Worklife.com | BY LAURA PETRECCA | JANUARY 4, 2023 | Work’s new normal | Business Insurance

Inflation.

A potential recession.

Geopolitical uncertainty.

Managing a remote workforce.

Company leaders are buckling up for a bumpy 2023. After nearly three years of dealing with pandemic-induced stressors, they’re bracing for more tough times to come with economic instability, geopolitical risks, and talent-related concerns, among other looming issues.

As we enter the new year, more than a dozen top executives have shared their expected challenges with WorkLife. They also reflected upon their most pressing concerns in 2022 and addressed how they cope with continuous change.

The leaders work at firms that range from startups to well-established companies and represent different fields, such as communications, health care, food service, and entertainment. Yet, many of their concerns overlapped. In their predictions for 2023, one overarching theme emerged: expect the unexpected.

“Never before have CEOs faced so many different variables in trying to plan for, budget and strategize” for a new year, said Constantine Alexandrakis, CEO of leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates, who speaks with other CEOs regularly. “The unpredictability of the unpredictability is the biggest thing keeping us up at night.”

At his firm, “the biggest challenge will be navigating that uncertainty, pivoting resources, attention and investments to where the opportunities are and pivoting away from the spots that will be particularly troubled,” he said.

For Lisa Osborne Ross, U.S. CEO at public relations giant Edelman, the most daunting challenge of the last few years was simply accepting the ambiguity and uncertainty. “I thought the hard would be over by now,” she said. “But we still have yet to truly define our new normal, and that lack of clarity on the future of our workplace — and our world — continues. Being comfortable with those lingering unknowns, while still seeking to move forward and make progress, is not an easy position to be in.”

Looking ahead, “the biggest leadership challenge of 2023 will be learning how to not just survive but thrive, regardless of what comes our way,” she added.

Contending with internal and external issues | Work’s new normal

And indeed, there’s much coming their way.

There are internal concerns, such as keeping a remote workforce productive and engaged, as well as outside factors, such as inflation, economic instability, and the widespread effects of the war in Ukraine.

On the workforce front, Melissa Bouma, CEO of content marketing agency Manifest, said finding a hybrid work model where employees can effectively ideate and create is among her most significant issues as a leader.

Like countless other CEOs, Bouma also manages employees that had an incredibly tough past few years. “We went through the pandemic. We went through societal evolution. We went through a Great Resignation and reshuffle,” she said. And now there are concerns about inflation and the overall economy.

One of her biggest challenges in 2023 is “to find a way to encourage everyone at the same time to get excited and passionate and remain that way,” she said.