3 things that will shape how you work tomorrow!

Work is not just a way of making money, it is also a therapy. Work gives a sense of purpose and meaningfulness to our lives. Work is one of the factors that give us our self-worth and identity. The nature of work has changed so much over a few hundred years. Before the thought process that spawned the Industrial Revolution, work was craftsmanship, and the person working on something was involved in an end-to-end process. For example, a shoemaker would start making the shoe by taking the measurements to chisel out the finished product. This was replaced by a more scalable method based on the principle of “division of labor”. While this was a much more efficient process, it took away a certain sense of accomplishment from the person working. The craftsman was reduced to a worker, a cog in the machine who lost sight of the bigger picture. Today, we live at the epicenter of the digital revolution which is a mixed-bag wonder. While it has markedly improved the ease of working by bringing the world closer without moving from the comforts of our swivel chairs, it has also left the world fraught with uncertainty due to the rapidly changing nature of work and thereby the skill upgrade it calls for.

The blue-eyed babies of Technology- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are rapidly changing the way work is done. This quantum shift is promising and intimidating at the same time. Here are the three megatrends you need to grasp about your future workplace-

?1.?The Technology shift- There is sufficient reason to believe that the technological shift will augment efforts of the workplace rather than replace them. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, while nearly 1 million jobs will cease to exist, another 1.75 million jobs will be introduced. The new jobs will be more machine-centric, and more data-enabled but they will also call for human intervention in areas such as problem-solving, communication, listening interpretation, and design. Legacy concepts will be rendered obsolete by this nouveau human-machine nexus. Design thinking will be a buzzphrase. Organizations, as well as employees, should focus on these aspects to adapt to the changing technological shift and to seamlessly transition into newer different roles.

2.?The Talent Rubric shift- The demographics are changing, but it is not just limited to that. The social contract between employers and employees has altered significantly as well. The whole workforce spectrum is now a potpourri of traditional full-time employees at one end while freelancers and contractors at the other and everything in between. Employers should do diligent matchmaking of the work type vis-à-vis the nature of employment suited to that work type. The “Groom and retain” approach is getting fast supplemented with the “curate and engage” modality. Slicing the new workforce spectrum is the factor of proximity and distance. This whole new mix will bring in a different set of challenges to make the workforce feel inclusive and to keep them focused and aligned to the goals. For the employees, it means developing a more self-driven approach with a mindset for pre-emptive problem-solving.

3.?The Workplace culture shift- Workplace design will become a pivotal factor, as organizations are now transcending the physical barrier and making a foray into the conceptual. While cost-efficiency is paramount, organizations should also focus on creating a value-based and meaning-making work culture for employees to thrive in. Automation and diversity are two additional riders that have to be cohesively factored into the workforce mix with an intent to make them more collaborative.

The future is paved with disruptive realignment. A problem that can be converted into an opportunity if we play our cards right. Let us adopt and adapt and make more informed decisions to thrive.?

Visit: www.i3intl.com