Looking for New Work advice? We present seven New Work concepts that bring work and the individual into harmony.
Looking for New Work advice? We present seven New Work concepts that bring work and the individual into harmony.
New Work is a megatrend that describes the structural change in our working world. It includes concepts that are intended to modernize and facilitate work, with the focus on people and their individual needs.
More and more companies are adopting this trend and relying on New Work consulting to establish opportunities for self-realization and a good work-life balance for their employees.
We present seven common concepts that aim to bring work and the individual into harmony.
More personal development, more flexibility, more independence: The following New Work approaches are replacing old working models in more and more companies and are examples of the direction in which the world of work could develop in the coming years.
Due to Corona, working from home has (inevitably) become a part of everyday life for many employees. And the trend is that many companies will continue to offer it.
One Opinion poll of the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim (ZEW) has shown that in sectors well suited to home office, three quarters of the companies surveyed would like to offer their employees the option of working from home even after the Corona pandemic make it possible to work from home in the future.
Where does this change of heart come from among many employers – before Corona, there were often concerns about working from home? Studies According to a study by the economic research company Prognos on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, the increased availability of home office options during the pandemic has made it clearer to many managers that a family-friendly personnel policy makes the company more productive and attractive.
Some employers allow complete remote work without being in the office. Others prefer hybrid home office, for example three days at home, two days in the office.
The working environment is important for working successfully and productively. Coworking spaces are a particularly popular working environment for startups, freelancers and creatives. These are workspaces - from individual workstations to office space to meeting rooms - that can be rented for a day or a longer period.
In a coworking space, there is the opportunity for concentrated work as well as for creative exchange with others. The rooms offer good (IT) equipment and many opportunities for networking.
The 4-day week is an alternative working model to the classic 40-hour week that many employees are used to. The idea behind it is that employees have one more day of free time and can therefore recover better. The employer, in turn, benefits from well-rested and therefore more productive employees.
The 4-day week should not be confused with the part-time model, as the concept provides for full wage compensation.
Several practical tests have already shown that the 4-day approach works. prescribed the software giant Microsoft gave its employees in Japan a 3-day weekend for a month in 2019 - with no change in salary. The result: the employees' performance increased by 40 percent!
Take as much vacation as you want? What sounds like a dream to many people is reality for some companies, such as Netflix or LinkedIn. There, employees can decide for themselves how much vacation they need.
For this model to work, mutual trust between employer and employee is a basic requirement. It is unlikely that the offer will be exploited - after all, most employees work in teams and feel obliged to their colleagues. There is even a risk that very little vacation will be taken because of the high pressure on each other, which of course is not the point.
In job sharing, two or more employees share a full-time position. The employees work together as a team and divide their working hours and tasks independently. They are jointly responsible for their shared role towards colleagues and superiors.
A big advantage of job sharing is that the partners can complement each other with their knowledge and skills to master projects. Team players who can communicate well with each other but also take on a high degree of personal responsibility can thrive in this work model.
The home office concept is expanded with digital nomadism. Digital nomads are also not found in the office - but not at home either.
Instead, they are always travelling and usually do not have a permanent place of residence. When travelling, they take their mobile work devices with them, such as tablets or laptops, and are primarily dependent on temporary locations with internet access in order to communicate with their team.
With job rotation, employees get to know other work areas within the organization. The model can be used flexibly - from a "taster" for a week to a complete role swap for a longer, defined period of time, everything is possible.
The idea behind this can be that employees develop their skills and can be deployed more flexibly. If there are staff shortages in one area, colleagues from other areas can help out for a short time. The team spirit is also strengthened through job rotation because everyone knows everyone else and develops a better understanding of each other's areas of responsibility.
Not every New Work concept is equally applicable to every organization. That is why many companies rely on individual help from New Work consultants to find out which work models can best be established in their company.
First, the Goals defined that the change process should achieve in the working culture of a company. For example ...
Then suitable concepts are sought or developed to achieve the goal - the New Work practical examples presented above are just a small selection of numerous other possibilities. Once a suitable concept has been determined, concrete measures can be derived from it and implemented.
It is important to understand that the realization of a New Work Culture, like all change processes, is primarily a Mindset change All those involved must be open to this in order for it to be successful.
You need support and are looking for a New Work Management Consulting? Then please feel free to contact us. We will help you, especially from a recruiting perspective, to find a working model that suits you and will make you more attractive to employees and candidates.
(Cover image source: G-Stock Studio – Shutterstock.com)
