The Evolution Of The Workforce

Public policy makers, organizational leaders, and individual workers will likely need to invest time and effort to figure out how to work together, or at least avoid working at cross-purposes, in the current and future world of work. Yet doing so could ensure that the future of work is both productive and rewarding for all parties.

They do not take a one-size-fits-all approach to the employee experience. Additionally, at the onset of this study, an extensive review of existing research on the future of work, as well as interactive qualitative discussions with employers and employees from across the globe were conducted. This helped form the basis of understanding for the full set of workplace trends already occurring or beginning to take shape.

Employees also have the unique opportunity to become leaders by sharing what they know and what they care about. We do this every day in our personal lives on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook , and WordPress. New technologies for our organizations are making it much easier for employees to share relevant information with the right people. The modern workday is comprised of a range of work patterns and activities, each of which correspond to an optimal office design setting. On any given day, employees can experience up to six different work modes, also known as modalities, ranging from hard-focus, soft-focus, collaboration, socialization, education, and rejuvenation. Each modality requires a different multi-sensory experience that can change from user to user. For some, a hard-focus space is quiet, dark, and void of any sensory perception.

It is also necessary to develop core business competencies like statistical reasoning, data manipulation, and data visualization. And, while ExOs focus heavily on science and data, they also place a premium on technical workers who can also leverage soft skills such as social interaction, creative thinking, and complex problem-solving. Sharing information is part of what is driving the future of business. The successful and progressive companies understand that it’s crucial for employees to share their ideas, thoughts, and content.

As the job market tightens, many companies are going further afield in their search for talent. These remote workers now want the capacity to connect with their organizations while having in-person interactions. This trend shows in the rise of coworking spaces, or office space where freelancers and employees alike can work, mingle, network, and develop their skills.

The Evolution Of The Workplace

During our most recent refresh of the data, we found two additional emerging trends that cast the future of work in an optimistic light. One of these realities deals with the growing use of advancing technologies to create nimble enterprises. Rising mobile and internet access have resulted in a profusion of digital marketplace platforms in emerging markets like Africa. These platforms have injected structure into informal markets, connecting buyers to sellers and workers to jobs. And according to Jessica Osborn at Caribou Digital, they’re also delivering other benefits. She explores how digital platforms are closing the skills gap and transforming the future of work in Africa and beyond. Stable, gainful employment is perhaps the most essential element of poverty alleviation – yet it hasn’t always gotten the emphasis it deserves in global development discussions.

Some estimates predict that the U.S. will have more than 5,000 coworking spaces by the end of 2019. Rise of the gig economy representing a growing population of non-full-time employees, such as temporary workers and freelancers. We are already seeing this with the launch of new online marketplace “Maharati,” which aims to connect businesses with freelancers with digital skills.

But that seems to be changing, as new technologies open up exciting pathways to employment – while also threatening massive job loss in emerging economies. If you’d like to write about how the nature of work is changing worldwide – and how social impact businesses can respond –contact James Militzer. The challenge in India is for both architects and corporations to recognize its rich cultural history, vast landscape, and how its evolution of work impacts the modern workforce. To understand how to improve workplace design in India, business owners, architects, and designers need to be informed by a deep understanding of workplace evolution, through time, as well as the forces that affected that evolution. By now, most people are familiar with the term Internet of Things , a term used to describe the thermostats, smart speakers, lights, locks, even vehicles that are all built to be connected via the cloud. When we approach our home the doors unlock, the lights turn on to our preferred setting, and the oven starts cooking tonight’s dinner.

Internet of Workplace builds on this concept by connecting all things within the workplace. All these examples showcase the potential time-saving benefits of IoW. Emphasis on improved standards for materials and air quality isn’t just a top down push; in fact, much if these changes are being driven by a push up by employees. As attracting and retaining employees becomes increasingly important, it stands to reason that a continued push towards environmental design considerations will remain a top priority for the future of tech workplace design. An increasing number of employers are recognizing the need for choice-based experiences and are engaging designers to create highly specialized areas that entice employees to come into the office rather than work remotely. Advanced technology will play a role in the development of this reality, but it will be the balance between technology and authenticity that will determine the success.

The office “water cooler” of the ’80s expanded to include small cafes, in-house baristas, and employee lounges that kept employees at work and encouraged casual collisions of conversation that could lead to real breakthroughs. Each of these shifts came together to create what we now know as the modern-day open office. For those not aware, I recently started a column on Forbes where I cover the future of work and collaboration. I write there once a week and try to write here 2-3x a week when I can. I recently shared an infographic that my team created on the evolution of work which became quite popular so I wanted to share it here as well. Learn how active HR practitioners feel about the future of work and what it means for their organizations and organizations globally. Developing this kind of strategic workplace will help your business survive and thrive as it continues into the future.

The Evolution Of Workplace Behaviours, Attitudes And Technology

Longer lifespans seem to be challenging traditional ideas about careers, retirement, and work-life balance, and these changes in mind-set are starting to affect the way people work. Lengthening worker careers could complicate operational and resource management. The effectiveness with which organizations can manage quadri-generational workforces may affect business efficiency and productivity, investment decisions, and resource retention. Extended careers might redefine worker and management attitudes toward aging, alter the pace at which organizations are renewed by younger talent and new ideas, and increase intergenerational competition for jobs. To reap benefits from this new reality, successful organizations can leverage team-based models and decision-making protocols rather than building traditional hierarchical business models.

Each of these realities holds untapped potential for further developing the workforce, leveraging technology, and advancing economic and social growth in newfound ways. A good starting point is to create a data-driven business model that focuses on customer value creation by relying on new data streams, technologies, and human talent to inform decision-making and redefine the competitive market. Harnessing a mix of data, technology, and people allows ExOs to create opportunities in untapped markets.

Additionally, the new UAE 10-year expat visa is designed to attract highly-skilled workers such as technology entrepreneurs, scientists, and specialists, without necessarily being confined to an employer in the country. The jobs of the future are expected to be more machine-powered and data-driven than in the past, but they will also likely require human skills in areas such as problem-solving, communication, listening, interpretation, and design. As machines take over repeatable tasks and the work people do becomes less routine, roles could be redefined in ways that marry technology with human skills and advanced expertise in interpretation and service. Techniques such as design thinking can help organisations define roles that incorporate the new types of capabilities, skills, activities, and practices needed to get the work done.

For others, an ideal hard-focus space is a café with music, non-identifiable conversation, and the smell of coffee in the air. In response to these different modalities, designers are working with tech employers to develop choice-based environments that allow workers to select the right space to fit their needs. Over the next three decades, the open office would come under increasing scrutiny as articles celebrating the “death of the open office” became increasingly common.

Diversified Offices

Dell estimates that 85% of future jobs don’t exist yet or are otherwise unknown to us. While that might seem like a large number, there have been some very interesting predictions about the types of roles that might soon emerge. From “Personal Reality Designer” to “Digital Archaeologist” to “Robot Liaison Officer” and more, the job listings of tomorrow diverge considerably from what we’re used to. In just a few years, organizations can expect to have access to 10 to 10,000 times more data than they do today. Data is good for innovation; it enables employees to make more informed decisions, do their jobs more effectively and ultimately make a bigger impact within their roles and organizations. The new realities we’ve discussed here can present a host of opportunities. But to capitalize on them, we will need to find new ways to align institutions, organizations, and individuals with each other amid rapid market shifts.

People want to live and work in spaces that feel honest, personalized, and tied to something real. It’s why there’s been a return to wood desks, a focus on natural light, and plants integrated into everything. The other aspect of office resiliency is in response to the toll the modern workplace has on our lives. The term socio-emotional refers the human ability to understand, experience, express, and manage emotions and to develop meaningful relationships with others through repeatedly working through crisis and resolution. The blurring of the separation between work and home along with the added stress of increased output and efficiency has resulted in the need for workplace wellness and rejuvenation programs.

Agile companies can draw upon all points of the talent continuum to rapidly shape new business models, improve output quality, generate ideas, and manage costs. At the same time, effective organizations also recognize the different needs and specific attributes of different worker types along the continuum.

All your needs could be met within your “city” , and so you rarely needed to leave your office during working hours. This concept proved very successful as employees were happy to have easy access to services, and employers benefited because employees would work longer hours or be more productive in their tasks.

Meditation, massage, counseling, nap rooms, fitness areas, and outdoor recreation spaces are just a few examples of programming that’s becoming increasing common. Over time, the need for this and additional workplace support will intensify as employees continue to seek out enhanced work-life balance. As the scale of the office continued to grow and expand, terminology that had once been used to describe cities was applied to workplace programming. Sections of floor plates were broken into neighborhoods, each with its own identifiable landmark, cafe, and identity. Employees could now spend their day moving between neighborhoods for meetings to select their preferred work environment or to grab food at a different café. Eventually the neighborhood concept would expand to include laundry facilities, massage tables, wellness areas, medical clinics, salons, fitness centers, and daycares.

• Each of these realities holds untapped potential for further developing the workforce, leveraging technology, and advancing economic and social growth in newfound ways.
• Harnessing a mix of data, technology, and people allows ExOs to create opportunities in untapped markets.
• A good starting point is to create a data-driven business model that focuses on customer value creation by relying on new data streams, technologies, and human talent to inform decision-making and redefine the competitive market.
• It is also necessary to develop core business competencies like statistical reasoning, data manipulation, and data visualization.

In response, we designed this study to begin mapping the changing Indian workplace. We relied on published third-party research, interviews, questionnaires with service sector industry leaders, workplace observations, and focus groups. Our research focused on shifts in demography, workforce, trade and commerce, politics, urban infrastructure, and technology. Data and experience will also aid in the continued push towards authentic, choice-based workspaces. Many offices already have sensors installed that track utilization of space, light quality, and many other metrics. This data helps inform where and how users want to spend their time and will allow designers to interpret and use the information as a basis for developing the best experiences possible. As tech companies began to grow they realized the importance of creating office spaces that encouraged teaming and collaboration.

It also provided initial insight into the deeper human needs driving many of these trends. Workplace design has a significant effect on employee performance and engagement. There is a growing realization, presently, that a maturing, global Indian workforce needs a workplace that speaks to their ethos and mores. As designers, we must respect this “Indianness” and reflect it sensitively and appropriately. What works elsewhere in the world may not work with the same degree of effectiveness in India. We researched the evolution of work and the workplace throughout India’s history, beginning in the pre-colonial era and ending in the present. Focused, comprehensive information that specifically addresses the sociocultural and economic factors that have defined and influenced the Indian workplace are not easily available.

The evolving clash between traditional conceptions of work, societal values, and public policy may define the limits and conditions placed on the future organization. Developments such as artificial intelligence and job market fragmentation could produce large-scale shifts, changing how we think about work, what is valued at the workplace, and what is valued by society. In particular, worker demands appear to be pushing organizations to focus on worker interests—such as the effect of some technology applications on workers’ well-being—along with broader social benefits. New policies and programs might eventually be needed to balance organizational interests with the need to protect workers from the new working environment’s uncertainties. The lengthening of the productive years and the need for lifelong learning have led to the new reality of lifelong reinvention.

There are, however, drawbacks to the city/office design, the greatest of which is that as these internal ecosystems develop, retailers and service providers in the local community experience a decline in revenue. To address adverse effects such as this, cities like San Francisco are now looking to pass legislation that outlaws amenities like cafes within the office space. As the workplace changes, employees experience both an opportunity and a danger. Improved technology can lead to greater efficiency at work and more time at home — or it can intrude into daily life as employees face “always-on” expectations. The next few years will bring about a major shift in the types of jobs available to workers. Not only are new roles emerging, but we’re seeing new types of employees within organizations.