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5 Emerging Workplace Trends That are Becoming Mainstream for Small Business

Successful businesses and employees must be able to stay on their toes to keep up with emerging workplace technologies and trends. Practices that were once considered fads or eccentric habits are now the norm. Here are five emerging workplace trends that are becoming mainstream.

Fragmentation of Structure

Ask your parents and grandparents what the structure of their first grown-up job was like and they’ll mention something about everyone being in a single office building, most likely with an abundance of cubicles and offices. That’s just not the case anymore. Modern businesses are increasingly decentralizing their physical and hierarchical structure.

Employees work in more collaborative environments, expansion is easier and many duties are outsourced to outside companies. Working from home or from a great distance isn’t uncommon, either.

Secure Cloud Computing

Of course, with all this decentralizing going on, there are bound to be concerns over how everyone is going to stay informed and on the same page when it comes to project management. Thankfully, some smart folks developed the Cloud—a way for people and businesses to remotely store and interact with documents and files of all kind. Cloud services save businesses thousands of dollars since they no longer need workers to maintain and purchase dedicated server technology. Plus, it makes integration a whole lot easier.

Bringing Your Own Device (BYOD)

More and more companies are starting bring your own device to work initiatives in their workplaces. What was once something you could get into trouble for doing is now a workplace requirement. Using text messages and app-driven data updates ensures that employees are better kept informed and connected to one another.

And thanks to integration from those same Cloud services listed above, employees can also monitor data such as project management, sales information and more. Having employees bring in their own devices also helps companies save money when it comes to supplying devices and also boosts the worker satisfaction when they’re working with a device they’re already familiar with.

Building a Sustainable Work Environment

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, or even within cartoons like Captain Planet, you’ll know that the earth suffers from great harm and pollution to the planet. Needless to say, the demand for businesses to follow green and eco-friendly practices is stronger than ever. Going (almost) entirely paperless is a no-brainer—you spend less on paper and printing, files are organized more efficiently online, and you’re no longer contributing to the 4.5 million tons of office paper thrown away each year.

Using Social Media

Social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter provide a convenient way for you to interact with your target audience. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for ads they’re most likely to ignore, a business can have its content and status updates posted directly to its news feed, the same one that contains statuses from friends and family members.

Technology and mainstream trends are changing everyday. The successful business is the one that can keep up with and embrace the change.

Kristina Jackson is a freelance writer, journalist and author. She is a diverse writer who enjoys capturing experiences and turning them into literary works.

Deborah Sweeney

Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah provides insightful commentary on the benefits of incorporation and trademark registration.

Education: Deborah received her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in corporate and intellectual property law.

Experience: After becoming a partner at LA-based law firm, Michel & Robinson, she became an in-house attorney for MyCorporation, formerly a division in Intuit. She took the company private in 2009 and after 10 years of entrepreneurship sold the company to Deluxe Corporation. Deborah is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites including Forbes, Business Insider, SCORE, and Fox Business, among others.

Fun facts/Other pursuits: Originally from Southern California, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin and Christopher, and practicing Pilates. Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Deborah, and MyCorporation, have previously been honored by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s List of the Valley’s Largest Women-Owned Businesses in 2012. MyCorporation received the Stevie Award for Best Women-Owned Business in 2011.

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Andrew - Server Space says:

11 years ago at 2:49 AM

With regard the green/energy efficiency comments. It is estimated that as more companies switch to cloud server methods for data storage this will lead to a 31 percent reduction in the amount of energy consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases by data storage facilities. By various people gathering together under one roof, companies who are trying to reduce their overall carbon footprint are able to do so. This is just one of the enhancing benefits offered to businesses who take advantage of these services as shown above.