2020’s pandemic affected the world of work at every level. The way we live has changed fundamentally, with a greater focus on distance and safety. Our consumer habits are evolving, and society overall has seen a massive shift to something new. The sheer volume of changes that occurred last year means that the future of work, and indeed the world, is still in flux for many of us.
Microsoft, one of the market leaders in technology and collaboration, recently revealed a new resource to help with this confusion. The Microsoft WorkLab explores the science of work, and the trends that are currently emerging in our new marketplace.
The WorkLab site features a selection of incredible articles, reports, and studies on things like the future of work, remote working trends, and employee wellbeing.
What’s Available on Microsoft WorkLab?
According to Jared Spataro, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft 365, and now WorkLab too, this new digital publication is committed to “illuminating” the future of work as it becomes evident. Through a carefully curated selection of research, and informative insights, Microsoft hopes to better understand where the workplace is heading and help today’s teams get back on track.
WorkLab is currently home to a selection of valuable resources already. Articles on Wellbeing discuss the way humans connect and disconnect in a digital world. Insights into Work Life and Going Remote address the pros and cons of a new type of productivity, and the always-on economy.
Microsoft also has tips and tricks available on how to build a healthier meeting culture, and why it’s important to give frontline workers the right hub for communication.
Aside from a collection of engaging articles, Microsoft has also introduced a selection of Work Trend Index Reports. These are basically an accumulation of Microsoft’s findings on the way that work has changed, and its predictions for the future. Current reports available include:
- Remote work trend report: Meetings
- The future of work: The good, the challenging, and the unknown
- A pulse on employees’ wellbeing six months into the pandemic
There’s also a Workplace Insights section to the publication where you can discover information from a selection of experienced professionals. As the WorkLab environment continues to grow, Microsoft will continue to add more information and content for the remote landscape.
What’s the Plan for WorkLab?
As a global leader in all things technology, Microsoft is in a unique position. Not only has the company experienced the shift in the workplace, but it’s also been able to gather insights and information from other thought leaders and researchers too. Microsoft is using WorkLab as a central hub for the cumulation of workplace data.
According to Jared Spataro, the overarching idea is that WorkLab will become a destination for “sharing” valuable and thoughtful information. This isn’t just a place to read up on Microsoft studies, but to discover information from various science-based reports, and company stories. Microsoft wanted to create something that companies could use to better understand the realities imposed on us by the impact of the pandemic.
As you sort through the content on the WorkLab right now, you’re likely to see a lot of reference to Microsoft’s own team, and the tools that the company offers to support the shift to remote work. There’s a lot of discussion about how Microsoft made the transition to remote working, and what kind of technology teams are now using to stay connected.
However, this publication isn’t just a giant advertisement for the Microsoft 365 environment or anything else you might need from the brand. While there are studies on how Microsoft Teams can help with meetings, and what employees can do with Office solutions on the cloud, there’s extra content too. Various stories give you an insight into the journey that even big brands like Microsoft have taken in the last year.
Reports and whitepapers provide numerical data about how people are really experiencing the new remote landscape and the genuine strategies that teams can use to evolve. You can even learn about how Microsoft came up with the idea for the Together Mode feature on Teams, and why it’s been such a valuable addition to video conferencing.
Evaluating the Present and the Future
Jeff Teper, the CVP of Microsoft 365 and Teams, commented on the release of WorkLab in a press release. According to Jeff, this site, which is focused on the future of work, will be a celebration of knowledge and insight. Although WorkLab leverages Microsoft’s extensive insights and research, it also includes customer voices and aims to spark a conversation on how the world is changing.
Throughout various studies and reports, you can gather countless statistics on the growth of workplace friendships and company culture in a remote world. There’s advice on how to find true balance in a place that’s both an office and a home. Microsoft has also published an extensive that combines various studies into a huge 69-page document.
The “New Future of Work” (opens pdf) research initiative consists of more than 50 projects created by teams that range all the way from marketing, to research, engineering, human resources, and beyond.
Microsoft also says that it’s going to be listening to the conversations that emerge in the industry going forward and using those insights to spark further research. The WorkLab publication will continue to evolve with every new experiment and study.
Microsoft believes that WorkLab could become the ultimate research portal for today’s teams – offering them insight on how to navigate the world of work.
Most companies agree that ever since the pandemic, the world of work will never go back to what it was before. However, now, Microsoft is making some important strides towards discovering where we are in this new landscape, and which roads are available for us going forward.
Make sure you check WorkLab out if you haven’t already, it’s available to access now, and it’s totally free to use.
Read more:
Microsoft Explores the “New Future of Work”
