Launch of EY Future of Work Report

At Oslo Business Forum, OBF CEO Christoffer Omberg and EY Norway Country Managing Partner Christin Bosterud introduced their joint research on the future of work and invited EY Associate Partner Kjetil Kristiansen to present key findings from the report.

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The report

In September, Oslo Business Forum released the Future of Work Report, a CEO survey powered by EY. Pursuing this research afforded OBF and EY a chance to better understand how leaders and their teams view the future.

“We’ve been excited about this for some time,” said Christoffer as he encouraged Christin to discuss the importance of this research to EY, as well.

“This was important for EY because this is what we talk to clients about,” said Christin. “Most companies have a purpose, and for us, that’s building a better working world.”

The key takeaways

Kjetil Kristiansen, an EY Associate Partner close to the research, presented key findings from the survey. “You need to seize the opportunity and create the future for yourself,” said Kjetil. “But it is hard to know where to go if you don’t know where you’re currently standing.”

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."

As the survey partners considered how leaders can best prepare for the future, this became the starting point for the OBF-EY research. They decided to conduct two parallel surveys to gain different perspectives on where Norwegian organizations stand on the brink of the new reality.

Recognizing that organizations are complex entities, the researchers wanted to understand whether CEOs have the complete picture of their business’ preparedness for the future. To achieve this, they conducted two parallel surveys: A survey administered by OBF probed 153 CEOs across various sectors and industries. At the same time, a survey administered by Norstat polled 1,077 employees using the same questions.

• The survey found that 8 of 10 CEOs believe their organizations have the right systems and tools to meet the needs of the future of work.
• A majority of CEOs reported that their organizations adopted full flexibility work models.
• Overall, CEOs are more optimistic about the current state of affairs than employees across these key markers: productivity, cooperation, leadership, culture, work environment, and loyalty (3.4 vs. 3.1).

As you dive deeper into the survey’s findings, the feedback becomes even more revealing.

• 4 of 10 CEOs believe the key markers are better today than before the pandemic.
• 3% of CEOs believe we are less productive today than before the pandemic.
• 6% of CEOs believe our work environments are worse off today than before the pandemic.
• 2 of 10 CEOs believe middle managers are aligned for follow-up and well-equipped for the future.

At this fork in the road, it is apparent that many organizations have one foot in old ways of doing things and one foot grasping for safe ground in the future. It is a clear indicator that management and leadership are becoming more difficult.

The leader perspectives

Kjetil joined other leaders for a closer look at the survey’s findings, welcoming Christin back to the stage along with Øyvind Larsen, the CEO of Visma Software. In a moderated discussion, the three leaders talked about ways of working in a hybrid model, the use of technology, and what we can expect in the future.

The leaders were pleased to see that the survey shows culture and work environment can improve when working under a hybrid model, and they speculated on why.

“If you offer flexibility, there is a fear you will lose something in your culture,” said Christin. “It is actually the opposite; opening for flexibility involves inclusiveness in a different way and shows we are capable of offering flexibility and taking care of the culture.”

Working in a flexible model can be harder for managers, and the survey clearly shows that leaders grasp that. One of the obstacles many organizations had to contend with at the onset of the pandemic was the accelerated use of technology.

“When Covid hit, we found that most of us were able to do our jobs from home,” said Øyvind. “So, I believe the technology is in place, but we’ll be forced to keep being adaptable. We’re gradually learning to use technology to a better degree, but there is always room for improvement.”

As leaders reflect on what the future holds, it becomes clear that we cannot take anything for granted.

“We need to reassess some of the models we’re working with,” said Kjetil. “We must reassess the idea that we have specific knowledge about where we are going and acknowledge that the old way of thinking doesn’t always apply.”

This continuous assessment will require leaders to seek out information and avoid assumptions. When the panelists were asked to offer advice about how to approach this, they all agreed that it is important to maintain a pulse on the organization. Listening will empower leaders to understand how our work models and leadership must continue to change and develop.

“Organizations need to offer flexibility to people when they can, but they also must be flexible themselves,” said Christin. “We need to be agile, and to do this, we must be close to what’s happening all the time.”

“Small tunes and tweaks,” advised Øyvind. “Try not to make too big changes, but rather small ones continuously.”

As the discussion came to a close, the panelists were eager to share their biggest “aha!” experiences from the last couple of years.

“Going into the current situation, we were fairly reluctant to give people flexibility,” said Christin. “But we actually saw productivity go up.”

The leaders on the panel believe this phenomenon comes down to work-life balance. As leaders, it is essential that we support our employees to focus on work-life balance, and the simplest way to do so is by walking the walk and talking the talk.

Key Points

• A survey administered by OBF probed 153 CEOs across various sectors and industries about where Norwegian organizations stand on the future of work. A parallel survey administered by Norstat polled 1,077 employees to assess the alignment of leader and organizational perspectives.
• The survey found that 8 of 10 CEOs believe their organizations have the right systems and tools to meet the needs of the future of work.
  Overall, CEOs are more optimistic about the current state of affairs than employees across these key markers: productivity, cooperation, leadership, culture, work environment, and loyalty.
• 4 of 10 CEOs believe these key markers are better today than before the pandemic.
• 2 of 10 CEOs believe middle managers are well-equipped for the future.
• At this juncture, it is apparent that many organizations have one foot in old ways of doing things and one foot grasping for safe ground in the future.

Questions to Consider

• Do you believe your organization has the right systems and tools for the future of work?
• How did your work environment and culture change when working under a hybrid model?
• Do you have the right technology in place to support hybrid work in the future?
• Where can you improve your use of technology?
• What mechanisms have you put in place to support flexible work and employee work-life balance?

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