To know The Future of Work, you have to know Work Theory

I've never been very comfortable with the phrase The Future of Work because it seems to imply a sort of linear progression toward one vision. Work is so many things at once. Really, there are multiple futures!?

Post COVID returning employees to the office (or not) can be a wrenching exercise.? And the scale of the debate seems like we’re trying to give birth to a whole new giant idea.? But where employees perform their work and what that means for management is only one dimension of production.

Rather than claiming the path to a Future of Work, I like to think we’re merely evolving the Theory of Work.? Come with me on a metaphorical journey!? It's like...music and music theory:

·???????? In the 13th century, there were Gregorian chants, modal music without harmonic progression. Relaxing but boring. Things loosened up around the 16th century, and despite initial objections from The Church, music started featuring multiple independent, interweaving vocal lines. Hallalujah!

·???????? Then composers like Chopin and Beethoven sold their harpsichords and got people hooked on emotional performances on the piano. Think: Crescendos!

·???????? Haters complained about how this new focus on personal expression undermined formal balance. Then they REALLY lost their minds when jazz came along with its extended chords, dissonances, and wild harmonies.

And so on.?

Humanity has managed to embrace and appreciate many kinds of music.? The coming of Miles Davis didn’t mean we had to stop listening to Chopin.? We have lots of musics without claiming that one is The Future.

Music Theory provides a shared language—pitch, rhythm, harmony, dynamics—that allows us to understand and discuss music. Similarly, "Work Theory" helps us communicate about productivity drivers such as collaboration, contracts, management, metrics, and location.

·???????? In the Agrarian Economy, people worked on farms, where collaboration was defined by family and community ties, and success was measured by the health of crops and livestock.

·???????? Then along came factories and centralized work, long-term employment contracts and top-down management focused on maximizing efficiency and output. Workers commuted daily to clock in, crank out units, and clock out.

·???????? These days, working from home, cafes and co-working spaces is enabled by new technology and mindsets.? There’s gig work alongside full-time roles.? Formal management structures have been stretched but not abandoned.

But just as no single musical style defines the future, no single approach to work can be the answer. The current Future of Work debate sounds to me too narrowly focused on office workers.? Our overall work theory should accommodate different environments – e.g., manufacturing, retail, healthcare, etc – and unlock possibilities within and across.

In music, the composers create, theorists analyze, and musicians bring it to life.

In work, companies compose, consultants help invent and advise, and employees and customers decide what resonates.

Rather than chasing a single vision of “The Future of Work,” perhaps this is simply a time to revel in the richness of more flexibility and improvisation.? Mix it up!? Find a rhythm you can dance to!?