At the beginning of 2021, everyone thought that the world, along with the business sector would be back to normal. However, with the new COVID variants, the rise in prices and the huge fight for work and survival drastically changed the word “business” forever.
So, here are some of the trends that will shape business in 2022 and beyond.
Learning From the Future
All leaders know and understand the importance of learning from the past. Remember that where the world is standing today is a mere cumulation of its past experiences. I’m sure you’ve heard of the quote that says, “Some of the best lessons we ever learn are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.”
Be it politicians or business magnates, everyone knows that learning from history is considered as a masterstroke. However, the world has reached a point where we now have to learn from the future rather than the past.
Companies have been competing with each other and achieving lots of success thanks to historical analytics models and past strategies and performance information. But, are these past approaches relevant in today’s ever-increasing business landscape?
COVID-19 is the most chaotic human crisis whose impact has been felt to varying degrees across several business sectors. Quarantines, social distancing, sanitary measures and other such related issues have heavily impacted the business world, leading to a significant fall in consumer behavior and business growth. Some negative dynamics might continue to prevail until the next two or five years, but there is a way for companies to take this situation under control.
Businesses have to take this pandemic as an opportunity to change and shape customer care and business practices according to the new technology. Business leaders need to see the way business is going to change and what they can and should do to accommodate that change.
New analytics approaches and advances in technology, all powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can recreate the whole business system, not only to reduce physical contact, but also to prevent economic losses, to change work culture and prepare for future innovations. And, some companies have already started taking this initiative.
Equity and Fairness as New Defining Norms for Organizations
You must be wondering, in the current world we are living, where do fairness and equity come from? Well, following the pandemic and the recent global economic crisis, the following questions have emerged in all business sectors:
- Who has the right to work from home? While there have been many organizations who’ve granted their workers access to flexible work, some companies have refused to.
- Even if traveling expenses are no longer valid when it comes to remote work, there are still the electricity costs incurred by workers. In that sense, should employers raise the compensation?
- There are several businesses that have been offering lots of benefits and new investments for some specific groups of people in their workforce. For example, additional financial resources have been offered to support workers with children. However, some workers without children have been claiming that it’s unfair. “Why are those who are parent getting something and I’m not?”
- A few companies have started paying 10-20 % compensation premiums as an incentive to attract new employees. However, is it fair to pay new workers more than already-established ones?
- The COVID-19 vaccine is also causing a lot of problems. For example, the COVID-19 vaccine is not compulsory in all countries and yet some companies are sanctioning workers who are unvaccinated.
In this sense, there is a need for business leaders to address fairness and equity among workers in the workplace. As per a recent analysis, the frequency of issues of fairness, equity and employee inclusion has greatly increased by 65 % since 2018. In fact, some experts believe that it should be the number one priority for the HR departments of all companies.
