8 Work Trends Driven by Innovation – AlleyWatch

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are leading the way in these trends, on both the customer and the employee side. Both are required to stay competitive.

Much has been written about the trends on the customer side, but I find less specific guidance on the changes which are impacting the way we interact with peers at work. An exception is the classic book by Alison Maitland and Peter Thomson, “Future Work: Changing Organizational Culture for the New World of Work,” which offers some real insight on this subject.

They point to several key trends in organizational cultures and working practices that can boost output, cut costs, and give employees more freedom. I have added my own insights, based on my experience advising and working with entrepreneurs and startups:

Certainly, there is still much work to be done in finding the balance between physical gatherings of team members in the same place at the same time, versus remote working and remote collaboration. The announcement by Yahoo back in 2013, pulling home workers back into the office, triggered a debate on whether some new companies have gone too far.

Overall, as an entrepreneur, you just need to be aware that the notions of work are changing just as fast as the technology for products. It’s an opportunity for innovation that cannot be ignored as a success and competitor differentiator. When was the last time you applied real innovation to the work model in your business?

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