Employees' demands on their jobs have changed greatly over the last decades. They are more satisfied and at the same time more willing to perform if the workplace is compatible with their family, offers a good work-life balance with flexible working hours, and together they have the opportunity to help make decisions and exert influence. Many employers are rising to this challenge and offering their employees these motivators - for more effectiveness and productivity. In doing so, they are joining a trend called New Work. What this is and what appropriate work management can contribute to productivity, you will learn in the following blog post.
Definition: What is New Work?
The term New Work has emerged in the course of the digital transformation and describes the change of outdated ways of working towards new, digital processes and workflows. In the process, existing habits are revised and adapted to the new circumstances. These include:
- Freedom and flexibility: Flexible working hours and the free choice of work location enable employees to work effectively and from anywhere. In addition, it is easier for them to combine family and career.
- Hierarchies: Flat or barely existing hierarchies ensure communication at eye level.
- Agility: Processes and workflows are designed in an agile way so that they can be changed quickly in case of unforeseen events.
- Digitalisation: Digital structures modernise work processes and enable more effective work.
- Individuality and autonomy: Employees can largely set up their own workplace and modalities. This includes, for example, individual goals within their area of responsibility, as well as the independent determination of working hours.
- Office environments: The design of the workplaces offers space for freedom and creativity.
In connection with New Work, another term is often mentioned, that of work management. The employees of a company increasingly work in different places at different times, which makes joint networking and stringent communication all the more important. Well-designed work management should make this possible.
The need for work management - why is it so important?
With more flexibility in the workplace, employees have a choice of both where they work from and at what time. This means that teams are distributed and need to communicate well across distance.
It also means that joint projects need to be managed and coordinated via software. Project management is therefore a crucial part of work management. Suitable work management brings with it the following possibilities:
- It enables the company, a branch of the company or even individual teams to structure and organise their work processes.
- It ensures clear and transparent communication among colleagues.
- A work management tool is suitable for sharing or announcing new information that is important to employees.
- It also provides an optimal overview of all completed tasks as well as all pending tasks within different projects. With good work management tools, it is also possible to assign tasks to responsible persons.
In order to be able to work together effectively and transparently despite time and space discrepancies, employees need software that enables collaboration and communication. Companies should therefore inform themselves early on about the range of work management tools available and implement software in the company that is adapted to individual needs.
Choice of a suitable work management tool
The number of possible work management tools is large. The software must have some components in order to fulfil the purpose of collaboration and facilitation of work. These include an integrated project management tool, the possibility of disclosing information, a communication level, the possibility of assigning tasks, the option of planning and distributing resources, setting runtimes or times and the possibility of constantly adapting existing processes and workflows.
It is helpful here to first become clear about one's own needs and work structures. On the basis of these analyses and findings, it is then possible to determine which prerequisites a work management tool must have in the company. It is also advisable to try out different work management software with a test account and set it up according to the company's specific needs. This way it quickly becomes clear whether the tool has all the necessary features.
Once the right work management system has been found, it brings with it a number of advantages that you and your employees will soon no longer want to do without. Especially in times of New Work and Work 4.0.