2020 upended the foundations, business models, priorities and plans of many organisations and forced business leaders to navigate a rapidly changing environment. On top of this, many organisations have had to deal with social justice issues, transitioning staff to remote work, finding ways to support employees, and now they are grappling with the legal implications surrounding the use of COVID-19 vaccines.

It has also not slipped under the radar that the number of employees at least sometimes working from home is only set to grow. Nonetheless, there are at least eight other trends that will shape business in 2021.

1. Employers will shift from managing the employee experience to managing the life experience of their employees. During the pandemic, business leaders became more aware of the home circumstances of employees, because over the past year, many of them had a particularly difficult time striking a work–life balance.

They have realised that more effectively supporting employees in their whole lives, not just their experience as employees, directly affects their ability to perform at work. According to Gartner’s 2020 ReimagineHR Employee Survey, when employers develop deeper relationships with their employees there is a 23% increase in the number of employees reporting better mental health and a 17% increase in the number of employees reporting better physical health. Supportive employers can also realise a 21% increase in the number of high performers compared to organisations that don’t provide that same degree of support to their employees.

That is why in 2021, the basic social package that employers offer is sure to include support for psychological well-being and financial stability, or even just a normal sleep schedule, which was previously thought to be the last of the company’s worries.

More effectively supporting employees in their whole lives, not just their experience as employees, directly affects their ability to perform at work.

2. More companies will adopt a stance on societal and political issues. Employees increasingly want to work for organisations wh ere the cultural values align with their own. This is not a fad. In 2020, Gartner research shows that 74% of employees expect their employer to become more actively involved in the cultural debates of the day. Simply releasing statements on today’s social issues is not enough: employees expect more. CEOs who actually invest resources will be rewarded with an increase in engagement rates among their workforce. A Gartner survey found that the number of employees who were considered highly engaged increased fr om 40% to 60% when their organisation acted on today’s social issues.

3. The gender-wage gap will continue to increase as employees return to the workplace. Many organisations have already adopted a hybrid workforce – or plan to this year – enabling employees to work fr om the corporate office, their home, or some alternate location (coffee shop, co-working space, etc.). In this hybrid scenario, CHROs are reporting (citing the employee survey results) that among their workforce, men are more likely to decide to return to their workplace and women are more likely to continue to work remotely.

A recent Gartner survey reveals 64% of managers believe that office workers are higher performers than remote workers and are likely to give in-office workers a higher raise than those who work fr om home. However, Gartner analysis of 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic) data show the opposite: full-time remote workers are 5% more likely to be high performers than those who work full-time from the office.

If men are more likely to work from the office, and managers retain a bias toward in-office workers, we could see managers over-rewarding male employees at the expense of female employees. This is only compounded by a pandemic that affects women the most.

4. New regulations will lim it employee monitoring. During the pandemic, more than one out of four companies has purchased new technology, for the first time, to passively track and monitor their employees. However, many of these same companies haven’t determined how to balance employee privacy with the technology, and employees are frustrated. Gartner research found that less than 50% of employees trust their organisation with their data, and 44% don’t receive any information regarding the data collected about them. In 2021, new regulations might emerge that will put limits on what employers can track about their employees. Given that disparity may arise in these regulations, companies will most likely have to keep to the strictest possible limits across all departments and teams.

Organisations that offer employees flexibility over when, where and how much they work, see 55% of their workforce as high performers.

5. Flexibility will shift from location to time. While enabling employees to work remotely became almost commonplace in 2020 (and will continue this year and beyond), the next wave of flexibility will be around when employees are expected to work. Gartner’s 2020 ReimagineHR Employee Survey revealed that only 36% of employees were high performers at organisations with a standard 40-hour work week. Organisations that offer employees flexibility over when, wh ere and how much they work, see 55% of their workforce as high performers. In 2021, I expect to see a rise of new jobs wh ere employees will be measured by their output, as opposed to an agreed-upon set of hours.

6. Leading companies will make bulk purchases of the COVID-19 vaccine for employees – and will be sued over COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Employers that provide the COVID-19 vaccine to their workforce will leverage this action as a key differentiator to attract and retain talent. In tandem, with employers providing the vaccine, several companies will be sued for requiring their employees to have proof of vaccination before allowing them to return to the workplace.

7. Mental health support will become a new norm. Over the last few years, employers have been offering new forms of support to employees as part of their social package; for example, extended maternity and paternity leave. Even before the pandemic, a Gartner study revealed that 45% of employee well-being budget increases were being allocated to mental and emotional well-being programmes. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought well-being to the forefront as employers are more aware than ever of the impact of mental health on employees and, by association, the workplace. By late March 2020, 68% of US organisations had introduced at least one new wellness benefit to aid employees during the pandemic. In 2021, additional programmes aimed at psychological support and company-wide closures to build mental health awareness will be introduced.

8. Employers will “rent” talent to fill the skills gap. The number of skills that employers are looking for has risen dramatically. Gartner analysis shows that companies listed about 33% more skills on job ads in 2020 than they did in 2017. Organisations can’t reskill the capabilities of their existing workforce fast enough to meet their changing needs.

When the need for new skills arises, some companies will hire and pay a premium for them instead of trying to build the capabilities they need for the indefinite future. Other organisations will instead use contingent or contract hiring or expand their partnerships with organisations to “rent” employees for a short period of time.

While 2020 was the most volatile year in modern history, as we move into 2021 and beyond, the rate of disruption will potentially accelerate as the implications from 2020 play out across the next several years.

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