Since the beginning of 2020, work has changed monumentally for many employees. Almost overnight, hybrid and remote working became the norm as lockdowns forced businesses to adapt quickly. However, despite these major overhauls, the most significant changes may still be on the horizon. In 2022, less could be more when it comes to working. 

The 4-day work week has been a hot topic for several years. Many businesses have successfully trialled this model, while a few have even adopted a 4-day week permanently. Now, as businesses need to be more agile than ever and workers ask for greater flexibility, calls for a 4-day work week are gaining momentum. As such, the 4-day week could be the next evolution in the future of work. 

With this in mind, we’ll examine how a 4-day week may fit into the future of work, analysing the pros and cons of this model for businesses and employees. Is the 4-day work week too good to be true, or is it the revolution we need? We’ll dig into the details to help you decide.

For many employees, a 4-day work week sounds ideal. Whether it’s a day off mid-week to recharge or a three-day weekend every weekend, from an employee’s perspective, many of the benefits of a 4-day work week are self-evident. It means more time to rest and recuperate, the freedom to spend more time with family and friends, and the ability to implement a healthier work-life balance. Thus, it should come as no surprise that 66% of workers want to work less than five days a week. 

Below, we’ll take you step-by-step through the benefits of a 4-day work week. 

Employees are demanding greater flexibility 

For many workers, flexible working arrangements are now non-negotiable. COVID gave them a taste of hybrid work, and they don't want to return to the old norms. A whopping 75% of workers say they want to maintain flexibility over their working schedule going forward. At this stage, flexibility has mainly extended to where people work (i.e. working from home vs working in an office). However, employees also want greater flexibility over when and how they work. 

According to Adecco, calls for a shorter work week are increasing. More than half of workers (57%) say they could do the same job in less than 40 hours, while 72% want employers to revisit the length of the working week.

As a result, many employees want to shift from an hours-based culture to an outcome-based culture. In other words, they want to be judged on the quality of their output, not the number of hours they work. 73% of people say employee contracts should focus more on meeting the core needs of the role and less on the number of hours worked. Despite this, only 36% of non-managers feel their managers assess their performance based on results. 

A 4-day week is likely to play a central role in this transition, affording workers far greater flexibility to work on their own terms while still delivering high-quality output.

For further insights into why employees are demanding greater flexibility, see our articles on The Great Resignation and The Great Re-evaluation. 

A common criticism of the 4-day week is that it will harm productivity. If people are working less, how can they be as productive? In reality, the opposite is true. Our brains need breaks to maintain productivity, with trials consistently showing the 4-day week improves, rather than harms, engagement and productivity.

A study from Iceland found that when workers reduced their hours from 40 to 35 per week, productivity stayed constant or rose in most workplaces. Likewise, Microsoft Japan tested a 4-day work week and saw productivity increase by 40%. 

Similarly, when New Zealand trust management company Perpetual Guardian switched to a 4-day week, they reported a 20% gain in employee productivity. These statistics show there is no strong correlation between hours worked and productivity. 

In fact, according to the OECD’s rankings, some of the world’s most productive countries, such as Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, work between 27-30 hours per week on average — about the same as a proposed 4-day work week. 

Further, 64% of companies that have trialled a 4-day work week say it improved productivity, while 51% say it reduced costs.

How does this happen? While it seems paradoxical, more hours does not lead to more productivity. Eventually, you reach a point of diminishing returns. According to some research, 55 hours of work per week is the absolute upper limit of productivity, although less is ideal. After that point, studies suggest that someone who works 55 hours per week and someone who works 80 hours per week will have very similar outputs.

Put simply, our brains are designed for sprints, not marathons. They need time to rest, reset, and consolidate knowledge. It’s often during these moments that our best ideas suddenly come to us — those brilliant ‘lightbulb’ moments.

For more analysis on why a 4-day work week can increase productivity, check out our article on why our brains need breaks to maintain productivity. 

Other companies that have adopted or trialled a 4-day work week have also seen encouraging results. 

For example, when Perpetual Guardian switched to a 4-day work week, employee stress levels decreased from 45% to 38% on average. Similarly, when Treehouse shifted to a 4-day week, their employees reported a 50% increase in time for family and hobbies. 

When Sweden trialled shorter working hours between 2015 and 2017, the results were equally encouraging. Nurses at a care home worked 6 hours per day over a 5-day week. As a result, they logged fewer sick hours, reported better health and mental wellbeing, and showed greater engagement, as they arranged 85% more activities for patients.

These statistics are only the tip of the iceberg, as research by Henley Business School finds that among companies that have adopted a 4-day week, 78% of staff were happier, 62% felt healthier, and 70% were less stressed. What’s more, shifting to a 4-day week has already saved UK businesses approximately $92 billion annually, with similar numbers projected globally. 

Finally, 63% of employers say providing a 4-day work week helped them attract and retain talent. Perhaps more importantly, 71% say it helped them attract employees with children or carer’s responsibilities, leading to a fairer and more equitable workplace. 

Switching to a 4-day week has also had unforeseen environmental benefits. In addition to boosting productivity by 40%, when Microsoft Japan transitioned to a 4-day work week, electricity costs fell by 23%, while they also printed 60% fewer pages. 

A trial for government employees in Utah saw similar environmental benefits. By closing their office on Fridays, they saved $1.8 million in energy costs in just ten months, leading to a reduction of at least 6,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. When employee commutes are factored in, Utah estimated it would save 12,000 metric tons of CO2 by working one day less per week.

Likewise, a study by the University of Massachusetts predicts that "if we spent 10% less time working, our carbon footprint would be reduced by 14.6%, largely due to less commuting or grabbing high-carbon convenience foods on our breaks." Henley Business School’s report corroborates this, finding that if a 4-day work week was the norm, employees in the UK would drive nearly 900km less per week on average, leading to fewer transport emissions. 

Unfortunately, the 4-day work week is not all long weekends and extra productivity. While the benefits generally seem to outweigh the detriments, there are still a few potential drawbacks of a 4-day work week that companies should consider.  

Firstly, implementing a 4-day work week can be complex and time-consuming. To ensure a smooth transition, companies need to create new schedules, write new policies, introduce new ways of working, and make many other logistical changes. While this is not a reason to write off the 4-day work week altogether, teams should be aware that it can be a complicated and time-consuming transition, meaning it might not be suitable for all businesses. 

The resources required to transition to a 4-day work week also mean it may not be cost-effective for some businesses. For example, when Sweden trialled shorter weeks for nurses, the trial was ultimately deemed not to be cost-effective.

It is also worth noting that a 4-day work week is not currently viable in every industry. Professions such as doctors need to be available throughout the week, while many customers expect services to be open five days a week. When Utah government departments trialled a 4-day work week, the project was discontinued because customers complained they couldn’t access services on Fridays, even though the trial produced many positive results regarding environmental impact and employee wellbeing. 

Finally, while many trials have shown that a 4-day week can boost productivity despite working fewer hours, concerns abound that a 4-day week could lead to longer hours crammed into a shorter week. For instance, when Uniqlo trialled a 4-day week, employees were still required to work 40 hours per week. The same is true at Deloitte: the company has adopted an optional 4-day week, but employees need to work 10 hour days.

Examples such as these have stoked fears that a 4-day week will lead to more burnout and stress, not less, as employees cram longer hours into a compressed schedule. Many employees already work more than their scheduled 40 hours per week to stay on top of their workload. Therefore, there are concerns that a 4-day week could force employees to work 12+ hour days to meet deadlines.

Ultimately the 4-day work week has significant benefits for productivity, employee wellbeing, and even environmental impact. However, the resources required to adopt this model may preclude some businesses from switching to a 4-day week in the short term. Additionally, many are concerned that a 4-day week will result in longer hours and overworked employees, at least initially, as companies adjust to the idea that more hours does not necessarily equal more output. If you're considering adopting a 4-day week, it's important to carefully weigh up these factors and decide which model is most suitable for your team's unique needs.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can support your team’s learning needs.

False

We’ll examine how a 4-day week may fit into the future of work, analysing the pros and cons of this model for businesses and employees.

Where does a 4-day week fit into the future of work?

We’ll examine how a 4-day week may fit into the future of work, analysing the pros and cons of this model for businesses and employees. 

No matter who you are, you’ve no doubt sought the guidance of a leader in your workplace - whether it be the CEO of the company, your immediate manager, or even a fellow team member. Good leaders provide their teams with guidance, additional confidence and constructive feedback. They're essential to ensure workers of all generations feel supported in their careers. And members of Gen Z are no exception to this.  

While the ways of Gen Z can seem like a mystery to those of us born before 1997, the fact is, Gen Z makes up 27.68% of the US population, so we undoubtedly need to pay them more attention when it comes to their professional working lives. 

With Gen Z beginning to make up the majority of the workforce, it’s important to look at how workplace leaders can best support them throughout their careers so our global industries can continue to thrive.  

Let’s investigate exactly what the mysterious Gen Z look for in their leaders and how these desires and demands can benefit members of all generations, not just Gen Z. 

We’ve all had those moments during our working lives where we’ve asked a sincere question and had crucial information conveniently left out or just felt like there’s things we weren’t being told that may affect the way we work. This can often lead to feelings of uncertainty or even distrust within workers towards their organisation. Even if the truth hurts, most of us would be willing to admit that it’s better to hear it than to be left in the dark or lied to.  

While such transparency and honesty are things that people from all generations value, Gen Z may be the first to actually demand it from their employers. Relationships with career leaders have the potential to improve, even during difficult times for the business, if leaders demonstrate transparency and maintain authenticity with employees. 

By creating a culture of transparency within the workplace, it’s easy for that to extend to transparency from the company to its audience/client base. This is something that is highly valued by Gen Z consumers as well. In fact, a Devries Global research study found that a massive “96% of Gen Z respondents indicated that they would be will to pay a premium for brands they deemed transparent.” 

Essentially, Gen Z is all about trust. When employees can trust that the company they work for is being transparent and authentic about its operations, it’s far easier to build more positive working relationships. More positive working relationships of course often lead to a happier workplace and happy employees tend to stay with the company for longer. 

Whether it be in the form of a diverse team of staff with representation from a variety of communities or an opportunity to freely ask questions and express opinions, the opportunity to have their voice heard is something that is absolutely essential for Gen Z. It can make all the difference for whether members of Gen Z choose to work for a particular company or not. In fact, 83% of Gen Z job candidates think that a company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is important when choosing an employer. 

Inclusion extends not only to the types of employees that workplaces hire but the way they’re treated once they arrive - and being inclusive is way easier than you may think. An inclusive leader is one that listens to others and gives them regular opportunities to express thoughts and opinions. Gen Z in particular, love being called on by name to speak. It demonstrates to them that their unique perspective is valued and that they’re contributing to the conversation in a meaningful way.  

There’s been increasing talk about the idea of being a ‘lifelong learner’ and Gen Z is an entire generation full of them. In truth, they’re quickly becoming the most educated generation so far, with 76% of Gen Z believing that learning is the key to a successful career, which is 15% more than millennials.  

So what separates members of Gen Z from their counterparts in other generations? One theory explains that members of Gen Z have grown up during major periods of change; namely the recession of the late 2000s and the COVID-19 pandemic. During these times, they had to watch many family members and friends struggle with the lack of stability. As a result, members of Gen Z learned that the best way to find stability is to learn as much as you can with the goal of becoming an asset to any organisation. 

Continual learning not only has the potential to make someone an asset to any organisation in general but more specifically, it can make them an asset to the organisation they’re already a part of. When a company makes continual learning a part of their day to day operation as well as providing adequate opportunities for career progression, it breeds loyalty within Gen Z workers and also reduces the need for external hiring for higher positions by the organisation.  

While staying on top of Gen Z trends may continue to elude many of us for now, it’s clear they’ve got the right idea when it comes to asking for what they need from leaders in their workplace and they’re not really asking for much when you think about it. Now that we’re armed with this knowledge, the other generations should follow suit. We all deserve leaders that offer transparency, inclusion and continual learning in the workplace. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s (including Gen Z) learning needs.

Good leaders provide their teams with guidance, additional confidence and constructive feedback. They're essential to ensure workers of all generations feel supported in their careers. And members of Gen Z are no exception to this.  

What do Gen Z look for from their leaders?

Aaron Tait is the Co-Founder and Director of Innovation at Education Changemakers focused on identifying and engaging with ideas that lead to rapid and scaled global impact.

In a world with more than 70 million educators, we’ve decided to think differently about teacher training…

In 2011, in a Sydney bar, we wrote the first ideas for Education Changemakers on a napkin.

Aaron had just returned to Australia after running a school for at-risk children in a Tanzanian township. Dave was working as regional director of schools in the Northern Territory following his leadership of the transformation of Halls Creek District High School.

On the napkin, we sketched out a professional development program that would focus on supporting educators to step up as high-impact changemakers in their schools. A few months later we launched EC, and got to work.

In the ten years since the EC team has engaged with hundreds of thousands of educators around the world. If you have been part of the EC journey you’ve attended one of our workshops, come along to events we’ve run, engaged in a student challenge we’ve launched, listened to our podcast, or read our books. Over the years we’ve heard so many stories of teacher-led change, and whilst there are too many changemakers to name, please know that we see you, and are blown away.

In the last few years Dave and I have thought a great deal about how we can learn from this past decade of effort, and bounce off the trampoline that we’ve built to reach a whole new level of scale.

And that brings us to this moment, and the news we have to share…

Which is that Education Changemakers is joining forces with Go1.

Go1 is a very exciting learning company that already engages millions of people with more than 100,000 online professional development courses. In 2022 we have come together to grow what we hope will be a powerful, engaging, and inspiring way for teachers and school leaders to engage in high-impact professional development from the world’s best providers.

Of course, EC will continue to provide the programs that people have come to know us for, but at the same time, we will be rapidly growing our team and our new learning approach. Becoming a part of the Go1 family will allow us to work at a speed and scale that we are incredibly excited about.

We might need a few more napkins to sketch this new strategy on, but we are also going to need a bunch more people to join the team. If you are interested in working with us, send an email to aaron@educationchangemakers.com.

We’ll be sharing more soon, but until then, and as always… together, for a better world for every child.

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

Education Changemakers and Go1 have come together to grow a powerful, engaging, and inspiring way for teachers and school leaders to engage in high-impact professional development.

Education Changemakers and Go1 join forces

Education Changemakers joins forces with Go1 

The great resignation caught many people’s attention in 2021. And with good reason, as we saw employees resign in record numbers around the world. However, while the great resignation continues to make waves, 2022 may be better known as the year of the great re-evaluation. 

In many ways, the great re-evaluation is a natural progression from the great resignation, as employees begin to re-evaluate what work means in the broader context of their lives. During this period of re-evaluation, factors such as flexibility, hybrid working arrangements, burnout, fatigue, and mental health support are all growing priorities, often supplanting traditional expectations such as salary and upward mobility. 

With this in mind, we’ll take a detailed look at the great re-evaluation. We’ll start by asking what the great re-evaluation is, before analysing the factors that may come to define this trend.

Ready to re-evaluate what work means to you? Read on. 

The great re-evaluation is a natural extension of the great resignation. The factors that contributed to the great resignation, such as long hours leading to burnout, inflexible working arrangements, and a lack of mental health support, did not exist in a vacuum. Rather, these factors caused employees to re-evaluate what they want in a job and what work means in the broader context of their lives.

As Adecco put it in a recent report analysing the great re-evaluation, “​​people need to see and feel opportunity. During the last 12 months, people have become more autonomous, agile, adaptable and proactive taking it upon themselves to get new skills. They are ready for change, and they are looking for more agency, career development, mobility opportunities or upskilling and reskilling into the next chapters.”

Similarly, in an interview with Human Resource Executive, IBM CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux urges companies to “look closely at what the Great Resignation is really all about: Employees are taking ownership over what they want from their careers, where and when they want to work, how they want their personal goals and professional purpose to align…it’s their Great Re-evaluation.” 

It should come as no surprise that many employees are re-evaluating what they want from a job, especially after COVID-19 dramatically reshaped working arrangements for many companies. Suddenly, hybrid work was the norm, and employees had the chance to ask themselves a few vital questions. How does work fit into my life? Why can’t I have a hybrid working arrangement all the time? Do I need to re-evaluate my work-life balance? Should my company offer more wellbeing support? A lot of the time, employees didn’t like the answers they found. So, they decided it was time for a change.

For instance, 54% of people say they feel overworked, while a massive 95% of human resource leaders say employee burnout sabotages their retention efforts. Moreover, 62% of employees feel overwhelmed by work responsibilities, and 32% say they are emotionally drained at work. Plus, 69% of people feel fatigued at work.

Worryingly, these statistics are only the tip of the iceberg. Research by Limeade found that 40% of employees left their jobs due to burnout during the great resignation. Other common reasons for quitting during the great resignation include: their company was going through organisational changes (34%), lack of flexibility (20%), contributions not being valued (20%), insufficient benefits (19%), and wellbeing not being supported by their company (16%). In the wake of these concerns, it makes sense that employees would need to re-evaluate what work means to them. Is their job really worth the stress and burnout? 

Finally, it’s important to note the great re-evaluation is not limited to employees. Businesses must also re-evaluate. Now that these concerns are out in the open, the onus is on companies to reconsider their expectations and address employees' concerns. Those that fail to adapt risk losing their best talent as they seek opportunities elsewhere.

What factors are contributing to the great re-evaluation? 

The factors contributing to the great re-evaluation are manifold. From burnout to fatigue to inflexible working arrangements, many workers have decided enough is enough. At the same time, adjustments caused by COVID-19 have opened many people’s eyes to new ways of working.

For example, 76% of employees now want flexibility for where they work, and 93% want flexibility over when they work. What’s more, 41% of employees say they would look for another job if they had to return to the office full time.

These new expectations have led to a disconnect. Adecco finds that 53% of people want to spend more time working from home, yet, only 39% expect they will be allowed to spend more time working from home. Similarly, a Future Forum Pulse global survey found that executives who work remotely are 3x more likely than employees to prefer returning to the office full-time. In contrast, 76% of employees don’t want to return to the office full time. 

Disconnects such as these between what employees want and what managers want are driving the great re-evaluation. If companies fail to recognise these disconnects and adjust their expectations, employees will seek opportunities that better align with their hybrid work preferences.

As a result, many workers are crying out for greater flexibility. According to Adecco, “workers want to shift from hours to an outcome-based culture.” Yet, only 36% of non-managers feel their managers assess their performance based on results. Due to this, many employees feel underappreciated. They can't help but wonder: if they aren't being judged on their output, are they in the office simply for the sake of turning up? Given this, a whopping 80% of people believe that increased flexibility around hybrid working would benefit both employers and employees.

Another key factor influencing the great re-evaluation is the belief that it will lead to a fairer and more equitable workplace. Adecco finds that 75% of people believe flexible/hybrid working arrangements will create more opportunities for people with disabilities. Likewise, 73% say it will create more opportunities for working parents, and 69% believe it will create more opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds.

However, the biggest contributing factor to the great re-evaluation is employee burnout. A massive 67% of non-managers say their leaders don't meet their expectations for checking on their mental wellbeing. On the other hand, 51% of managers say they find it challenging to identify when staff are struggling with overwork or burnout. Again, a disconnect arises: 77% of managers say they are satisfied with their performance, compared to just 57% of employees who are happy with their manager’s performance. 

What’s more, Gallup found that 57% of workers experienced daily stress, while 38% say they have suffered from burnout during the last 12 months. No wonder many employees have chosen to prioritise their mental health and re-evaluate how much they are willing to put up with at work. As a result, 74% of employees want their company to focus more on staff wellbeing.

As Adecco puts it, “companies must re-evaluate how they can better support and provide wellbeing resources to their employees within the new hybrid working model. Building pro-wellbeing working environments, cultures and skillsets from top to bottom will be key in the next normal.”  

Ultimately, the great re-evaluation is being driven by an array of factors — from flexibility to burnout to increased opportunities for traditionally marginalised workers. However, the connective tissue is that many workers have re-evaluated what work means to them and how work fits into their lives. 

For a significant portion of the workforce, the answer is that work is no longer their number one priority — especially if it is detrimental to their mental wellbeing or a healthy work-life balance. Rather than shaping their lives around work, employees are now shaping work around their lives. Companies must recognise this trend and answer the call for greater flexibility and increased wellbeing support. Or, they can risk getting left behind in the great re-evaluation.

We’ll take a detailed look at the great re-evaluation, asking what the great re-evaluation is, before analysing the factors that may define this trend.

Why the great re-evaluation could define work in 2022 

Go1 Love of Learning Series: Three Key Attributes to Driving Learner Engagement  

Go1's Craig Hamill and Merrissa Pires, Global Head of Learning and Development at Reckitt, join forces to discuss the future skills L&D leaders can adopt and perfect to drive further learning engagement. The session kicks off a brand new series of webinars for 2022, the ‘Love of Learning series’ as part of Go1’s mission to get one billion learners to fall in love with learning.  

After a brief introduction on their professional backgrounds and strong passion for learning, Craig and Merrissa begin the session by unpicking the common barriers and challenges that L&D professionals face on a day-to-day level. Quoting insights from the World Economic Forum, including the fact that 55% of businesses are not able to adopt new tech because of local labour skill gaps due to lack of trainings, the hosts conduct a poll with the audience to pinpoint what some of the key challenges might be for them. From a list of eight option answers, the three most popular responses were that ‘Learners don’t make the time’, ‘Lack of Organisational Buy In to learning’ and ‘Learners don’t have the time/ managers don’t allow time’.   

Merrissa makes a simple but definite point as a follow up: ‘people don’t know what they don’t know’ and, when it comes to workplace L&D initiatives, if they are served with too much content, most of the time, employees won’t know where to start. Merrissa feels strongly that trainings should be linked to business objectives in order to be successful at every level. If companies look to stretch their people to reach their best learning potential (rather than burnout!) whilst meeting their business objectives, then they are more likely to have found the key to success.  

The webinar goes on to discuss three key attributes required for L&D practitioners and businesses to drive learner engagement and support future skills, including;  

Both panelists stress the importance of going back to the ‘why’ - ‘What is the problem that we are trying to solve and what is our end goal?’ According to Merrissa, strategy is required for anything to live on sustainably. People are overly stimulated with different data, course options, content etc. and if we don’t try to simplify and streamline, and set goals, it’s not going to stick. If employees are able to understand ‘the why’ and feel empowered to be involved, their engagement will become that much stronger. 

Merrissa takes her workplace, Reckitt, as an example. As a company, which was previously very segmented, Reckitt developed a ‘Stronger Together’ approach in the last few years and created a global L&D function that supported the business strategy as well as bringing everyone together. In the last six months, Reckitt have been collaborating with Go1 to help with their strategy, giving them wider visibility of what approach and tools makes sense for their business. 

Merrissa warns that positive change won’t happen overnight and, that building the right programme and strategy takes time and requires being agile and adaptable. Craig jumps in to stress this point, calling out that L&D strategies shouldn’t be final, they should be able to move and shift according to the environment and needs of those involved.   

To introduce this section, Craig shows the audience the World Economic Forum’s list of Top 10 skills for 2025 which include a range of problem solving, self management, working with people and technology related skill sets. Hosting a new poll, the speakers ask the audience what key skills they think an L&D leader should have. The top responses from those dialed on feature as: ‘being a communicator’, ‘being an influencer’ and ‘being a facilitator of change’. The panelists delve deeper into these attributes and add a few to the mix such as ‘having business acumen for partnerships’ and, ‘being able to wear many hats on the job’ especially in recent years, where L&D/ HR leaders have been expected to widen their remit to navigate radical cultural shifts due to the pandemic.  

The last chapter covers the more social aspect of learning, and how it is important to nurture an environment which facilitates connections. People are now more than ever looking for social interactions and enabling these is a huge factor that will contribute to if / how people will engage in the workplace and with L&D programmes. 

Craig and Merrissa praise ‘learning in the flow of work’, a trend that has been studied more and more these last years, which shows how people can be in a constant state of learning by interacting with their peers in informal settings. Through conversation, social media sharing, brainstorming and ongoing communication, data shows that learning in the flow boosts engagement and provides learners with more exposure to unlocking new skills.  

The webinar ends on a positive note, inviting L&D professionals to share their love of learning and create communities that can explore wider and broader content in a way that is fun and approachable and meaningful.  

Check out the event recording in full here.

Ready to fall in love with learning? In this fun and interactive webinar, Craig Hamill and Merrissa Pires join forces to discuss the future skills L&D leaders can adopt and perfect to drive further learning engagement.

Go1 Love of Learning series: Three key attributes to driving learner engagement  

Pluralsight, leaders in technology workforce development, have announced its partnership with Go1. Together, the companies will deliver a curated content experience designed to help Go1 customers learn the most in-demand technology skills, including those featured in the Pluralsight Technology Index. Premium Go1 subscribers can now access custom content from Pluralsight Skills, enabling them to build skills in specialised technology roles including IT/DevOps, Data Analytics, and Machine Learning.

With this partnership, Pluralsight and Go1 will deliver solutions that help L&D leaders manage the necessary training and development needs of their diverse teams. Go1 customers in any role, including non-technical roles, are now able to access a selection of high-quality technical content on Pluralsight Skills to upskill or reskill their workforce. The partnership also enables joint customers to access the full Pluralsight Skills library through Go1's platform.

Pluralsight is the leading technology workforce development organisation that helps companies and teams build better products by developing critical skills, improving processes and gaining insights through data, and providing strategic skills consulting. Trusted by forward-thinking companies of every size in every industry.

“We are excited to offer our expert-led content within the Go1 eLearning platform to help everyone develop the critical tech skills that are in-demand today. With access to on-demand video courses from Pluralsight Skills, Go1 customers will be able to establish foundational technology competencies across their organisations while enabling those in technical roles to deepen their understanding of today’s latest tech. Pluralsight Skills gives people and teams the necessary tools to develop technology skills more effectively and at scale.”
Ken Leonard, SVP of Global Ecosystem Solutions at Pluralsight.

Pluralsight and Go1 designed the unique offer with the aim to address the global tech skills shortage, which continues to expand. In fact, the Tech Council of Australia has forecasted Australia will need one million people in tech jobs by 2025, meaning approximately 260,000 more people will need to enter the Australian tech workforce in that time.

“Our partnership with Pluralsight creates a critical tech-skilling pathway for Go1 customers to experience the industry’s leading tech courses to join a future-ready workforce.” 
Basem Emera, VP of Partnerships and Alliances at Go1.

This partnership further strengthens the already robust Go1 corporate eLearning platform, adding courses critical for tech upskilling and reskilling. Through Go1’s centralised content library, over 3.5 million corporate learners will have access to custom learning paths from Pluralsight Skills for roles such as Software Developer, Security Professionals, and Agile leaders. Additionally, Pluralsight Skills provides content on technology skills like security, cloud concepts for cloud hosting platforms such as AWS and Azure, and coding languages such as JavaScript and Python.

Integrating some of the most in-demand tech skills courses to our content library in partnership with Pluralsight.

Teaming up with Pluralsight to tackle global tech skills shortage

What content partners should you check out this month?

There’s no time like the present to deepen your knowledge, skills, and commitment in two very important areas: Cyber Security and Diversity & Culture. This month we’re spotlighting three providers with excellent content offerings in these areas. We’ve also published two new playlists of courses designed to spark your curiosity and accelerate your growth.

For clear and compelling courses around data compliance, privacy, and GDPR, Inspired eLearning is a fantastic choice. This award-winning US-based provider has 60+ courses in the Content Hub, half of which are 15 minutes or shorter.  Their video-based courses have interactive knowledge checks throughout, are available in multiple languages, and appeal to both novice and more experienced learners. 

Check out some of the most popular titles from Inspired eLearning: 

Security Awareness – A Day in the Life  

“Internet of Things” & Home Security 

Bob’s Business is a great provider of animated courses on a variety of data security topics. Based in the UK, they offer over 100 courses, almost all of which range from 15-30 minutes. Courses are available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. Bob’s Business is a good fit for learners who may find cyber security topics a bit daunting or boring. Their whimsical animation and interactive elements engage even the most reluctant learners. 

Information Security and Data Protection 

US-based WILL Interactive is an award-winning provider in the diversity and culture space.  Their courses feature high quality video production and branching scenarios that change depending on the learner’s responses to questions throughout. WILL Interactive has 18 courses in the Content Hub, 12 of which are longer than one hour. They are among the most engaging and popular courses, with positive feedback from learners and administrators alike. 

Common Ground: Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevention 

What new content partners have we added to the Content Hub?

This US-based provider offers high-quality courses in architecture, engineering, construction, and manufacturing, along with some general business and leadership courses. 

Their courses feature videos and interactive elements and are available in 43 languages. (That’s right – 43 different languages!) 

Courses range from 10 to 300 minutes, with the majority of them being over 30 minutes. 

Among the 350+ new courses from Vector Solutions are Symbols, Standards, and Schematics; Transporting Hazardous Materials; Use of Steel in Design & Construction; Essentials of Six Sigma; and Work Life Balance. 

This female-owned US-based provider expands topics coverage in several new areas, including digital media, marketing, and cannabis. 

They offer 9 courses, the shortest of which is 1 hour with the longest being 3 hours. 

Among the offerings from Atheneum Collective are Fundamentals of Media Planning; Winning More Business for Media Sellers; Digital Production: Process to Profitability; Cannabis Marketing Master Course; and Cultivating Happiness.  

What great new content have our current content partners added to the Content Hub?

iAM Learning – 8 new personal development courses between 10 and 15 minutes, including titles such as Bring your Whole Self to Work (Authenticity); Recognising Privilege; Taking Responsibility; and Turn off Work Thoughts during Free Time! (UK based) 

Stone River eLearning – 86 new courses, including Python Fundamentals; Effective Bookkeeping and Payroll; Lean Process And Six Sigma; Middle Manager; Telework and Telecommuting; and Top 10 Sales Secrets (US-based) 

What’s Shannon’s favorite course right now? 

As I was looking at the newly added courses, I was intrigued by iAM Learning’s personal development courses, so I took the Bring Your Whole Self to Work course. I love the conversations currently going on in the learning and development space about how we can better support employees and managers by encouraging more open and honest conversations that go beyond who people are at work and their performance. This course offered some great guidance on how to be authentic at work, as well as how to help others be. In my career, the people who have made the biggest impact on my work and personal life have been those who supported me in all aspects of my life and allowed me to be me. I’d encourage this course for anyone needing a little reminder about how we are more than just our job titles.

The Go1 Content Insider is your first stop for all things new in the Go1 Content Hub. In this February update, find out the latest and greatest in the world of content!

The Go1 Content Insider - February 2022 edition

Having effective business alignment within your workplace can really change the flow of business productivity, not just within individual teams but throughout the entire company. But what exactly is it? How do you do it and what can L&D professionals, specifically, get out of adjusting their focus towards business alignment?

Thankfully, episode 25 of the Go1 podcast is now live to answer all these questions! Our host, Go1's Customer Success Director, James Frappell is joined by special guest, Emerging Stronger Co-Creator Laura Overton as they discuss the ins and outs of business alignment as well as telling a few personal stories about how they've seen business alignment in action in the real world.

Enjoy some of the highlights from the conversation below.

Before we can get into how workplaces can have better business alignment, it's important to define what it actually is. Here, Laura Overton provides that definition and explains that business alignment is often the key to success. She then goes on to discuss its relevancy to businesses of all types and sizes from small businesses to large corporations and even not-for-profit organisations.

What is business alignment?

For a number of businesses, the setting of big goals and targets is essential to the success of the company. However, it can be quite easy to be swept up and set so many that the overall effect on the business suffers. Furthermore, how do we find the balance between staying on trend while also ensuring that we don't get carried away with a trend based focus and forget about the value of the delivery?

Laura warns of this and uses her past experiences to explain that when businesses try to do too much all at once, the focus is shifted to delivery rather than on measuring the impact.

Achieving too much too quickly

Sometimes it's the simplest things that can make all the difference for business alignment. Solving an ongoing issue for one team often has knock on effects to other teams, making their lives easier as well.

Laura provides an insightful personal story of a time when she saw effective business alignment in action and encourages people to ask themselves and their teams the question: 'where can I really add value?'

Key conversations for business alignment

If you haven't already, you can listen to the full podcast here to learn more.

Want to hear more? Browse the full Learning with Go1 podcast library on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify to help expand your knowledge of all things L&D. And hear how other organisations are navigating through this ever-evolving landscape.

Having effective business alignment within your workplace can really change the flow of business productivity, not just within individual teams but throughout the entire company. But what exactly is it? And how do you do it? Tune in to episode 25 of the Go1 podcast, featuring L&D analyst Laura Overton, to find out.

Let’s talk business - building courage and confidence for smarter business conversations

Having effective business alignment within your workplace can really change the flow of business productivity, not just within individual teams but throughout the entire company. But what exactly is it? And how do you do it? Tune in to episode 25 of the Go1 podcast, featuring L&D analyst Laura Overton, to find out. 

There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a dead end job with little chance of career progression. Most of us have probably experienced this feeling at one point in our careers. You while away the days until a better offer comes along because you know opportunities for career progression in this job are slim. Much like being stuck in an elevator, it’s a claustrophobic and disheartening feeling. 

Not only that, but a lack of internal mobility is a no-win situation. For employees, a lack of internal mobility can reduce motivation, as they see no clear path to advancement. For employers, it leads to a less driven workforce, thereby reducing engagement and diminishing your ability to attract and retain talent in a competitive hiring market. 

Therefore, it should be no surprise that internal mobility is vital in today's ultra-competitive workforce. We’ll take a closer look at why internal mobility has become a must-have in the modern workforce — particularly with the threat of The Great Resignation looming. We’ll start by looking at the benefits of internal mobility, such as engagement, retention, and cost-effectiveness, before moving on to what businesses are getting wrong about internal mobility. 

While internal mobility has always been an important consideration, it is now essential to engage and retain the best talent. In fact, 51% of L&D professionals say that internal mobility is more of a priority now than it was before COVID. While many factors have influenced this trend, it is likely that The Great Resignation has played a role, as employers scramble to offer more attractive roles or risk losing talented employees. 

With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that 62% of L&D professionals say they are prioritising internal mobility this year. Let’s take a closer look at why internal mobility is such a hot topic. 

Intuitively, it makes sense that a strong culture of internal mobility would boost engagement. Of course employees are more likely to be engaged when they see clear opportunities for career progression. And the statistics bear this out. 

According to data by LinkedIn, employees who move into new jobs internally are 3.5x more likely to be engaged. In their 2019 Global Human Capital Trends report, Deloitte found that 32% of companies believe internal mobility is necessary to increase employee engagement. 

Similarly, a case study by Deloitte found that when Ingersoll Rand developed a “robust internal career program to help employees reskill themselves for new positions within the organisation” the result was a 30% increase in employee engagement. 

In a similar vein, Research by PageUp finds that internal development opportunities such as lateral moves and stretch assignments can increase engagement by up to 30%. 

The message here is clear: a robust internal mobility program can lead to significantly more engaged employees. 

While increased engagement is fantastic, the biggest impact of a strong internal mobility program is on retention. According to LinkedIn, when organisations invest in internal mobility programs, employees stay almost two times longer on average. The median employee tenure for companies with low internal mobility is 2.9 years. For companies with high internal mobility, this skyrockets to 5.4 years. 

In comparison, external hires are 61% more likely to be fired within a year and 21% more likely to quit. Accordingly, it makes sense that 94% of HR professionals say that internal recruiting helps retain their most valuable talent, while 81% added that internal hiring improves retention overall. 

A study of more than 32 million active LinkedIn profiles demonstrates this phenomenon. During their research, SHRM found that, in general, the likelihood of someone staying with a company decreases over time. For example, one year after being hired, there's a 76% chance a worker will still be with the company. After five years, the estimated retention rate drops to 38%. However, employees who are promoted within three years have a 70% chance of staying on board, and those who make a lateral move have a 62% chance of staying. 

Many companies seem to be noticing these trends, as internal hires have increased dramatically since the start of 2020. Between April and August 2019, the percentage of job changes classified as internal movements was 16.5%. During this same period in 2020, internal hires rose sharply to 19.6%.

Since internal mobility promotes higher retention and engagement, it makes sense that it is also a more cost-effective strategy. 

As we know, hiring and onboarding new employees can be costly. Replacing an employee can cost 50-60% of that employee’s salary on average. As Toggl Hire explains, “an average company loses anywhere between 1% and 2.5% of their total revenue on the time it takes to bring a new hire up to speed.” 

Given the average turnover rate for all companies is 19% per year, these costs add up quickly. On the other hand, companies with lower turnover rates bring in four times higher profits on average.

When it comes to internal hiring, companies currently spend just 6% of their recruitment budget on internal candidates. However, these candidates fill 15-20% of job openings. 

By focussing on internal mobility, you’re not only saving on negligible advertising and onboarding costs, but you could also be saving massively in the long run. Consider this: analysis by Gartner recently found that employee turnover due poor internal mobility and future career opportunities costs an average-sized organisation a whopping $49 million per year.

Internal mobility is an excellent tool to recognise and reward high-performing employees, or shift employees into roles that better suit their skill-sets. However, from a purely business-focussed perspective, it can also be a huge cost-cutter. Win-win! 

What teams are getting wrong about internal mobility

Given the far-ranging benefits of a robust internal mobility program, the question becomes, why aren’t more teams focussing on internal mobility? Currently, only 13% of L&D professionals say their internal mobility programs are centralised to one team or individual. Additionally, Deloitte finds that only 6% of businesses think they are doing an ‘excellent’ job at internal mobility, with a further 36% saying they are doing a ‘good’ job. Shockingly, only 65% of teams say they even advertise open positions internally. 

Given this, it’s no surprise that most employees are willing to turn their backs and look elsewhere for a new job. According to a survey by Deloitte, 57% of employees believe it would be easier to find a new job in a different organisation, compared to just 43% who said it would be easier to find a new job in their current organisation. 

Many common roadblocks stand in the way of internal mobility. For example, 49% of businesses say they lack the processes to identify and move employees into new roles, while 45% of employees say they lack information on available roles. In fact, according to Deloitte, “many HR leaders tell us that employees find it easier to quit and be rehired than to change positions within the organisation, because of the lack of systems to enable and promote internal moves.” 

In addition, 46% of managers were resistant to internal moves. This resistance can have a massive impact on retention, as companies that rate highly for "open and effective management," have a 48% chance of retaining an employee after three years. For teams with low management scores, this drops to just 32%. 

As usual, L&D teams will play a key role in overcoming these roadblocks. Already, LinkedIn finds that L&D plays a central role in internal mobility programs. 39% of L&D teams help identify skill gaps, 31% help identify skill adjacencies, and, most importantly, 33% of L&D teams are actively involved in building internal mobility tools. As more organisations recognise the vast potential of internal mobility, expect these numbers to continue to climb. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

We’ll look at why internal mobility is a must-have in the modern workforce — particularly with the threat of The Great Resignation looming.

Why internal mobility is vital in today’s workforce

No longer limited to dev ops and project management teams, agile ways of working have now proven their worth across multiple industries. The past two years have shown the scale of benefits that agility and adaptability can bring to the workplace. However, the destabilizing nature of agile work environments can sometimes negatively affect employees’ mental health and wellbeing.

So, how can we maintain the positive aspects of agile environments into the future of work while minimizing the impact on employee stability and workplace mental health? 

Smarter work design is essential to make a potentially disruptive work culture psychologically safer for staff.

Essentially, this includes planning to be able to throw your plan out the window.

The modern working world, particularly in the technology and digital service industries, involves a relentless rate of change. While start-ups continue to prove their capacity to disrupt industries and norms with lightning speed and confidence, traditional organizations are often left slowly playing catch-up. 

Maintaining a seat at the table requires a focus on fostering disruptive abilities and authentic connections with your customers and employees. 

Disruptive ability is the capacity of a team or workplace to rapidly prioritize new focuses, shift activities, and turnaround solutions. This capacity is strengthened by a clear purpose, autonomy, and a culture of continuous learning.

Henna Inam, Forbes contributor and author of Wired for Disruption, notes that ‘as the future is unpredictable, we create the future by learning in the present moment.’  

Research from a BetterUp leadership coaching program recently revealed a strong correlation between mental fitness improvements within management (lower stress, higher purpose, and higher resilience – each up by 25-30% on average) and attaining organizational growth goals. 

Agility has been crucial over the past few years. But how can we make agile ways of working sustainable for the future of work?