Future Work

What today’s trends are saying about tomorrow

Technology is rapidly altering how we live and work. We love the new conveniences that our devices deliver. But as technology becomes a coworker and even a personal companion, we aren’t always sure how we really feel about it.

As the digital revolution gains momentum, it’s important to imagine and prepare for what the impacts may be. Because it’s not just about technology; it’s also about our human experiences—including at work where most of us spend so many of our awake hours. The more we productively interact with machines, the more important our creativity, values and passions will become.

Are you ready to respond to tomorrow’s possibilities? What patterns for the future can you see in these trends happening today?

The hardest things to automate: managing and developing people and applying expertise to decision making, planning or creative work.

Business leaders have identified building the organisation “of the future” as their most important challenge.

AI is made by humans, intended to behave by humans and, ultimately, to impact humans lives and human society.

… skilling-up for an AI-powered world involves more than science, technology, engineering and math. As computers behave more like humans, humanities and social sciences will become even more important…

Companies that invest in employees’ technological, cultural, and physical work environments have more than four times the average profit and more than two times the average revenue compared to companies that don’t.

Sources: Steelcase Inc; McKinsey Global Institute, Future of Work Report, November 2017; McKinsey Quarterly, January 2018; Statistica/Stanford University AI100 Study; Forrester Research Predictions Reports, 2017 and 2018; Deloitte 2017 Global Survey; Harvard Business Review October 2017 Survey; Washington University School of Business Report, 2016; New York Times New Work Summit, February 2018; Fei-Fei Li, Google Chief Scientist and Stanford Professor, at The New York Times New Work Summit, February 2018; McKinsey Global Institute, May 2017; Forrester Research, Predictions 2018 Report; The Future Computed: Artificial Intelligence and its Role in Society, Microsoft, January 2018; Havas Meaningful Brands Global Study, January 2017; Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report, 2017; The Employee Experience Advantage, Jacob Morgan, Wiley, 2017