Peter: Would you be so kind to introduce yourself? What has happened to you since 2018?
Rebecca: Thank you, Peter, great to reconnect! Since 2018, my professional journey has revolved around one core question: how can we design better and more productive workplaces? After working in tech and innovation, most recently as co-founder of an HR-tech company, I now use my mix of business and people experience to help organisations improve performance in practical, people-centred ways. Today, in my role at Top Employers Institute, I provide strategic advice to organisations globally, drawing on large-scale data and research into employee experience, particularly for blue-collar and deskless workers. Our work increasingly shows that improving these experiences is a business-critical priority in a labour market defined by skills shortages, operational risk and retention pressure.
Peter: I assume that not all readers are familiar with the Top Employers Institute. Could you briefly introduce it?
Rebecca: Top Employers Institute is the global authority on HR strategies. We work with organisations worldwide through certification, research and insight-led advisory work. What differentiates us is our evidence-based approach. We combine audited HR practices with large-scale research to understand what genuinely drives engagement, retention and performance. A core part of our mission is ensuring that allsegments of the workforce, including blue-collar and deskless employees, are meaningfully represented in how work is designed and led.
Peter: In my view, there are two very contradictory developments here. On the one hand, the topic of deskless work is quite popular with some people at the moment. On the other hand, I believe that many HR professionals lack the necessary sensitivity when it comes to issues surrounding deskless work. Why is that?
Rebecca: Our research shows that this gap exists because deskless work has historically been treated as transactional, rather than experiential. While organisations have heavily redesigned office work, the realities of frontline roles - rigid schedules, physical risk, limited autonomy - have often been left unchanged. Their voices are often underrepresented. The result is a growing disconnect between expectation and experience, and you can really feel that when you talk to people on the shop floor (which is something I always recommend HR at all levels to do MORE of). Blue-collar employees increasingly expect fairness, voice and recognition, yet many organisations still rely on outdated assumptions about what motivates them. In today’s labour market, that disconnect directly undermines engagement, safety and retention.
Rebecca: Our research shows that this gap exists because deskless work has historically been treated as transactional, rather than experiential. While organisations have heavily redesigned office work, the realities of frontline roles - rigid schedules, physical risk, limited autonomy - have often been left unchanged. Their voices are often underrepresented. The result is a growing disconnect between expectation and experience, and you can really feel that when you talk to people on the shop floor (which is something I always recommend HR at all levels to do MORE of). Blue-collar employees increasingly expect fairness, voice and recognition, yet many organisations still rely on outdated assumptions about what motivates them. In today’s labour market, that disconnect directly undermines engagement, safety and retention.
Peter: Now to the excellent paper. The paper highlights the role of social relationships for deskless workers. I can only endorse this view. How can companies specifically promote the establishment and maintenance of these relationships?
Rebecca: One of the strongest findings in our research is that belonging for blue-collar employees is built through co-worker relationships, not corporate values. Nearly 70% of employees told us they could not enjoy their work if they didn’t get along with colleagues, and those who prioritise workplace relationships are 51% more likely to be engaged. That’s pretty interesting, right?Organisations can support this by intentionally creating opportunities for people to connect, and giving them more chances to chat and get to know each other. This can be done through onboarding, shift design, team routines and manager behaviour. Small, local actions are usually more effective than large culture campaigns, because employees are most influenced by the people they work with every day. I know a factory manager who spends an hour each day chatting with employees as they arrive for their shifts. It helps him stay connected to what’s really happening and sets a strong example for his leaders that people matter. Their revenue keeps increasing year on year since he took over.
Peter: In my reflections, I kept coming back often to the topic of trust among deskless workers.
Rebecca: Ah, yes… trust is central, and it is pretty fragile in frontline environments. Our data shows that 82% of blue-collar employees want a say in how their work gets done, yet only 65% feel their voices are actually heard. When communication breaks down, the consequences are immediate, affecting not only engagement but also physical safety. Alarmingly, 26% of blue-collar employees feel safety is lacking, often because information doesn’t flow well and feedback is ignored. Trust grows when employees feel listened to and know what is expected of them. It grows even more when leaders and companies do what they say they will do. Trust is also stronger when changes are explained openly and clearly, instead of people hearing things through rumours. And when rules are applied in the same way across teams and shifts, employees feel treated fairly and respected. When companies go through layoffs, trust becomes even more fragile. If leaders do not explain clearly and directly why decisions are made, the employees who stay often feel uncertain, anxious, and less safe at work. This is why clear, direct and human communication is so important during times of change. It helps people understand what is happening, but it also protects the relationships at work that keep employees engaged, productive and willing to stay. Our World of Work trends 2026 also supports this, trust has become the decisive factor, especially as AI is used more in everyday work.
Peter: You name flexibility as is a silent dealbreaker. I fully agree. What areas of flexibility are addressed here?
Rebecca: I would say that flexibility is often misunderstood in desk-less contexts. It’s not about remote work, it is about predictability, control and fairness in scheduling. Our research shows that 64% of blue-collar employees value flexibility more than financial rewards, yet almost a third report having little or no control over their schedules. This lack of control is one of the strongest predictors of burnout and disengagement. When there’s no flexibility, employees might not say too much about it - “no one cares either way” - but they may switch off, or leave. All of these alternatives cost you money. That’s why we describe it as a silent dealbreaker. Women in deskless roles are more likely to have caregiving responsibilities. When schedules change at short notice or feel unpredictable, that messes up your planning and creates real stress. Many organisations lose good people without fully understanding why.
Rebecca: One of the strongest findings in our research is that belonging for blue-collar employees is built through co-worker relationships, not corporate values. Nearly 70% of employees told us they could not enjoy their work if they didn’t get along with colleagues, and those who prioritise workplace relationships are 51% more likely to be engaged. That’s pretty interesting, right?Organisations can support this by intentionally creating opportunities for people to connect, and giving them more chances to chat and get to know each other. This can be done through onboarding, shift design, team routines and manager behaviour. Small, local actions are usually more effective than large culture campaigns, because employees are most influenced by the people they work with every day. I know a factory manager who spends an hour each day chatting with employees as they arrive for their shifts. It helps him stay connected to what’s really happening and sets a strong example for his leaders that people matter. Their revenue keeps increasing year on year since he took over.
Peter: In my reflections, I kept coming back often to the topic of trust among deskless workers.
Rebecca: Ah, yes… trust is central, and it is pretty fragile in frontline environments. Our data shows that 82% of blue-collar employees want a say in how their work gets done, yet only 65% feel their voices are actually heard. When communication breaks down, the consequences are immediate, affecting not only engagement but also physical safety. Alarmingly, 26% of blue-collar employees feel safety is lacking, often because information doesn’t flow well and feedback is ignored. Trust grows when employees feel listened to and know what is expected of them. It grows even more when leaders and companies do what they say they will do. Trust is also stronger when changes are explained openly and clearly, instead of people hearing things through rumours. And when rules are applied in the same way across teams and shifts, employees feel treated fairly and respected. When companies go through layoffs, trust becomes even more fragile. If leaders do not explain clearly and directly why decisions are made, the employees who stay often feel uncertain, anxious, and less safe at work. This is why clear, direct and human communication is so important during times of change. It helps people understand what is happening, but it also protects the relationships at work that keep employees engaged, productive and willing to stay. Our World of Work trends 2026 also supports this, trust has become the decisive factor, especially as AI is used more in everyday work.
Peter: You name flexibility as is a silent dealbreaker. I fully agree. What areas of flexibility are addressed here?
Rebecca: I would say that flexibility is often misunderstood in desk-less contexts. It’s not about remote work, it is about predictability, control and fairness in scheduling. Our research shows that 64% of blue-collar employees value flexibility more than financial rewards, yet almost a third report having little or no control over their schedules. This lack of control is one of the strongest predictors of burnout and disengagement. When there’s no flexibility, employees might not say too much about it - “no one cares either way” - but they may switch off, or leave. All of these alternatives cost you money. That’s why we describe it as a silent dealbreaker. Women in deskless roles are more likely to have caregiving responsibilities. When schedules change at short notice or feel unpredictable, that messes up your planning and creates real stress. Many organisations lose good people without fully understanding why.
Peter: Employee experience was used as a central concept in the paper. This is an excellent approach. Where do you see important starting points for significantly improving the employee experience for deskless workers?
Rebecca: Five priorities stand out:
Rebecca: Five priorities stand out:
- Belonging, built through strong co-worker relationships
- Fair and transparent pay, this remains the number one priority (and women are more likely to feel underpaid than men)
- Safe, two-way communication, especially in operational environments
- Career clarity and upskilling, AI is reshaping roles, and it’s happening fast
- Flexibility by design, built for shift-based work
At Top Employers, we’ll continue to explore and improve deskless work. In the words of my colleague Dr Emily Cook: “Despite their growing importance, blue-collar employees remain concerningly underrepresented in workforce research and experience design. As automation, skills shortages, and rising operational complexity reshape how work gets done, desk-less roles are becoming increasingly critical to business continuity and performance. Yet many organisations still lack the data and the organisational mechanisms needed to understand blue-collar work as it is actually experienced. Closing that gap requires deeper research and a fundamental shift toward systematically listening to blue-collar employees.”
Peter: Thank you very much for this interesting conversation. I hope we will see each other again sometime in Leipzig.
Rebecca:Thank you, Peter. I’ve really enjoyed the conversation. These discussions are important if we want to close the growing divide in the world of work. The future of work is less about speed and more about intention, especially when it comes to AI. And yes, I would be delighted to continue the conversation in Leipzig!
My Interviewee Rebecca Lundin studied Media & Communication and Political Science at the University of Lund, Sweden and Economics at the IUI University in Uganda. She worked for Bombardier before moving on to the tech industry and cofounded Celpax, a company designing and manufacturing simple tech tools to measure and boost morale at work. Rebecca has worked across operations, sales, marketing, HR, and customer success. Drawing on this broad background, she now supports organisations with HR strategy and growth, elevating the strategic role of HR and helping organisations achieve lasting business results.
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