The Future of Work

If you've ever been told that AI will steal your job, this article might interest you.

The first time I heard about Foresight Studies was just last year. To my surprise, I discovered only in my late 20s that there's an entire field of study dedicated to exploring and predicting the future (something my brain has been attempting for years??). Of course, I ended up loving it and later that week, I subscribed to the Turun yliopisto - University of Turku open course on Introduction to Foresight, and well, here I am, writing about it.

But what is exactly Foresight Studies? ??According to Iden, Methlie, & Christensen (2017), Foresight Studies can be defined as a multidisciplinary approach used to anticipate and shape the future. This field involves systematic exploration, forecasting, and scenario planning to understand and prepare for potential future conditions. During the 60's foresight or future studies arose as a governmental strategic solution to predict and prepare societies for the unknown. Nowadays, this field of study has developed into different models to understand emerging trends and how to create new ones.

Conceptions of the future structure the decision-making processes of the present. (Rhisiart, St?rmer, Daheim, 2017).

If our vision of the future shapes its trajectory, then our approach to the future of work is actively influencing its course. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant transformations in the workplace. The rise of flexible work arrangements, the shift in the geography of workspaces, and the blurring of boundaries between home and office have fundamentally altered our perceptions of work and continue to reshape it. This brings us to a crucial question: How will the future of work evolve?

While the debate surrounding AI and its potential for stealing our jobs continues (SOS), several key trends have emerged over the past decades, some of which are likely to reshape the landscape of work in the near future, or already doing it. To explore these developments in depth, I plan to write a series of articles, at least try to write it, shedding light on some of the key topics I've observed during my studies These topics include:

• Global Competitiveness and skills shortage around the world
• Tech and the need to stay ahead of our time
• Green Transition creating new careers

These are just a few of the trends that are likely to impact not only the future of work but also our current reality. The future is being shaped today, and addressing these topics is crucial for understanding and adapting to the evolving work environment. According to the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report (2023), one point that reflects a core tenet of the report is inception: that the future of work can be shaped for better outcomes and that it is the policy, business, and investment decisions made by leaders today that will determine outcomes and the future space for action. The goal of this series of articles is to bring more insights into how foresight can support our decision-making of the present, and how this should be more accessible to multiple work practices. Hope you enjoy it, and this interests you.

References:

Ajayi, F. A., & Udeh, C. A. (2024). Review of workforce upskilling initiatives for emerging technologies in IT. Journal of Sample Studies, 10(3), 123-145.

Iden, J., Methlie, L. B., & Christensen, G. E. (2017). The nature of strategic foresight research: A systematic literature review. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 116, 87-97. Elsevier.

Marginson, S. (2017). Limitations of human capital theory*. Studies in Higher Education, 44(2), 287–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1359823

World Economic Forum (2023) The Future of Jobs Report. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2023.pdf