Essay: Emerging Trends and HRM in the Australian Workplace

This essay explores the emerging trends shaping the Australian workplace, focusing on the impact of globalization, technological advancements, and workforce diversity. It examines the shift from routine to non-routine jobs, the challenges and opportunities presented by multigenerational workforces, and the increasing importance of automation. The essay analyzes the implications of these trends for human resource management (HRM), including the need for redesigned HR processes, employee recruitment and retention strategies, and the importance of employee engagement. It also discusses the specific examples of companies like Wesfarmers and Rio Tinto and the strategies they are adopting to adapt to the changing workplace. The essay concludes by highlighting the positive and negative impacts of these trends on both employees and employers and the need for proactive HRM strategies to manage the challenges and leverage the opportunities presented by the evolving workplace.

Emerging trends at workplace 0
Emerging trends at workplace
Student’s Name

Emerging trends at workplace 1
Globalization of economies has led to the creation of a multigenerational workforce in
the organizations. It has led to increasing in competition among the firms and develops the
need to adapt the innovative changes in the technology and the workplace to maintain its
competitive advantage over its competitors and expand the market share by attracting the new
potential customers. In the modern business, organizations consist of the multi-generational
workforce who has different perceptions, attitudes and the values. Such a difference in
perceptions creates conflicts among the workers and however hampers the growth of the
organization by a decrease in the productivity of the firm (Deborah, 2012).
The emerging trends at the workplace of Australia are the shift towards the non-
routine jobs from the routine jobs, the difference in perceptions of the employees due to the
large generational gaps and the adoption of the automation of the technology develops the
need to incubate the fresh talent who will skilfully handle the complexities of the business.
The importance of casual workers in increasing because organizations prefer employees
based on non-routine jobs (Hogan, 2016).
The workforce participation of the women has also increased in Australia having a
highly skilled workforce and achieving success for the organization. The Australian
workforce consists of four generations who have different working styles, perceptions,
attitude, beliefs needs and expectations which can lead to the creation of conflicts among the
workforce (Cole, Oliver & Blaviesciunaite, 2014).
Development of technologies has led to shifting towards smart work rather than the
application of the lengthy process, which creates delay and reduces the efficiency of
operations. Development of such trends creates both the negative and the positive impact as
automation helps in quick delivery of services but also requires the employees who are highly
skilled and capable of doing the job. Such changes increase the demand of the incubation of

Emerging trends at workplace 2
the fresh talent and however harming the job security of the existing employees (Hadgraft et
al, 2016).
Adaption of the emerging trends at the Australian workplace has developed the need
to redesign the human resource management process and to critically examine and develop
the policies that focus more on employee recruitment and retention. The HR planning has
become more complex because adoption of the new technologies and implementation of the
emerging trends requires the recruitment of the highly skilled workforce who is able to
understand the complexities of the business and apply its competent skills to increase the
productivity of the organization. The recruitment process has become much more complex
than before because the policies developed under the human resource management program
ensures that right amount of workforce is recruited at the right time so that productivity of the
company can be improved and the organization can effectively achieve its objectives (Martin
& Ottemann, 2016).
The globalization of the countries has increased the chances of mobility of the
workforce because the employees have received the opportunity to transfer to the places that
suit them the most. However, the organization must focus on retention of the employees by
attracting and motivating them through rewards and recognition (Cole, Oliver &
Blaviesciunaite, 2014).
The organization must design the jobs according to the changing requirements of the
business so that the complexities can be handled in an efficient manner and does not hamper
the growth of the organization. The organization must focus on training the employees with
skills and engaging them more in the business. Employee engagement in the business process
will help the company to retain the employees as the employees will be satisfied and will be

Emerging trends at workplace 3
encouraged to contribute more towards the organization objectives (Martin & Ottemann,
2016).
Adoption of the emerging trends at the workplace of Australia has major implications
on the human resource management because the strategies must be developed in such a
manner that it focuses on employee engagement and retention. It should adopt the strategies
that will help in providing satisfaction to the employees and enhancing the productivity of the
organization (Teicher, Holland & Gough, 2013).
Adoption of the innovative technologies and the emerging trends develop the need to
recruit the workforce who are fully equipped will the skills. The recruitment of highly skilled
workforce creates higher expectations from the organization. Such over expectations from the
organizations created dissatisfaction among the recruited staff and creates the challenge for
the company to retain the staff for the longest time. Implementation of such trends develops
the need to critically examine and develop human resource management strategies (Teicher,
Holland & Gough, 2013).
It is analyzed that the millennials are coming at the workplace of Australia and these
younger people have different expectations regarding the benefits provided to them.
Retention of such younger generations is becoming a challenge for the organizations and
emerges the need to redesign the human resource management structures and policies (Pilati,
Sheikh, Sperotti & Tilly, 2015).
The company like Wesfarmers has also adopted the emerging trends at the workplace
and fosters on creating value for the customers. The company has adopted the innovative
technology to compete in the dynamic environment and sustain its competitive advantage. It
has redesigned its HR strategy to provide satisfaction to its existing employees and recruit
potential employees for the organization. The company has implemented the changes in

Emerging trends at workplace 4
technology and has focused on recruiting workers on a casual basis so that the best
employees can be recruited and improve the overall efficiency of the organizations
(Wesfarmers, 2015).
The company like Rio Tinto has also employed the emerging trends. It is examined
that the company embraces the change in the workplace by using innovative technology to
upsurge its productivity and move to the automation of the machinery has reduced the
demand for labor in the company. It is observed that the implementation of such emerging
trends progresses the need to effectively tool HR planning to incubate the right people at the
right time. The company focuses on retaining its talented employees to upsurge the
productivity of the company. Application of emerging trends creates dissatisfaction among
the workforce, as the workforce cannot easily familiarize with the complexities of innovative
technology (RIO TINTO, 2017).
The enforcement of a multi-generational workforce creates the complexities for the
employers to handle the diverse needs and expectations of the workforce and managing of the
diverse attitudes and working style of the workforce. Employment of such workforce creates
the challenge of negative stereotyping between the employees and with management.
Employees feel that there is the occurrence of favoritism and biases and creates the feeling of
dissatisfaction among the employees. The diverse generations also have the negative
stereotypes for each other as if the millennials feel that the elder generation staff resist
adopting the change and do not have the skills to solve the changing complexities.
Alternatively, the elder generations have the stereotype that the millennials expectations are
more than the skills they possess. Such difference in perceptions creates the internal conflicts
between the employees and the employees do not share the knowledge and skills, which in
turn reduces the productivity of the company (Hajkowicz et al, 2016).

Emerging trends at workplace 5
Changes in the workplace develop the need to recruit employees who are highly
equipped with the required skills. The emergence of such needs creates the fear of job loss for
the existing staff and however hampers the growth of the organization because the employees
feel discouraged and do not employ all its abilities to the goals of the organization
(Christensen & Schneider, 2015).
The shift to the part-time workers and the freelancers has created the challenge for the
employers because of lack of interaction between them and non-fulfillment of the
requirements of the employers. The absence of the workers leads to delay in decision-making
and an overall reduction in the efficiency of the operations of the organization (Young et al,
2015).
Recruitment of the millennials will lead to removal of the existing staff, which will
lead to loss of experience of the elder staff because if the organization do not provide
effective training to its new employees they will not be able to gain experience and in turn
will lead to inefficient communications and reduction of the productivity of the organization
(Ramana & Jesper, 2010).
Adoption of the emerging trends at the Australian workplace provides the opportunity
to the employees by enhancing their career opportunities and development of the new skills
by providing effective training to the employees. Introduction to higher positions will lead to
designing of the new reward systems and will enhance the quality of life of the employees.
Adoption of the innovative technologies and multi-generational workforce helps the
employers in effective implementation of the activities by applying the creative skills of all
employees and provides the opportunity to expand the business and sustain the competitive
advantage in the competitive environment (Pilati, Sheikh, Sperotti & Tilly, 2015).

Emerging trends at workplace 6
From the above paragraph, it is concluded that the adoption of the emerging trends
leaves the positive as well as the negative impact on the organization and creates the
opportunities and challenges for both the employees and the employers. Development of
emerging trends leads to career advancements opportunities for the employees and helps the
company in increasing their productivity and sustaining their competitive advantage.
Adoption of such emerging trends has developed the need to critically evaluate and redesign
the human resource management strategies for more engagement and retention of the
employees.

Emerging trends at workplace 7
References
Christensen, K., & Schneider, B. (2015). Workplace Flexibility: Realigning 20th-century jobs
for a 21st-century workforce. United States of America: Cornell University Press
Cole, J., Oliver, A., & Blaviesciunaite, A. (2014). The changing nature of workplace
culture. Facilities, 32(13/14), 786-800.
Deborah, B. (2012). The evolving workplace: New (and re-emerging) trends: Significant
shifts in the workplace are under way. Here's what to expect in the coming year. T D,
66(5), 44.
Hadgraft, N., Brakenridge, C., LaMontagne, A., Fjeldsoe, B., Lynch, B., Dunstan, D.,
Lawler, S. (2016). Feasibility and acceptability of reducing workplace sitting time: A
qualitative study with Australian office workers. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 1-14.
Hajkowicz, S. A., Reeson, A., Rudd, L., Bratanova, A., Hodgers, L., Mason, C., & Boughen,
N. (2016). Tomorrow’s digitally enabled workforce: Megatrends and scenarios for
jobs and employment in Australia over the coming twenty years. Australian Policy
Online. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3999.5282
Hogan, B. (2016). Workplace relations: the urgent need for change. Review - Institute of
Public Affairs, 68(4), 20-23.
Martin, T. N., & Ottemann, R. (2016). Generational workforce demographic trends and total
organizational rewards, which might attract and retain different generational
employees. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 16(2), 1160.
Pilati, M., Sheikh, H., Sperotti, F., & Tilly, C. (2015). How global migration changes the
workforce diversity equation. United Kingdom: Cambridge scholars publishing

Emerging trends at workplace 8
Ramana, N. & Jesper B.S. (2010). Workplace peers and entrepreneurship. Management
Science, 56(7), 1116-1126.
RIO TINTO. (2017). Workplace 2030: Emerging business challenges and opportunities
[Online]. Available from:
http://www.riotinto.com/documents/171013_RT_Workplace_2030.pdf [Accessed
8/1/19]
Teicher, J., Holland, P., & Gough, R. (2013). Australian workplace relations. United States
of America: Cambridge university press
Wesfarmers.(2015). Delivering value today and tomorrow. Retrieved from:
https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/reports/2015-annual-report.pdf?
sfvrsn=4
Young, W., Davis, M., McNeill, I. M., Malhotra, B., Russell, S., Unsworth, K., & Clegg, C.
W. (2015). Changing behaviour: successful environmental programmes in the
workplace. Business Strategy and the Environment, 24(8), 689-703.