The digital workplace is rapidly evolving. With new tools, greater demand from users, and a focus on productivity and efficiency, technology is changing the way we work for the better. As we look ahead to the trends that are shaping the modern workplace, we notice that flexible work and the availability of the right digital tools will continue to become more and more important.

Normalizing flexible work

Providing employees with a flexible work environment is beneficial to them and you. According to Citrix, those benefits include:

• Higher productivity levels
• Cost savings
• Better recruitment/wider talent pool
• Lower environmental impact

That may be why 44 percent of companies are offering a more flexible work options to attract and retain workers, according to a survey of 500+ hiring managers by LinkedIn and USA Today. As you can see in the survey graphic below, offering flexible working options is ahead of increased salary and improved benefits, showing the importance of this trend as we look ahead to the future of the digital workplace.

Chatbots beyond the customer service tool

Chatbots are currently known as a tool for servicing customers, but soon, they may serve as another productivity tool in the digital workplace. Gartner found that “by 2022, 70 percent of white-collar workers will interact with conversational platforms on a daily basis.”

The reason is simple: instead of six steps necessary for reaching a single file, the AI-based technology can help workers do so in just one step, or one command.

Gartner connects the growth in use of chatbots to the increase of millennials in the workplace. “Because chatbots cater to millennials’ demand for instant, digital connections that keep them up to date at all times, millennials will likely have a large impact on how well and how quickly organizations adopt the technology.”

Digital transformation to focus on working smarter, not harder

Digital transformation has been a hot topic in recent years, as companies continue to bring digital into their business to run leaner and more effectively.  We will continue to see this as a focus in coming years, according to the 2019 Digital Means Business Benchmarking Report. The report found that 70 percent of organizations believe a “tangible benefit of their digital strategy is shaping new ways of working through organizational transformation.”

This means we’ll continue to see businesses bring on Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) tools, like Hubgets, in addition to other connection tools that drive productivity and empower employees. As the authors of the benchmark report explain:

“The tools and applications your organization uses must do more than enable individual productivity: they must also empower teams. Any productivity solution must therefore fit your processes, culture and ways of working—and be flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of work styles.”

The trends shaping the digital workplace

More than ever before, employees want access to the technology that will make them more productive, whether they’re working from home or at the office.

More importantly, companies are realizing the organizational benefits and financial impact of making various technology and tools more readily available in the digital workplace.

As such, we will continue to see these trends shape the way we work, with technology playing a larger and larger role in the workplace for years to come.