According to World Economic Forum, ‘Robotics, A.I will create 58 million jobs’. The term ‘Future of work’ always brings into mind the picture of artificial intelligence or robots taking our jobs. But thinking in this way shows us only one side of the coin. To get a better understanding of the present scenario and also to find out what could be the future of work in India, it becomes very important taking into consideration various mixed up trends. It also becomes important in what manner they have already changed the different aspects of work and its implications for not only individuals but also for the business world and society at large. Hence, the future of work could be defined as an outcome of various forces of change that deeply affect the three associated dimensions of any company which are, What (Work), Who (Labor force) and Where (Workplace).
According to the observations of few experts in the field, “What’s going on is that work is being disconnected from jobs, and jobs and work are being disconnected from companies, which are increasingly becoming platforms.”
Let us take into consideration the forces of change that are motivating the three dimensions discussed above i.e. Work, Workforce and Workplace which may very well define the future of work.
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1. Work
The meaning of job changed over time from an integrated set of actions that gave a whole product or result; it became more of a collection of errands, which are not really connected to each other. Since we are moving swiftly into the cognitive revolution, the definition of work is being defined again so that there could be better human-machine collaboration, which is also a shift of perspective from task-finishing to maintaining and managing human relations. Technology is already changing the ways in which organization of tasks into jobs are done. For instance, manufacturing and warehouses have been transformed by robotics and automation and even digital reality technologies are in great use.
There is sufficient evidence that technologies are supplementing the efforts of the labor force instead of replacing them. Techniques like design thinking help companies redefine the roles that include the novel capabilities, skills and activities, which are required to complete the work.
2. Workforce – In the last 30 years
A lot has changed over the last 30 years, not only in terms of the demographics of a workforce, which is now older and much more diverse, but also in terms of the very social contracts being formed between employers and their employees. While ‘old school’ full-time employees are still very much prevalent, employers now have an array of options on their fingers like independent contractors, gig workers or crowdsourcing. All these options allow leaders to solve problems that may arise and get work done in a much more flexible way, allowing the organizations to be much more adaptable and flexible.
The rise of labor-sourcing options does seem to open up doors for better efficiency and variety in an organization’s workforce and looks like the global future of work but on the other hand, this very variety of choice also leads to increased complexity. With more and more options on the table, organizing and leading such a workforce might require us to come up with newer models. Traditionally, the model has been to “attract, develop and retain” employees. But with more and more options deviating from traditional full-time work we might need to start looking at how organizations can access, curate, and engage this diverse new workforce or the future of work.
3. Workplace
The workplace changes along with its work shift of ‘who’ and ‘what’. With the arrival of digital communication, collaboration platforms and digital reality technologies and the changes in society and marketplaces have shifted the requirement of physical proximity of people for getting the completion of work by creating the opportunities for more distributed teams. The necessity of such connections should not be under-estimated. According to Professor Amy Wrzesneiwski of Yale School of Management, “In previous generations, people would spend decades and even their entire careers embedded in the same organization. In those cases, the sense of membership buoyed both individuals’ identities and their psychological health.” A more open and explicit interest is needed by employers for creating connections and community because virtual workplaces with contingent workers is the future of work.
Future of work is remote working aka work from home
Although giant companies like Yahoo, IBM etc. have resumed their employees back to the workplace, the inclination of working from home especially in cases of telecommuter or freelancers, is surely in trend these days, despite the fact that this trend poses big challenges to employers. This is so because employers have observed that the graph of productivity of the employees goes downwards by working from home. No track of the hours spent on working could be kept through working from home. But researches have clearly indicated that this trend is definitely going to grow in the future.
The reasons for this rapidly increasing trend are various. Statistics from Europe and developing countries of Asia clearly show working from home looks like the future of work and wealth generation. Some reasons could be:
- Eliminating long commutes
- Employee productivity
- Reducing staff attrition
- Attracting better talent
According to PTI 2018 report, “58% office-goers work remotely every week in India. IWG, the parent group of leading workspace companies including Regus and Spaces said in India more than half (53 per cent) work remotely for half of the week or more, while more than one in 10 (11 per cent) people work outside of their company’s main office location five times a week.” The survey highlighted that 40 per cent Indian professionals believed that their companies are wasting significant amounts of money through underused office space.
One major benefit for work from home can be witnessed in today’s scenario where the world is swaddled by the coronavirus outbreak. Companies with work from home facilities have not been impacted in terms of their business continuity and productivity as employees have all the facilities to work from home. More or less, they became more prepared under any unforeseen circumstances such as the coronavirus pandemic and managed to step ahead of competition. This could be a good lesson learned for companies that do not support work for home infrastructure and something to muse on for any future calamities.
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Making the future of work more meaningful
Dimensions of work, workforce and workplace are closely correlated. Shift in one can have an effect on the employees as well as employers, which was not thought before. How the future of work would be, is not an inevitable conclusion. While dealing with the future of the work, we are standing at the crossroads where we need to redefine the role of the work, the employee and the employer which may contribute meaning and value in a new face. Objective will showcase the future.
References:
- What is the future of work? By Jeff Schwartz, Steve Hatfield, Robin Jones, Siri Anderson
- Five Reasons why Working from Home is the Future – QRIUS
- 58% Indian office-goers work remotely every week: Report, PTI New Delhi | Updated on June 01, 2018 Published on June 01, 2018
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