Tomorrow @Work: The Hartford's Trend Forecast

1 Work-Life 3.0

The issues of work-life balance and "having it all" have always been hot topics, but never more than now. With Marissa Mayer specifying that all Yahoo! employees must work at the office, Sheryl Sandberg launching a book telling women to "lean in" to their careers whether or not they want to have children, and the New York Times reminding marketers that men can be successful in business and successful dads, everyone is talking about the mixing of our personal and professional lives.

What's different now than 10 or 20 years ago? Because of ubiquitous technology that allows people to conduct business anytime and anywhere, work-life flexibility is no longer considered a luxury. Workers of all ages — but particularly Millennials (those born approximately 1980 or later) — expect some form of integration across all industries and from day one of an entry-level job.

EMPLOYEE Takeaway

Work flexibility no longer only applies to employees with children. Define what flexible work means for you and how it might make you happier and more productive. For instance, could you negotiate with your boss to work an hour later in order to get to the gym for an hour during the day?

EMPLOYER Takeaway

Define what "expected work" outside of the traditional 9-5 workday is for employees at different levels. Are they expected to be reading emails? Responding to emails? Executing deliverables? What activities are not expected and would count as overtime? Make sure these expectations are communicated clearly to avoid misunderstandings.

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2 Customization Nation

We have seen this trend in consumer marketing for a long time (think: Build-A-Bear Workshop, personalized Nikes, over-the-top Starbucks orders) and now it is dominating the workplace.

Deloitte offers "mass career customization," Google provides many employees with 20 percent of their time to work on their own projects and, as the Boston Globe reports, even highly traditional companies are allowing employees to design their own job titles: "Hotels are hiring social media butlers, party planners are now directors of spark, even Subway has changed sub maker to 'sandwich artist.'"

Employees want to personalize their jobs at every level of their careers. Perhaps companies are finally catching up with the reality that, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, the average worker changes jobs or careers over 11 times. Why not help the best employees make those transitions within one organization?

And the customization trend doesn't stop with job responsibilities and career paths; it extends to employee benefits as well. In The Hartford's December 2012 survey, 76 percent of consumers said it's important for them to design their own disability insurance instead of a one-size-fits-all coverage chosen by their employer. To meet this need, The Hartford now offers customizable disability insurance, DisabilityFLEX^sm, which allows employees to customize coverage to fit not only their lifestyle, but also their budget. As the employee, you pick when coverage starts, how long coverage lasts, and how much you receive.

EMPLOYEE Takeaway

Think about the next five years of your life and pinpoint your top priorities. Use your identified priorities as the basis to determine how you might customize aspects of your life and career, such as taking on new projects that better fit your skills or personalizing your insurance purchases.

EMPLOYER Takeaway

Think about where in the company you can offer employees customization or flexibility. You should even consider asking your employees where in their jobs they want customization, but only if you are willing and able to implement reasonable suggestions. For example, could employees have a say in their own job descriptions or vote on potential changes to their workspaces?

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3 Twesumes, Twinterviews & Tweferences

A major trend in companies across the country is the decline of the resume and the rise of social media as a very serious hiring tool. According to a 2012 Jobvite study, a whopping 92 percent of U.S. companies currently use social networks to find talent. While LinkedIn remains the dominant social recruiting platform, more than half of the recruiters surveyed use Twitter to recruit. This trend extends to other forms of social media and virtual recruiting, such as video interviews, reference checks by Skype, and Pinterest-based resumes. Social media recruiting will only grow in popularity, as it is less expensive, real-time, and particularly helpful in hiring tech-savvy Millennials. The Hartford is just one example of a company that is using social media to help recruit recent college graduates where they spend their time – online – through its new recruitment-focused handle: @TheHartfordJobs.

EMPLOYEE Takeaway

Make sure that your social media profiles reflect the best professional version of you, and that your social network reflects your real network. That way, if you are job searching, people you've spoken to in person can quickly pass along your LinkedIn profile or other social credentials to the HR department at their company or to other valuable contacts.

EMPLOYER Takeaway

Use employees as your company's brand ambassadors on social media and consider offering bonuses to employees who refer successful candidates. This recruiting strategy is more cost effective than using outside recruiters and can be great for employee morale and social media branding for your organization.

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4 Generational Mashup

Did you notice that this year's host of the biggest awards show of the season was trying to make potty-mouthed jokes to teenage boys while pleasing grandparents with old-fashioned song-and-dance numbers? How about the way employers talk about child care and elder care benefits in the same sentence? We are in a moment of extraordinary generational change, with the Baby Boomers (a generation 76 million strong, according to the U.S. Census Bureau) reaching traditional retirement age at the same time Millennials (a generation 80 million strong) are beginning to reach the adult age of 30. This generational change is no less than a tidal wave in America's companies, but right now and for the next few years we are going to be stuck in the middle of the mash-up. Employers, marketers, and politicians will have to simultaneously appeal to the oldest Americans and the youngest Americans to be successful.

EMPLOYEE Takeaway

Consider the idea of co-mentoring, where you and a coworker from a different generation share knowledge and skills with the other. The Hartford's CEO Liam McGee participates in the company's reverse mentor program and has a Millennial employee who shares Gen Y expertise while he shares a Baby Boomer perspective with his younger colleague.

EMPLOYER Takeaway

When you are having discussions around company policies and decisions, make sure to have representative employees present from all generations in your company. This way there will be someone who can offer each generation's point of view on the items under discussion.

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5 Millennial Malaise

Members of the Millennial generation have been struggling since the 2008 economic downturn, and we continue to learn about the ongoing repercussions. Recent reports have been alarming: According to the American Psychological Association, 39 percent of Millennials say their stress has increased in the past year and 52 percent say it's kept them awake at night in the past month. Furthermore, Millennials report being told by a health care provider that they have either depression or an anxiety disorder more than any other generation.

The Hartford's data shows that, after removing pregnancy from the mix, behavioral health is one of the top three reasons that Millennials file a disability claim. That's a call-to-action if I've ever heard one. So, what are we going to do about it?

EMPLOYEE Takeaway

Check at work to see what support services are available, such as counseling through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Disability insurance typically includes resources to help you get back to an active professional and personal life.

EMPLOYER Takeaway

Ensure your team is familiar with company policies and how to access resources. You might find you have resources bundled with benefits. For example, The Hartford provides EAP services¹ along with its group disability policies. ¹ EAP Services provided through The Hartford by ComPsych®. ComPsych is not affiliated with The Hartford and is not a provider of insurance services.

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