5 workplace trends to prepare for in 2024

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that it certainly doesn’t hurt to be a step or two (or five) ahead of the curve. ​To help in strategic planning efforts and support you in getting to the heart of what will matter most to workplaces in 2024, we conducted a global survey of 300+ respondents to uncover this year’s five most influential workplace trends. 

When digging into the survey data, some standout challenges emerged:

• Job satisfaction is at an all-time low
• Executives are out of touch with their employees
• Work-life balance is even more important than salary
• An increased focus on company culture

In 2024, employers who want to succeed need to prioritize their company’s most important asset: its people. With a focus on bringing humanity to the workplace, employers can emphasize individual strengths, promote meaningful contributions, and ultimately improve employee satisfaction and retention. We explore this in Arbinger’s 2024 Trends Report which you can download here. 

To give you a preview of what’s covered in the report, here are the top five workplace trends employers should be preparing for this year: 

Trend #1: Redefining the employee experience

Only 29% of those surveyed report being very satisfied with the steps that their company has taken to address the well-being and mental health of employees. 

Employee wellbeing is an integral part of the employee experience. According to those surveyed, flexible working hours and overall mental health and stress management are among the top areas that professionals would like to see invested in by their company when it comes to wellness.

Trend #2: Bridging the divide between leaders and employees

We tracked significant disparities between the opinions of executives and those of other employees when it comes to job satisfaction, providing development opportunities, and more. Executives rated everything from job satisfaction at their company to communication, innovation, and efficiency significantly better than non-executives. In 2024, it’s clear we need to bridge this gap to prevent even more disconnect between leaders and their teams.

Trend #3: Turning the performance review on its head

Only one-third of professionals surveyed say they value, actively participate in, and use performance reviews for improvement. Performance reviews have been a long-time standard procedure for issuing feedback to employees. But employees and managers alike find this one-way, annual feedback system—based solely on output and meeting predetermined expectations—is ineffective. We explore what needs to change this year.

Trend #4: Catalyzing communication to improve collaboration

Just 19% of those surveyed rated the communication at their organization as excellent. Improving communication and collaboration should be a top priority for employers focused on growth, since there’s a notable correlation between revenue increases last year and ratings for communication and collaboration.

Trend #5: Prioritizing training and development to boost performance

Skills development and leadership development are among the top challenges that organizations face today according to professionals surveyed. An effective approach to training and development can improve employee retention, accountability, productivity, and build more constructive leaders. 

As you read through this report, consider that all of these trends contribute to job satisfaction and employee engagement in a major way. The 2024 trends point to the importance of recognizing the humanity in our peers and prove that people-first workplaces are the ones coming out on top. And by on top, we mean greater productivity, stronger morale, lower turnover, and more revenue.

Get the full report here to dig deeper into these insights and find out how to get ahead in 2024 and beyond.