"A trend that has been creeping on us by stealth is the rate at which staff are being laid off and rehired by project as self-employed workers with no benefits. There are advantages and disadvantages to both the organization and the individual.
But 2017 is likely to be the year in which sleeping giants are awoken and decide to figure out what this all means: on-boarding and accommodating contract staff quickly and successfully, IP considerations, loyalty, accessing the right talent on-demand, market places for free-lancers, the self-employed, productivity considerations, access to new ideas and experience, variable work force and new paradigms of workforce value versus cost."
Chris Hood, Director at Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA)
Trend 7: People will break out of organizational straightjackets

"The single most important trend this year will be that people will finally start to break out of organizational straightjackets. They will begin to experiment, take risks, break rules (with care) and shortcut (unnecessarily complex) enterprise processes in order to create value for customers and for the workforce. I call this "freedom within a framework".
The framework is both work culture and technology-based. It is being built and already exists in some organizations. It will become more widespread over 2017."
Jane McConnell, Organization in the Digital Age: Advisor, Analyst and Speaker (Report)
Trend 8: Personalization of the digital workplace

"I think the most important trend for this year would be the personalization of the digital workplace - i.e. the targeted delivery of the tools, applications, dashboards, content, contacts - that people need to do their work based on their job role, location and/or business unit.
LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook already does this - i.e. every end user has a unique home page. I think this same trend will continue to evolve in the work places as well."
Andrew Wright, Founder of the Worldwide Intranet Challenge and intranet transformation expert
Trend 9: Increase in activity-based workspaces

“The increase in shared space environments and activity-based work, coupled with the strong emphasis that has been placed on engaging the workforce, empowering employees to seek out the type of space best suited for the task, and creating a positive workplace experience, will result in a new confluence.
Organizations will be driven to quantify the impact that the physical work environment has on workforce productivity. The data most beneficial to the enterprise will be both quantifiable and qualifiable, enabling opportunities for translating the findings into actionable areas for improvement.”
Diane Stegmeier, CEO & Founder of Stegmeier Consulting Group
Trend 10: Infinite workplace

"The most important workplace trend in 2017 is INFINITE WORKPLACE.
Fast growing startups and enterprises alike are rejecting the constraints of traditional real estate leasing, and the cost and waste that comes with committing to a fixed location and fixed term for all work activity. In its place, companies are adopting Infinite Workplace strategies, tapping the full array of flexible space options now available from Coworking providers, Serviced Offices, Private Businesses sharing space and Landlords offering flexible terms."
Mark Gilbreath, CEO/Founder/Skipper of LiquidSpace
***
Let me thank our panel of experts for their insights. Many of them returned for our 2018 edition and 2019 edition!