Forecast 2016: U-M’s Gretchen Spreitzer on workplace trends

December 8, 2015
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FACULTY Q&A

Gretchen Spreitzer, professor of management and organizations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, shares her insights into the two biggest workplace themes emerging in 2016. Contact: 734-936-2835, spreitze@umich.edu

Q: As co-working spaces have gained in popularity to reduce real estate costs and help remote workers, do you think the trend will continue next year?

A: We’ll see more people than ever using co-working spaces. These are membership-based work spaces for freelance and remote workers with natural light, moveable furniture and writable tables/walls. The number of freelance workers continues to grow, with estimates of 40 percent being freelance by 2020. There are more than 800 working spaces in the U.S. and more than 2,000 around the globe.

Co-workers experience these workspaces as a kind of ‘third place’ where work is more than a paycheck. Co-workers desire meaningful work and to be part of a community. Co-working spaces create community by involving members in the governance of the space. They have a voice in decisions pertinent to the future of the space (like, do we want to expand or change a rule?), plan the social activities and help shape the culture of the space.

Q: Companies like Netflix (one year), Accenture (no travel in first year), and Microsoft (20 weeks) said they would offer more family-friendly benefits such as generous parental leave. Do you think employees will use it?

A: It’s a necessary move in an economy where knowledge workers are in high demand and companies compete for the best people. Today’s parents want to be more present in the lives of their children and are less afraid to jump off the fast track to have a more flexible career. This trend toward more family-friendly benefits is a step in the right direction. However, there is also evidence that employees are often hesitant to take advantage of paternity/maternity benefits for fear of being seen as not serious about one’s career.

An example of this is Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Yahoo offers family leave, but their CEO failed to role model and didn’t take family leave herself. The message is that top employees do not change their behavior when a new baby arrives. So while more companies are offering family leave, it’s not clear if more employees will take advantage of it. On the other hand, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, appears to be a better role model as he claims he will take a two-month paternity leave. Let’s hope that will make it safer for men and women at Facebook and other companies to follow his lead.