Dynamic Work is the Future

We’ll enable employees to work from wherever makes most sense for them, provide flexible work schedules, the right technology, and personalised benefits to make work, work for each person. And, we’ll find unique ways for people to collaborate and communicate so that they feel ownership and belonging.

When we started piloting Dynamic Work at Okta in 2019, we found that this flexibility increased empowerment, satisfaction, and productivity. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated our move to Dynamic Work, and we believe our experience and vision will be widely applicable to every company thinking about how to reinvent their work environments. Together, we can make work more liveable and sustainable.

Even before COVID-19, macroeconomic, generational, and technology trends were impacting the workforce, making not just remote work, but Dynamic Work a necessity. Our strategy helps us prepare for the realities the workforce faces.

Urban unaffordability

The cost of city living is rapidly increasing, but salaries are not growing at the same rates. This leads employees to spend more on rent or mortgages than they would like or live outside of larger markets and commute for hours every day. Allowing employees to work from anywhere drives efficiency and enables organisations to hire diverse talent from outside of the markets in which they have offices.

Generational shifts

Millennials — a generation known for prioritising impact, freedom, and flexibility — will comprise the majority of the workforce by 2025. Gen Z is entering the workforce for the 1st time, and their preferences are also different than Millenials or Gen X. We need to empower these different generations with a flexible approach to work that enables them to do great work in a way that has meaningful impact.

Technology trends

Every company is a technology company. The proliferation of cloud technology provides organisations with more flexibility to meet their employee and customer needs from anywhere.

Distributed workforces

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the need for remote collaboration, security, and productivity solutions across industries. The traditional workplace is a thing of the past, and organisations are moving toward a more distributed, flexible working environment. Learn how to secure your dynamic workforce.

The three pillars of Dynamic Work

1. Getting technology infrastructure right

2. Redesigning and rethinking the traditional workspace

3. Cultivating a great company culture

Having the right technologies in place is critical for the success of the entire employee base. Whether employees are connecting in an office space, from a coffee shop, or from their homes, they need to be able to effectively collaborate and access the technologies that make them productive and successful.

Our current reliance on workplace collaboration, security, and productivity tools will not go away. A Dynamic Work environment requires a variety of software and hardware tools like Box, Slack, Proofpoint, Zoom, digital whiteboards, utilisation sensors and more. You can see the tools that organisations are employing to improve productivity and collaboration and secure their dynamic workforce in our recent Businesses @ Work From Home report, and in the remote work toolkit.

The future workspace requires reimagining to better fit a dynamic workforce. This new environment includes adaptable spaces that allow for movement and flexibility during the work day, while incorporating the latest technology for efficient connectivity and collaboration. It also keeps sustainability top of mind, redesigning spaces or rethinking utilization to support a lower carbon footprint.

Dynamic Work is proven to have a positive impact on our carbon footprint. Okta conducted the Dynamic Work Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Study, a study designed to measure the environmental impact of today’s hybrid workforce, and found that in a Dynamic Work environment, per employee emissions are estimated to be 21 percent lower than they were prior to Dynamic Work.

To see the office of the future –– one that’s more sustainable and flexible –– scroll through our early concepts below:

Dynamic Work is more than enabling employees to work from anywhere; it’s about providing employees with comparable benefits (healthcare, fitness, volunteer opportunities), and flexible work environments and experiences, regardless of their location. With Dynamic Work, leaders need to rethink how they’re supporting employees and cultivating a great culture. The key is providing flexibility: around the hours employees work, where they live and work, the benefits you offer, and how often and when they work in an office.

Dynamic Work organisations should also provide more access to virtual learning and development opportunities, and enable hiring managers to hire from a broader, more diverse pool of talent, as they are no longer tied to the physical constraints of an office or city.

To keep things fun and provide employees with opportunities to engage in a more social setting, leaders should also incorporate virtual workplace activities, such as happy hours, external speakers for Employee Resource Group meetings, or fitness competitions where employees win swag.

Press release

Okta Reaches 100 Percent Renewable Electricity for Global Offices and Workforce; Pioneers Hybrid Work Emissions Study

Dynamic Work environment shows per employee emissions reduced twenty-one percent; Identity leader reaches its renewable electricity goal ahead of target.

Read now

Report

Businesses at Work (from Home)

COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for organisations around the world. With millions suddenly working from home for the first time, companies need ways to ensure productivity, connectivity, and security—quickly.

Read the report

Whitepaper