The future of work: what does it mean for the products we use?

So, I’m currently sitting in a coffee shop in Japan, after attending a conference on the future of work, digital innovation & new digital economies. I’m working from my laptop, tethered to my phone for internet, just a short 9hr plane ride from my office.

There was some really interesting takeaways from today. For example, the Japanese government is investing heavily in start ups, with the intention of producing 20 unicorns by 2023(!). A noble, if lofty, ambition.

I also learnt that 60% of the top 5 global brands made a significant investment in digital transformation in the last 12 months, with the intent to disrupt the market they play in. That’s a significant realisation that these big behemoths need to innovate to avoid becoming the incumbent - to not have their lunch eaten by these start-ups so nimbly changing the landscape across such a broad range of industries.

But most interestingly to me, as the founder of a marketplace for talent, that connects creative talent job opportunities, was the focus on the move towards independent workers and the rise of the gig economy. 

A recent Australia on-line survey questioned more than 14,000 adult Australians from all regions, and of that total, almost 1000 (or 7 percent) reported having performed some kind of platform-based gig work within the last year. Another 6 percent of respondents have performed gig work in the past.

When you couple this with stats like this one from the conference today “over half of workers in the US say they have, or are working, remotely. Over 70% say they work from home or away from the office 1 day a week.” People are looking for careers that give them flexibility, autonomy, and are focused on outcomes not on presenteeism. And they will either choose to work with organisations who align with this, or they’ll simply move to the gig economy to manage their own careers. 

It’s pretty clear that the future of ‘work’ has dramatically changed, and will continue to, in the coming years.

So what does it mean for the products we use in our day to day work life? 

Security & privacy - as smart as we & our products are, those determined to ‘do harm’ will ultimately work to find a way to surpass the safeguards we put in place. Continuing to develop systems to adapt to these ever changing goalposts of security & privacy is a key pillar for products.

Portability - our products need to be light, powerful and robust. We’re not willing to compromise power for weight. Like everything in our lives now, we want it ALL. 

Connectivity - to be an effective member of a team, we need to stay connected. We’re blessed to be in an era that technology allows us to virtually connect to our coworkers through a plethora of platforms like Zoom, Slack, whatsapp, google hangouts, facetime, without cumbersome or expensive investments.

The new HP Dragonfly laptop, unveiled at this conference, has put a great deal of thought into addressing these key drivers in unlocking the ability for work & life to exist in harmony. With a ‘privacy screen’ that means people can’t see over your shoulder, to a 24hr battery life, and with models starting at just 990grams, it’s evident they’ve not been resting on their laurels of being one of the best laptop manufacturers in the world. This is a perfect example of a market leader thinking like a start up - listening to their customers, constantly iterating to improve their offering, and never being satisfied with the status quo, working collaboratively (it was a close partnership with Intel that bought this product to life), and valuing sustainability (much of the product is made from ocean bound plastics).

Bravo HP. I look forward to getting my hands on one when they hit our shores in November.