Fundamental truths for the future of work

Answering the big questions from our Work Reimagined festival

A couple of weeks ago at Fluxx, we hosted our Work Reimagined Festival over 5 days. We held 15 events, focussed on 5 topics and chatted to around 1,000 business leaders to rewrite how we connect, collaborate, inspire, innovate and make decisions in a new world of remote working.

Lots of questions came up, so we thought we’d share a few answers with you over the coming days. First up, while the future of work will be different for every business, are there some fundamental truths that apply across the board?

My view. Absolutely. The differences will be driven by customer and business needs, but there are definitely some common themes coming through the work we’re doing and this was confirmed by many of the voices at our Work Reimagined festival.

Firstly, the future of work is already here and it’s hybrid. We won’t go back to working in offices fulltime. We’ll use these spaces for tasks and activities where being together is beneficial, value-add because it’ll be considered precious and premium time.

Secondly, empowerment. We’ve been banging on about employee empowerment for years. Hybrid working brings an end to presentism and instead relies upon leaders to be outcome focused. This requires trust and this trust stretches to when and where people choose to work.

Finally, inclusivity. Hybrid working — where some people are at home and some together in a shared space — needs careful consideration to ensure employees don’t feel second class citizens, unable to influence decisions or worse, unable to develop and progress because they aren’t physically present.

Fluxxer Conor Barry is working with our clients to understand what qualities are needed to thrive and contribute to the business when working in a hybrid and remote environment. Interested to find out if Conor has a different view I asked him the same question:

Sure, it feels like we’re in agreement that hybrid working is a more humane way of working and it’s fundamental to business effectiveness. Working to one’s own preferences allows you to get the best out of people and also because we are seeing people in their own homes, it brings out the human side of business and makes us more understanding of each other’s lives and natural interruptions.

On the flip side, a fundamental truth that becomes more relevant now, is that people are very sensitive to fairness and the challenge of equitable distribution of flexibility.

At least in the near future, some roles require more rigid hours worked or more office or plant based work. When others are seen to be enjoying seeing their freedom to work flexible increase exponentially, people who have always worked to a fixed schedule or base feel relatively worse off. Managing this and the potential pitfalls is one of the biggest change management challenges of the period.

Tomorrow, we’ll be focusing on culture and how to manage it in the remote hybrid world. Help us continue the conversation — would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Jenny Burns is an Executive Partner at Fluxx. For more info on the work we’re doing to reimagine the workplace check out these links or get in touch at Jenny.burns@fluxx.uk.com.