As future of work experts, keynote speakers, and workforce trends and technology consultants, we’re often asked: What will the future of business hold? Noting that four-fifths of employees now report that they want to work for firms that make diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a priority, this means having to reconsider your workforce and HR strategies, as well as how your businesses functions across three separate but equally important axes and dimensions: Workplace, workforce, and working model. In addition, like many of future of work experts and keynote speakers note, you’ll also want to work to consistently create more equitable and diverse workspaces that employees will want to keep coming back to time and again.
Wondering what it takes to create a better working environment in your company? You don’t have to be a future of work expert to find out. One simple way to start: Just try putting the following questions to current and potential hires. You may be surprised by what Millennials, Gen Zers, and other young working audiences especially may have to say about how they view the current state of the market, and your workplace.
Millennial and Gen Z Future of Work Questions
Q: What do you think young professionals are looking for in terms of a working setup – remote, hybrid, more flexibility, etc. – when considering new job opportunities?
Q: What will the office of the future look like… and is it a place you think folks will be working 9/5 at five days a week as in the past, or do you see things changing?
Q: Why is it super important for employers to promote greater diversity and inclusivity in the workplace?
Q: Just how important is it to work for an employer that promotes a positive and uplifting culture, and why is it also critical to create a workplace that staff loves being a part of?
Q: In the past, many companies put a focus largely on profits – why do you see more having to make the switch to prioritizing people in the future?
Q: Providing more mentorship and development opportunities are becoming huge focuses for businesses today – why do you think this is the case?
Q: How crucial is it for employers to provide a workplace where every employee feels heard and valued, and why is it also critical for them to provide a positive, uplifting environment in which working pros feel that they have room to grow?
Q: What attributes do young professionals such as yourself want to see in a workplace and corporate culture? How do they differ from those expected by prior generations?
Q: The best tips and pieces of advice you’d give employers hoping to attract and retain tomorrow’s leaders would be…?
