What is the future of work?
If you asked ten different people what they understood by the term “future of work”, you would probably get ten different answers.
Put simply, the future of work is the term used to describe the technological, social and environmental trends that will shape what works looks like and how it gets done.
Technology
Rapid developments in artificial intelligence (AI), automation, quantum computing, and analytics are reinventing the way humans interact with machines.
Automation will lead to jobs being reconfigured as intelligent machines take on activities traditionally done by humans. For example, a lorry driver in future may not be responsible for driving the lorry, but for coordinating the route of a set of lorries based on weather, traffic and energy efficiency data.
Artificial intelligence may enable us to train machines in some of our skills, and lead to new forms of human-machine interaction.
Sougwen Chung, an artist, has been able to use publicly available footage of New York City as well as images of her drawings to teach a robot her artistic style. This has led her to make art in new ways through human-robot collaboration.
Similarly, Icelandic pianist/composer Ólafur Arnalds continues to experiment with technology to play piano notes faster and use robots to make patterns that are unnatural for human physical instinct and provoke new ideas.
Social
From a social perspective, as life expectancy increases, pension contributions as they existed in the past won’t be enough to support us. Most of us will need to work till later in our lives to fund retirement, and to combat loneliness and depression.
New family structures, including the rise of dual income couples who take extended breaks to develop new skills or interests, or to look after elderly relatives, will also drive new ways of independent and collaborative work.
Environmental
Greater awareness of climate change and youth activism around the issue alongside investor attitude towards sustainable, ethical practices will also influence new forms of collaboration. While unclear, the balance across global, regional and country frameworks to address cyber-security, national security and worker mobility will also influence relative attractiveness of places to live and work.
So what?
Why should the average worker, or to-be worker, be concerned about these developments? First, it is no longer reasonable to assume that careers will progress in linear ways.
A recent McKinsey report found that knowledge-intensive and creative occupations are the largest and fastest growing segments of the freelance economy.
This is driving a shift from being in work, where presenteeism, meeting well-defined performance targets and tenure drive progression and stability, to being at work, where the discipline to regularly and efficiently generate products or services that find a market drive a sense of personal fulfilment.
Even those outside the freelance economy are being encouraged to take an entrepreneurial approach to their career. This is because the traditional organisational hierarchy is being replaced by networked teams, where those with relevant expertise come together to deliver defined projects then disperse.
To raise the chance of being selected for projects over time, individuals must similarly develop a strong reputation in areas that matter most to the organisation in order to progress.
Second, the employee-employer contract is evolving. Employees in future may be inclined to rely less on employers for security, growth and development, and more inclined to see them as partners in driving positive societal change.
The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that nearly 60 percent of employees are looking to employers to help them navigate information, particularly in areas where there are many credible voices, where misinformation is rife, and where employers can play a role in positive change.
This has evolved at a time when governments and the media have consistently failed to meet expectations. As a result, workers who align themselves to employers who share their values and actively support causes that matter to them individually may have a more fulfilling experience at work.
The third implication for individuals is developing their capacity to renew skills and reinvent themselves over the course of a longer working life. The rapid evolution of technology and the freelance economy mean that the scope of the role that a human may occupy will also change.
By engaging with evolving technology, individuals can play a proactive role in reshaping where and how they can add value to a company. This is in stark contrast to sensationalist headlines about robots taking human jobs.
What can you do today to prepare for the evolving future of work? Here are three suggestions:
Use routines to energise
When we expect that changes will occur throughout the course of our career, we can tune in to the routines we have today that help us to feel a sense of order and control despite uncertainty.
This is not about trying to control situations. It is about understanding the people and things that reliably energise us, helping to sustain us during more difficult times.
Whether these routines involve meditation, exercise, time with friends, pets or travelling, make time for these.
Similarly, reduce time spent on activities or people that drain energy.
Leverage your network
Anticipate disruption by exploring those people in your immediate or second order network who may have valuable information about how your industry or role may be evolving.
Ask questions on how jobs are being reconfigured (e.g. permanent to contract, automation of tasks) , new partnerships or alliances in the industry, salary projections, and lateral movements.
These can provide valuable signals to you on how you can leverage your skills in new ways, or invest in learning more to remain relevant and thrive.
Connect your work to a broader purpose
Historically, many people have taken on jobs to pay the bills. Yet it will be increasingly important to be able to articulate how the activities you undertake connect to a sense of purpose, as a way to help yourself and others understand where and how you can add value.
This does not entail months of self-reflection in solitude but can take the form of micro-reflections.
After every project or interaction, note what worked well for you and where you could have done differently. Notice the environment and the people you were working with and what aspects energised or demotivated you. These provide valuable clues on how you can position yourself to consistently do your best work.