What the Workplace Will Look Like in 2019 The trends lean towards adapting to the changes in the employee landscape and acknowledge the blurring of the lines between an employee's professional and personal lives

As we look towards 2019 and reflect on the year that was, it's interesting to note that many of the workplace trends that come to mind for the next 11.5 months aren't new but instead topics that grown and built upon what were emerging trends of previous years.

Most of these trends lean toward adapting to the changes in the employee landscape and acknowledge the blurring of the lines between an employee's professional and personal lives and the impact they have on one and other. We asked Vu Tran, the co-founder of GO1.com, a training marketplace firm, what the workplace of 2019 will look like.

Here's what he had to say. Edited excerpts:

Improving workplace happiness

As leaders in our organizations, we have an obligation to our employees not just in terms of their physical safety and wellbeing but their emotional health as well. We've have noted a significant increase in the number of companies searching for training around key areas related to resilience, improving mental health in the workplace and even mindfulness training for employees.

Evolution of AI

AI and machine learning are becoming more and more part of our everyday lives through interaction with products and services from Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple. As a result, the emergence of AI in the workplace whether it be through HR and learning tools through to even using AI to manage our own email inboxes, there is a growing expectation that AI in the workforce will be harnessed to not only make employees more productive, but reduce the need to execute mundane tasks or those which can be automated. This, in turn, allows employees to have more time to focus on problem solving and creativity and ultimately deliver greater value to their organizations.

Further focus on training and up-skilling

With a more mobile global workforce than we've ever had before, the desire and need to up-skill and learn has emerged as a key driver around an employee's choice to stay or move on to new jobs. As a result, not only does workplace learning play a fundamental role in nurturing great talent and building high-performance teams, professional development and training will also continue to play a key role in retaining great talent as well.

Workplaces becoming greener

As generation X and millennials emerge to become the bulk of our workforce, their values around sustainability and the environment will mean that workplaces will inevitability become greener and cleaner. As the competition for top tier talent continues to grow employees will continue to look for workplaces that align with their values and beliefs including those around sustainability and environmental responsibility.

Remote working

Substantial advancements in communication technology over the last decade with the emergence and rapid uptake of products such as Skype, Slack and Zoom have made the ability to work with remote teams not only easier but an integral aspect of almost any modern business. This combined with a growing shift in an employee's desire to find a sustainable work-life balance along with the greater representation of women, mothers and indeed parents in the workplace has meant that the ability to work from home or work remotely has transitioned to the new norm for many organizations.

This story is part our special series on the new trends of 2019. To know what the coming year has in store for AI, click here.