As we step into the coming year 2024, the future of work unfolds before us with a blend of anticipation and uncertainty.
The dynamic landscape of work is poised to undergo transformative shifts, driven by technological advancements, societal changes, and the lessons learned from the challenges of the past.
At Atlassian, below are a couple of our predictions for the year 2024 and beyond.
By the end of 2024, executives will be forced to admit their RTO mandates did not improve productivity
In Atlassian’s recent survey of Fortune 500 execs, we found that low productivity is leaders’ top challenge for the coming year, despite 91% having some form of in-office mandate.
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It seems like many already know that these mandates aren’t the answer. Only 1 in 3 executives with an in-office mandate think that their in-office policies have had any kind of positive effect on productivity.
2024 will kick off a decade in which leaders become laser-focused
On fixing how we work. How we work is broken. 87% of executives say their teams do not have complete visibility into each other’s goals, and almost half of Fortune 500 leaders say their employees don’t know how to collaborate effectively.
Once executives finally admit that offices do not magically solve productivity issues, they will frantically refocus on what does boost performance: enabling teams to create more focus time, drive clear goals, and easily coordinate work.
How work gets done will replace the office as the key cultural touchpoint
Executives think every company feels the same to employees when they’re working from their living room. But what sets innovative organizations apart, no matter where someone sits, is how work happens.
Companies will be defined by whether or not processes are efficient, the way meetings are run, and whether leaders are willing to disrupt existing norms with new tools, practices, and AI.
Leaders and teams who actively seek out more effective (and fun!) technologies and norms will be the ones to attract top talent. Using a dated email client or locally saved documents will be non-starters for candidates.
Top talent will no longer choose your company over everything else in their life
In the past, employers and employees both assumed that work came first. In 2024, we’ll see workers put more emotional distance between themselves and work by adopting healthier boundaries.
Top talent wants to make an impact with their work, but they’re no longer willing to do so at the expense of everything else in their life. As flexible work becomes more normalized, workers will undergo a fundamental rebalancing of priorities, resulting in fewer competing priorities and a deeper investment in life outside of work.
By 2025, “Inbox(0)” will be dead
Two trends will make this (and relying on email as a primary communication tool) an obsolete concept:1) Tools like Atlassian AI will make it increasingly easy to prioritize and surface mission-critical information and 2) Distributed teams will be forced to find more effective ways of sharing information and making decisions.
In other words, the era of inefficient communication and being rewarded for quickly reacting to (often unimportant and non-urgent) notifications will be over.
2024 will be the golden age for introverts
With distributed work, personality as a tool of influence is decreasing in relevance, while authenticity, a high EQ, and strong writing skills increase in desirability.
Work is becoming far more written by default, which is inclusive to your quieter, more introverted, yet thoughtful and brilliant colleagues.
Predictions by