keeping your head down and going unnoticed does not serve you or the company well. Making sure the environment is healthy and open allowing for constant contribution, honest communication, and solutions-driven decisions to encourage and proactively address evolving growth in their organizations.
Less managing and more leading. Employees are much more savvy than years past and they have been yearning for something more to add to their portfolio and break through the mundane tasks they do everyday. No matter what the position, variety is the key and that takes more than academic management skills but rather innovative leading skills. The cookie-cutter, old-school or command-and-control approaches of management are becoming less effective and the driver for employees leaving the rank. Employees are looking for integrity, self-awareness, emotional intelligence and humanistic behavior. Leading with values, collaboration, and shared purpose while engaging the workforce professionally through personal touch points reap the best results.
Workplace Intrapreneurship. Some of the best organizations invest a noticeable amount of time, energy, and resources for a sustainable culture and industry-leading future. Companies that care about their employees as much as they care about their innovative growth create organic PR and branding opportunities that attract customers, clients, and talent. It is a win-win and says a lot about the value of the company.
Diversity is In. Diversity is a resurged trend. Companies want to have diverse intelligence and contributions to enhance their value and approach to expand in different markets they are trying to reach and in their products and services they are looking to launch and release. Diversity supports initiating and maintaining a “sustainable” organization. Buyers need to know they can trust the company representing the key roles that will impact the product or service. Women especially are needed on boards of directors, which correlate in higher salaries.
Countering Disengagement. 10 years ago, the Gallup study stated that over 24 million employees (18%) were actively disengaged and costing the U.S. economy between $292 billion and $355 billion a year. There are several downfalls that result from disengaged employees but companies are looking to countering that hurdle with team-building events, in-house training, and creative ways to give recognition to employees to show their appreciation for hard work, being overworked, overlooked, and sometimes simply ignored because of all the moving parts and compressed environments employees have been involuntarily placed in over the course of the past couple of months. It is all about creativity and sometimes as simple as just asking what employees want and not removing the little things.
Guest Writer – L. Denise Jackson
L. Denise Jackson, Intrapreneur and Ideation Consultant is a recognized
voice of intrapreneurship and ideation consulting and practices. Learn more
at http://www.ldenisejackson.com or contact L. Denise at
ldenise@ldenisejackson.com.