The Future of Work: The Environment and The Worker

We evolve as species, and our specimen is the industrialized human who works for a better future or to make a living. Since working is a crucial part of almost everyone’s everyday life, it evolves with our specimen.?

Working could be dissected into its integral parts which’d be the environment, the nature of tasks, and that of workers. Considering the transformation within the landscape, work used to be monotonous; its features were fixed. Environment was only on-site, tasks were always manual, and the workers were always dependent on their superiors. Let’s take a closer look at the change in these foundational features in the light of our specimen’s evolution.?

Remote vs Office Work Environment?

The office is commonly a good practice since the employees are enabled to develop their social relationships with coworkers. So, it does have a huge benefit, right? Well, what if the employee is already an introvert, which is kind of a common case especially in technical roles.?

The idea of remote offices, on the other hand, brought savings for the employer through reduced commuting time and operational cost (Davis, 2020). It also brought increased productivity due to fewer interruptions and a personalized workspace (Bloom et al., 2015) which would be easier to find comfort in.?

Last but not least, remote work is also accountable for an enhanced work-life balance (Bailey & Kurland, 2002). Because, if the job is remote, then the need to work on a tight daily schedule vanishes. The work becomes task based rather than timing.?

Automated vs Manual Tasks

Have you ever thought about how much of your work is dependent on human touch? Although it makes almost everything better, it comes with a cost: time and effort. The two paradigms that decide on the motivation and performance of an employee. Manual tasks used to make people feel satisfied with their work, but automation is the new orange!?

Research study done by R.E. Johnson& S.E. Humphrey (2006, the Journal of Applied Psychology) provides evidence that individuals who are engaged in intellectually stimulating tasks experience greater satisfaction and fulfillment in their work compared to those whose tasks are routine or repetitive.?

For further insights, I invite you to see our recent edition on the topic.

Autonomous vs Dependent Workers

The nature of tasks is not the only thing to have an effect on the employee’s motivation and fulfillment. Deci & Ryan (2000) explained this quite a while ago, autonomy at work is linked to higher job satisfaction and motivation, as employees feel empowered to make decisions and take ownership of their tasks.

There used to be a strict method in working, the product had to be in a fully constrained form, and then the work could receive applause. Now that the competition is much higher than the old days, the obsession of methodology seems to diminish and leave its place to obsession of outcome. Everything’s result oriented in the ‘agile’ business environment. It’s time to attend to details and take initiative on the most likely success scenario.??

A research called “The rise of the social enterprise: 2018” by Deloitte suggested that the rise of autonomous workers, who are empowered by technology to make decisions and perform tasks independently, will redefine traditional organizational structures and management practices.

The Future is Yours

Now that a map of fundamental structures of work culture is laid out, the next step is to set up a resume for the job that you know you want. Here, you can find ways to create an ATS-proof resume.?

Thank you for coming this far, feel free to reach out to [email protected]