Raf Uzar
by Raf Uzar
Raf Uzar focuses on the continuing development and improvement of firm-wide performance, strategy, and culture. He is a member of the UK's CIPD and CIM, and supports the legal team at Penteris in his role as Head of Communication and Development. Contact Raf.
In the space of three years, the ground has literally shifted beneath our feet. The global landscape has been ploughed through by a planet-wide pandemic, a collapse of supply chains, a war in the west, and a cost of living crisis. The stuff of science fiction.
Woe betide anyone who ignores these facts in the search for organisational best practices within the professional services sector. This “brave new world” requires brave new solutions, and a brave new approach to our organisations. The only question is whether or not you are ready.
In trying to remodel our organisations to cope with this new economic and geopolitical environment, the flesh and bones of our businesses – our people – should be at the forefront of a change for the better.
In understanding where the workforce is at the moment, the Workmonitor 2023 global study published by Randstad1 (now in its 20th year) makes interesting reading. A whopping 93.8 percent of the 35,000 working adults surveyed across the globe said that pay was important in their jobs. Hot on the heels of pay was work-life balance with 93.7 percent saying this was important, followed by 92 percent who said job security was important.
In light of the cost of living crisis, it makes sense that pay, work-life balance, and job security feature so highly as people’s priorities at work. Being aware of these three must surely inform our leadership decisions this year.
Although maintaining fair pay, employee work-life balance, and not laying off staff may all be good practices to follow in our organisations, there are yet more trends to be aware of. Amongst a slew of research material available, the Harvard Business Review highlights key business trends that will shape work this year, which will certainly have a great impact on best practices in our organisations.2
Taking into consideration the fallout from the global pandemic and the way it affected people’s attitudes to work, it is no surprise that commentators believe flexibility to be important for people’s wellbeing at work, particularly flexibility in terms of being open to hybrid work.
A related factor is sustainability, which can be divided into personal sustainability, the need for employers to help look after employee’s wellbeing, and organisational sustainability in which the employer focuses on ESG issues so prevalent in today’s corporate environment.
Our final factor is innovation which is quoted by the London Business School3 as particularly important for the growth of business this year. In unpredictable times, thinking outside the box is worth its weight in gold.
Although these six factors are no cure-all, they may provide businesses with a first stable step on what could be tough terrain in 2023.
1 https://workforceinsights.randstad.com/hubfs/Workmonitor/2023/Randstad_Workmonitor_2023.pdf
2 https://hbr.org/2023/01/9-trends-that-will-shape-work-in-2023-and-beyond
3 https://www.london.edu/think/business-trends-to-watch-in-2023
Penteris is a European law firm committed to helping clients keep ahead of the market with a mantra of “getting things done” and “building long-term relationships”.
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