FUTURE FORWARD

"The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed."?~ William Gibson

Over the past few years, circumstances and the circumspection among a newly emerging workforce has altered the contours of work culture and its very future. While I cannot accurately predict the future of work, I can sense the seismic shifts that it is undergoing.

MEANING. NOT MONEY.

Purpose will propel work and the need to indulge in it. No longer will careers be pursued for pecuniary reasons alone. Cause will be a clause. The new generation is mindful and thus seeks meaningful occupations. Work will need to make an impact. Steve Jobs called it “a ding in the Universe”. The new worker will want to leave a tattoo of his talent and industriousness is whatever she or he does. Impact industries will be their first choice of careers.

FLEXIBILITY. NOT JUST ABILITY.

Across the world, one is seeing the marriage between humanities and sciences being played out in educational institutions and organisations. People are upskilling, reskilling. Engineering and then reengineering. The generalist will be as valuable in this new world of work as the specialist. Purely because work will be mostly about being adaptable to changing business needs, consumer demands and organisational compulsions. In a world of mergers and acquisitions, there will often be two people available for one job. The trick will be to avoid the trap of being rigid about one’s role and be adaptable and flexible on the back of being multi-skilled.

THE NEW TOOLS. ABUNDANT OR REDUNDANT?

Who would have imagined that in a span of twenty-four months, work would have such critical tools such as Teams, Zoom, Google Meet or countless other tools that are redefining how we work? More recently, developments such as ChatGPT, DALL-E and Rytr are poised to dramatically alter the landscape of work. These tools are increasing efficiencies, weeding out the ineffective and the unwanted. The older workforce needs to examine these new tools through fresh lenses. Will these tools make them redundant. I think not. Change’s embrace is all about optimism. It is about always seeing the glass half full. I think these new tools will make working more abundant. People will no longer be the only spine of work. These new tools will be a vital vertebrae.

GEOGRAPHY WILL BE HISTORY.

Work will no longer need citizenry. Borders will be obsolete. Work will transcend time zones and airplanes. Teams will be structured and scattered across the world. Workplaces may be local. Workforces will be global. This will open up a world of opportunities for talent across the world. It will also open the world of talent for companies across the world.

In sum, the future of work is pregnant with remarkable possibilities. I look forward to entering it and embracing it with great delight.