Top Employers Institute’s World of Work Trends 2024 analysis has shown that empowering through AI tops the list on the latest trends in people strategies and practices from leading organisations globally.

The five trends are: 

• Empower through AI
• The Future Defined with Purpose  
• Dialogue for Transformation  
• Evolution of Wellbeing Effectiveness  
• Broaden the Horizon of DEI  

“The sweeping global financial, technological, and political changes that have been happening worldwide will bring attention to people’s complexities and unique value,” said the World of Work Trends 2024 report. 

“The year 2024 will see people firmly recentred at the heart of the workplace – and the five key trends of the coming year reflect the growing realisation that whilst AI will support and optimise, the real competitive advantage is found in the creativity, passion, and partnership between employees,” the report added. 

Trend 1: Empower through AI  

Many organisations are still in the “exploratory stages with AI.” The discussion; however, has shifted from what the technology can do to how employees can utilise it. The report expects that 

• Organisations must take a responsible approach to how data is used to track employee behaviour or sentiment. 
• HR will need to evaluate the right technology that could be deployed around the employee experience. 
• HR must decided how Artificial Intelligence can support the interaction between humans.

Trend 2: The Future Defined with Purpose  

Last year, the report looked at the growing importance of a “lived” purpose. “One that comes straight from the heart of all those who work,” they explained. In this year’s editon that purpose-driven leadership is critical to success; which is why employees want from their leaders in 2024 to:  

• Leaders must be more “real” just as their employees would.
• Leaders are expected to empathy through a genuine two-way dialogue between them and the employee.

“Organisational purpose is an evolving and collaborative process that demands the commitment of every employee,” explains the report.

Trend 3: Dialogue for Transformation 

Those employees who feel “genuinely listened” to by their employers are more likely to be engaged in it, but also those organisations who encourage employee involvement in strategic decisions helps to drive business success metrics. 

The two elements for that dialogue are:   

• On an individual level: Employees need to see their input applied practically in business decisions so they can feel empowered and perform higher.
• Beyond the individual: There has to be a “collective intelligence” that goes beyond the individual and looks at the sum of individual intelligence and the additional innovation sparked through their combination.   

Trend 4: Evolution of Wellbeing Effectiveness 

The research shows that most Top Employers actively promote their wellbeing programmes through organisation-wide strategy, assessment and metrics. Accordingly, nearly four in five of the organisations have a coherent overarching approach to all dimensions of wellbeing.

Meanwhile, nearly three in four organisations regularly conduct an ’employee wellbeing needs assessment’ to identify their employee needs, interests, likes and dislikes and adjust their offerings where appropriate.

“We have also seen a significant increase in the use of metrics, with over two-thirds of our Top Employers consistently using them (68%, up eight percentage points), along with the accountability of over half (54%) of leaders to meet wellbeing targets (up seven percentage points),” the report said.

Trend 5: Broaden the Horizon of DEI   

According to the report diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have also come under budgetary pressure; therefore, firms are looking at initiatives to impact their workforce positively. This year, the report explains, will push employers to become more open to “non-traditional” candidates.

DEI approaches is expected to change in three ways:  

• The consideration of diversity will expand far beyond demographic segmentation.  
• DEI analytics and the metrics used will become more sophisticated. 
• Organisations will implement a more holistic inclusion strategy to complement the ongoing targeted initiatives for under-represented groups.