With the dawning of a new year, many are taking a second look at their jobs and wondering if there is a better way. Is there a better way to work? Is there a better way to employ people? Is there a better way to run their business?

Today we’re looking at some of the changing trends in employment you can expect to see gaining more traction this year, to give a little more fuel to the fire of your speculation.

Going Solo

More and more people are choosing to leave a fixed, salaried career and go it alone. A few years in the Executive echelons of a company grant valuable experience that those who are willing to forgo the security of a long term job are able to charge a high price.

Consultancy is the usual route for those who want to sell their expertise on the open marker, but other options like Interim Management have become increasingly popular since the beginning of the decade. Interim serves the dual purpose of allowing motivated, experienced professionals to command a high fee for their expertise and providing a constant challenge. There are no ordinary days in Interim, so for those seeking a challenge it’s an ideal change of career that unshackles them from more mundane careers.

Flexible Working

For those who prefer the security of a more traditional salaried job, changes are still afoot. With advances in networking technology, there are fewer and fewer productive tasks workers can do on-site in the office that they cannot do in their own homes. The march of globalisation means that people across the world in different time zones are collaborating on the same projects – and where geographical distance makes it a necessity to do that, it proves that flexible working hours for people in the same country and business needn’t be a bar to collaboration.

These factors have combined to make the standard 40 hour working week look very different. For those wishing to combine their career with childcare, meeting the needs of a sick relative, or simply an improved commute and better work-life balance, 2018 could be a much happier time. In collaboration with an understanding manager, the week could begin with work at home after taking children to school, completing reports and holding conference calls at the kitchen table into the afternoon. With an extended break to collect the children and get them fed and settled, the remainder of the working day is completed into the evening.

With more and more businesses open to such flexible working, managers who aren’t prepared to at least discuss the possibility with their employees will struggle to retain the best talent.