What to expect in the workplace in 2024

It’s the time of year for the year-end lists and the forward-looking predictions for what’s coming in 2024.

When it comes to what the next year is going to look like in the workplace, there are plenty of issues that have employers and workers a bit wary about the future of life in the office.

There are some headline issues likely to shape the workplace: the continuing adoption of new AI tools and the stabilization of hybrid and remote work policies.

Also on the radar for Ben Wigert, director of research and strategy for workplace management at Gallup?

“We’ve seen a substantial drop in people’s connection to their employer over the last couple of years,” he said. “So we worry that if organizations don’t lean into the organizational culture right now, that drop could continue.”

A lot of that is due to workplace stress, with more than half of employees Gallup surveyed in the U.S. and Canada reporting feeling a lot of stress the previous day.

Another stressful thing coming to the workplace next year will be the election, noted Johnny Taylor Jr., the president and CEO of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management.

“45% of U.S. workers say they’ve experienced political disagreements in the workplace,” he said. “And a quarter have said they personally experienced differential treatment — so, discrimination — because of their political views or affiliation.”

This kind of workplace incivility can reduce worker productivity by more than 35%, according to Christine Porath, who teaches at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

“It hijacks their attention, their focus,” she said. “They’re far less creative, and even witnesses are three times less likely to help anyone.”

That’s not just in the office setting. Frontline workers — like those in customer service or health care — really get it bad, said Porath.

And it’s getting worse. In 2005, nearly half of employees reported they were treated rudely once a month, she said. “In 2022, it was 76% of employees reporting that they were treated rudely at least one time a month.”

So if you are looking for a New Year’s resolution, don’t be a jerk at work — or to workers.