Let's take a look at some emerging trends in relation to HR. Lately, many companies have transitioned to remote work. In order to better monitor productivity, businesses have integrated technology to measure employee patterns and time spent on work. This has fueled a need for companies to find the right balance between monitoring employees' work and their right to privacy. A human resources challenge is to teach leaders multiple strategies for managing remote workers in a way that engages them without relying on reports that calculate numbers of keystrokes. Another emerging trend is employee wellness. This goes beyond the basic health and benefits package. There are many non-work factors affecting the workforce, so HR leaders need to address total wellness for employees in order for them to focus on daily workloads. For example, if an employee is struggling with personal issues or health concerns, those stressors can affect the employee's performance. Adding support and mental health programs to the total benefits package can help resolve these issues. A company can always take a neutral stance on topics surrounding social awareness and political issues, and HR may need to provide guidance on these sensitive topics. For example, employees may want to show support for a Black Lives Matter March or an LGBTQ Pride Event. The company will need to decide how that will look, what level of involvement makes sense, whether to issue any public statements, and understand the implications these choices can have on employees, customers, owners or stockholders. In order to successfully implement workplace strategies on evolving issues such as these, it's important to stay current. Dedicate time each week to read industry journals or news feeds. Network in your discipline, but not exclusively within your company to hear what other HR leaders are doing and compare experiences. Listen to what employees are asking for. Schedule regular employee focus group sessions or coffee chats to hear from the team and discover what interest and concerns them. Ask them what new and interesting changes they'd like to see. Some may bring ideas that they've experienced at other companies that could improve your work environment. If human resources can identify the trends and address them with a forward thinking strategy, they can evolve their workforce through proactive change.