5 New Trends In Business Communication And Corporate Professionalism
Business communication is almost always evolving as more and more people start entering the workforce.
New trends in communication emerge and quite quickly become a main part of corporate decorum. Similarly, as workers retire, they take with them older ways to communicate changing the definitions of professionalism even further.
Trend 1: Casual Communication Apps
Office communication apps have been around for a while and have been used by companies big and small. However, when remote work became a reality for almost everyone, office communication apps soared and gained even more market share than they ever had before in the business tools world.
Due to these tools and the ability to text anyone in the office with just a click, a major shift is being observed in what counts as “professional conversation.”
Since these communication apps are designed similarly to other messaging apps that everyone uses almost daily, people are more comfortable with their authority figures. Whether it is the use of emojis or gifs, corporate communication is starting to become more and more relaxed.
A problem that has risen due to this relaxed nature of communication is that many workers do not know how to write professionally when presenting to clients and stakeholders. Instead of figuring it out on your own, the best way to ensure great documents is to find professional writers online that specialize in this area.
Trend 2: Automation
Remote work also increased the need for project and process management software that kept everyone in the loop while tracking progress to establish smoother processes.
With operations spanning across several teams and functions, software companies quickly released automation that could notify teams, schedule services, create tasks, etc. Although automation made it easier to stay on task, software companies also quickly realized that just these were not enough.
Project management software now allows custom coding so companies can automate the processes that they use often. The customized automation boom will only continue from here on with even more innovation.
Trend 3: Pay Transparency
Pay transparency has always been a problem as many companies do not want to reveal salary bands and be able to pay their employees differentially while still turning a profit.
However, as Gen Z is entering the workforce, they are more likely to be vocal about their salaries and their salary expectations.
Conversations around money are essential to ensuring that everyone is being paid based on merit and no biases enter the workplace. These movements have given rise to governing bodies creating laws around pay transparency as well.
Trend 4: Shorter Work Weeks
Younger generations are growing more and more critical of the more than a century-old 40-hour work week. Many studies are being conducted to evaluate the productivity difference between working 40 hours for 5 days and 32 hours for 4 days.
Creating a 4-day work week would grant an extra day every week for employees to maintain their work-life balance and have more well-rounded lives.
Many companies are wary of shorter work weeks as they believe that employees will be working less. However, there have been some promising results showing that productivity has either stayed the same or increased in many cases.
This trend may take years to become a global movement but the conversation around the topic is already taking off, especially due to the pandemic.
Trend 5: Job Hopping
Job hopping is when someone changes jobs every two-three years to secure higher pay.
This used to be a red flag on resumes and many employers would reject employees for their lack of commitment. However, this is changing.
Employees are choosing to be more vocal about their reason to switch jobs creating the much-needed conversation around the negative stigma that surrounds job hopping.
Conclusion
All in all, a younger workforce is completely changing corporate culture and the only way companies can retain employees is if they continue to keep up with these trends.
