The year of company culture: 2024 predictions on the evolving workplace

Amid economic and labor market changes, company culture has quickly evolved this year. While past company culture initiatives have focused on the “fun” side of work that will change next year as employees prioritize their professional goals and resolutions. Now, with 2024 fast approaching, employers are brainstorming ways they can improve their workplace, starting with developing a company culture rooted in learning, trust and connection.

With the pandemic fading further in the rear view mirror, employers are turning their focus to return-to-office mandates and managing employees’ shifting expectations, once again experimenting with new initiatives and strategies to create equitable and comfortable working environments.

However, to best achieve that, employers can’t rely on pre-pandemic tactics. Let’s discuss a handful of the actions and strategies we’re likely to see workplaces take to revitalize their company culture and better retain talent next year.

Company culture will become a key priority in 2024

Company culture is vital to every workplace, no matter the industry or size, because it is one of the driving forces behind talent retention. After all, of Americans who quit their job last year, a FlexJobs survey found a whopping 62% did so because of a “toxic company culture.” Then, coupled with the fact that eLearning Industry found 53% of employees believe their leadership isn’t in tune with what they want from their company’s culture, its clear change is needed.

Chances are high that 2024 will be the year we see the C-suite focus more heavily on how they can create tighter internal bonds and foster a better sense of belonging for all employees. As a result, we can expect employers to replace surface-level meet-and-greets and virtual coffee breaks with open and honest internal conversations about what improvements and changes can be made to revamp their company culture.

Although these talks can be tricky (and for many workplaces – even taboo), if employers can create a comfortable space where employees feel safe discussing their ideas and raising potential concerns, employers will build more trust with their staff and bring more transparency to their organization.

Employers must create equitable and comfortable working environments

In order for employees to have a sense of belonging at work, their workplace must be equitable for everyone. Unfortunately, that’s not usually the case. SHRM found 1 in 5 HR professionals admit their organization’s overall policies lack fairness, and 27% of organizations report that their employees have recently dealt with racial bias.

Moving forward, to build sustainable equity next year, companies are expected to take several steps to prioritize DEI. First, we can expect more routine workshops and training sessions around DEI. While companies typically offer this kind of training to new hires and on an annual basis, it’s important for this training to be adaptable and able to respond to current events or timely questions employees may have.

To help with these trainings and discussions, leadership is likely to take a back seat and hand the microphone over to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ employees to help amplify their voices and give them space to share their own experiences. By hearing directly from peers instead of outdated training videos or materials, these discussions will feel more authentic and allow participants more opportunities to interact and engage.

Return-to-office will remain a hot topic within the workplace

Building this new sense of equity and community will happen alongside return to office (RTO) mandates, as an increasing number of companies call for their employees to work in-person again. While most (74%) employees feel unmotivated about resuming their commute, the right strategy and culture could be what makes or breaks their feelings toward it.

Unlike earlier in the pandemic, flashy benefits and in-office perks may not be enough to draw employees back to their desks. Instead, we’re likely to see employers implementing more meaningful changes and initiatives to make RTO more enticing, including:

• Team building exercises: Our recent RTO survey found that one-third of Gen Zers have never worked in an office before, and they worry that RTO mandates will prevent them from having private conversations with co-workers (54%) and make them less productive (47%). To help employees smoothly transition to working together in-person, we’ll likely see employers develop several team building initiatives to help everyone reconnect and get better acquainted in a shared space.
• In-person skilling and learning opportunities: Despite the hurdles brought on by the pandemic, employees remain eager to continue learning and growing within their roles. To help nurture their professional development, employees may create more upskilling and reskilling initiatives to help them freshen their industry knowledge and expand their expertise around in-demand areas, like communication, management, and artificial intelligence.
• Keeping RTO mandates flexible: Return-to-office mandates vary between each organization, and to give employees the breathing room needed to properly adjust, we’ll likely see workplaces continue their flexible or hybrid work options. By easing employees back into the office, employers can be sure they’re accommodating employees’ lifestyles (which have likely shifted since the pandemic began) while keeping pace with their RTO goals. Either way, reimagining workplace flexibility is key. Leaders that are able to embrace employee-centric models will rise as winners in terms of getting better results for people and profit.

Related: How can leaders support employee wellness through lifestyle benefits?

After overcoming the labor shortages and RTO shake-ups of 2023, workplaces will likely show a renewed sense of appreciation toward their employees by prioritizing the creation of stronger workplace culture, equity and transparency. Most importantly, leaders are expected to start thinking outside “the 9 to 5.” By preserving and amplifying employee autonomy while employees are requested to return to office, companies are more likely to increase retention and have a smoother transition.

Focus on putting employees first. Whether it’s in DEI conversations or considering ways RTO mandates will most likely impact teams when developing strategies, employers can build stronger organizational trust and ensure employees feel comfortable with RTO as they head into the New Year.

Christopher Pappas, Founder of eLearning Industry