The upheavals of the pandemic, aka endemic, overhauled the entire corporate landscape to make everyone realize that the most successful companies are the ones that prioritize their most valuable asset - human resources.2022 will undoubtedly be the age of employees as 2021 rehumanized our perspective toward work. This year, leaders' goal will be to cultivate an employee-friendly environment where purpose-driven professionals can achieve success from the inside out.Moreover, there will be an increased focus on the “whole employee” to create a fast-paced workplace where they can learn, thrive, and grow. Here are the major workplace trends that the professional world may likely encounter in 2022. Please take a look at the workplace trends of 2022 (spoiler: It could be great for employees).

• Strong Emphasis On Mental Health And Emotional Wellbeing In The Workplace

The pandemic took a heavy toll on mental well-being. It made organizations realize that employees’ mental health programs at work should be prioritized to keep themselves afloat in the face of new challenges. Going into 2022, they will prioritize investing toward uplifting employees’ well-being to help them stay confident and resilient. The emphasis on employees’ mental and emotional health has unfathomably increased to reduce presenteeism, build a strong employee value proposition, maintain loyalty, reduce turnover, retain top talent, and empower them.

• Immense Focus On Creating A Healthy Work-Life Balance For Employees

‘The Great Resignation’ has put a lot of focus on work-life balance as it directly affects employees’ mental health. It is not a luxury anymore, but a necessity as everyone has realized the negative consequences of burnout at work. A healthy work-life balance implies better physical health, high engagement at work, low absenteeism, better performance, and productivity. It provides them with the ability to give their best when at work and at home. A healthy work-life balance has become paramount now more than ever, as 2022 could be the year of excellent retention.

• Gig Economy That Is On The Rise Globally Will Become Mainstream This Year

The gig economy (sharing economy or collaborative economy) as a new era in employment has grown beyond the classic examples of Uber, Amazon Flex, Airbnb, Zomato, and Fiverr. In fact, in 2023, the projected gross volume of the gig economy is expected to reach 455.2 billion U.S. dollars, mentioned Statista. Let that sink in. The ongoing evolution in the technology world is set to become the economic backbone of the future. Due to flexibility and independence, and other perks, independent workers prefer to engage in gig work instead of working in other full-time jobs. And, organizations are indulging in it as gig workers meet their cost-effective talent requirements.

• Continuous Learning, Reskilling, And Upskilling Will Gain Tremendous Momentum

Forward-looking organizations are massively investing toward employees' continuous learning to get future-ready and become future-proof. With this in mind, training and development won't be considered a mere formality but a dire need to boost employees' morale and satisfaction at work. Likewise, it can help them stay relevant in a world where technology is evolving at a phenomenal pace. Organizations in the wake of the pandemic realized that focusing on career pathing, soft skills, and digital and cognitive capabilities is essential to develop operating-model resilience. Investing to enhance employees' learning curve can help them survive future disruptions.

• Remote And Hybrid Work Model Will Become A Critical Part Of The New Normal

When we talk about where we work, two models, namely remote and hybrid, are here to stay as the new variants of the virus continue to emerge. From luxury to a necessity, remote work structure has come a long way. Merging both, the hybrid structure is considered the best of both worlds. What’s likely to happen in 2022 is that the employees will have more freedom to choose from where they want to work rather than being forced to follow what organizations impose on them. As employees crave more flexibility and autonomy, working remotely can be the answer. Organizations will invest in remote-friendly SaaS services and workflow platforms to support new-age workers.

• Four-Day Work Week Culture To Disrupt The Entire Corporate Landscape

A four-day workweek has become the latest workplace buzz. To some, it might sound like a workplace utopia. Organizations embrace it to provide a more fulfilling and satisfying environment to employees at work. Shortening the workweek will help them compete for knowledge worker talent. It can have a phenomenal impact on productivity, morale, engagement, minimizing carbon footprint, and can lead to an equal workplace where employees can spend a reasonable amount of time with their close ones. If implemented right, it could be a boon to employees.

Zymr’s Culture: What Makes Us Tick?

As a cloud-first organization, we foster an innovation-first culture at Zymr and thrive on ideas and growth to make our teams stand out from the crowd. We make sure that our people grow by employing various initiatives like Zackathon to CTO’s Office Program to Zymr University. Our goal is to encourage our teams to be their best self -- at work and home, which is why we empower our Zymrians to prioritize their well-being by providing them with a healthy work-life balance. But that’s not it. There is more to z-culture.