GUEST POST-Workplace Issues That Will Keep You Busy In 2018 And How To Manage Them

The business and corporate world have been seeing massive changes over the years. However, the year of 2018 is coming to be known to have many workplace issues and changes. These workplace issues are going to keep you busy and have your bringing about many changes in the overall functioning of your office. We have put together a list of the changes that you are likely to see and what you can do to manage them. Here’s everything you need to know and be prepared for in the year of 2018.

Striking A Balance Between In-house And Freelance Employees

A lot of companies and corporate organizations are now hiring freelance employees for odd jobs like social media management, blogging, product photography and other jobs rather than employing full-time in-house employees for the same. While being able to hire freelance employees to get certain jobs done can prove to be a real boon, not being able to strike a balance between the in-house employees and freelance ones can be an absolute nightmare for the management.

 The overall office environment needs to be set up in such a way that external and internal collaboration become easy and hassle-free. You need to make sure that your office has a document depository space where both in-house and freelance employees are able to access documents as per their requirements. Further, in-house employees need to be trained in such a manner that they are absolutely secure with their job and can coordinate with freelance employees as opposed to getting hostile with them due to job insecurities.

Being More Digitally Efficient

Let’s be honest, the whole world is gradually moving on to digital interactions. Whether it’s billing processes or HR forms or reports, most organizations are opting for the digital methods in keeping such documentation ready and handy. Nobody in today’s day and age likes to get paperwork done in the ancient and bureaucratic way that is ridiculously time-consuming and very exhausting. Additionally, having piles of forms, reports and other paperwork can turn out to be a painful storage issue. You will require cabinets, storage spaces and files to keep the papers in order. Employees who have been in the organization for years on end but aren’t comfortable with changing technologies should be offered basic training courses in digital management of paperwork. Further, new employees who are used to being digitally efficient and lack the skills of handling bureaucratic paperwork may begin to lose job satisfaction if your organization isn’t working towards making the switch. Hence, it is absolutely essential that you and your organization keep up with changing times and become more digitally practical and efficient.

Changing Corporate Culture

In earlier times an office space typically meant a 9 to 5 desk job, dull and drab surroundings and limited interaction with other employees of the organization. Over the years this old school corporate culture has seen a massive change. Offices today are more lively, vibrant, have far more flexible hours and are a lot more inspiringly and creatively designed. The walls are painted in bright and vibrant colors, the office is given a more motivating feel with the installation of faux trees, flowers, and plants. Installation of these lush green trees and plants in and around the office area helps employees work better and in a more relaxed manner. You can get some beautiful faux landscaping products like bonsai trees, flower arrangements, ficus plants, bougainvillea plants, hanging baskets, sunflowers, hedges, bushes and lots more to decorate your office and make the surroundings more energetic to work in. The employees of today like to work in office setups that have character and charm.

More Focus On Employee Mental Health

We live in stressful times where money problems are on the rise, mental illnesses are as common as a tooth cavity and having high blood pressure is extremely common amongst employees. A lot of employees have pending student loans, home loans and piling credit card bills that keep on getting bigger due to the accumulating interest. This further results in high-stress levels and high blood pressure in the employees. A large number of individuals today are even facing and battling mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and others. A lot of employers offer free in-house therapy sessions to their employees. The HR manager is trained to handle psychological and mental issues. Bosses today are even helping their employees pay off their student loans to reduce the stress levels of their employees. If your office isn’t prepared to battle the high-stress levels and the growing psychological issues of employees, it is about time you took some action and brought about some changes in your office to be able to handle such situations tactfully.

Embracing Diversity Is The Need Of The Hour

Organisations today are a lot more welcoming to women employees, employees from different races and cultures and so on. Racism is pretty much no longer acceptable globally in the corporate world. Gender pay gaps are also not accepted by employees any more. Men and women from different cultures and races are now paid more or less the same salary for the same job. Unlike olden times, where men were given a higher salary than women for the same job or designation, now the pay scales are more or less equal. Further, organizations are now employing people from different cultures and backgrounds without any hassles or apprehensions. If your organization is not yet prepared to handle cultural differences and embrace diversity, it is about time that you make some changes in the organization, or be ready for a civil suit being filed against you and the organization.

In order to keep up with changing times, you also need to bring about some drastic changes in your workplace. Employees today are a lot more aware of their rights, the laws and so on. You need to manage workplace issues in a practical and efficient way if you want your organization to grow and rake in more profits.

 Handle workplace issues in a more practical, efficient and sensible manner by making small tweaks and changes in the basic functioning of the office.