Article : work
What does the future of work look like ?
The world is changing and with it comes exciting new opportunities .
Many of us will find ourselves working in newly created industries and roles in the next decade or two , where boring tasks will be automated increasingly , freeing workers to take on more stimulating jobs and that this is something to embrace – not to be scared of . Work might become more stimulating for many of us in the future but we ’ ll need to upskill to take on the new challenges .
FUTURE JOB FACT 1 : In the future , more of us could be freelancing or contracting for multiple employers . “ We need to get away from the notion of a particular skill ,” if we are going to work in a world where we will have six careers and 14 job changes in our lives .
FUTURE JOB FACT 2 : Disruptive innovations will continue to change the way existing industries operate , following in the footsteps of companies such as Amazon , Uber and Airbnb . This same trend will be seen in the workspace , where technology will make work more transactional . Workers who embrace these changes and become more entrepreneurial may find themselves freed from the 9-to-5 grind .
“ We will be seeing many jobs not being done Monday to Friday ,” particularly as businesses begin to employ more freelancers for one-off jobs . Service roles will increase as our growing need for instant gratification means we ’ ll be employing people to do one-off tasks for us through websites such as AirTasker . com .
FUTURE JOB FACT 3 : Soft skills will rule . “ Hard skills will be something we will gain as we need them , however soft skills such as empathy will allow us to be flexible .” Work on those interpersonal skills by studying management , organisational behaviour , or human resources , and paying attention to how you interact with those around you .
FUTURE JOB FACT 4 : Professional success will require a flexible attitude to training . Start now , and keep up with changes in your industry . Read up , network , attend conferences and workshops , and look for opportunities to expand your skill set whenever possible .
FUTURE JOB FACT 5 : Unsurprisingly , Australian jobs will be more technology dependent . We will all need to keep our computer and communications skills up-to-date by keeping tabs on emerging technologies , and challenging ourselves with short courses and workshops .
FUTURE JOB FACT 6 : As computers relieve us of the dull repetitive jobs , we ’ ll be freed to do much more interesting work . Actually , we ’ re already starting to see these changes occur in professions like nursing where , in the past , a nurse was needed to do patient monitoring , but these days a machine can monitor a patient ’ s vital signs , which frees nurses for more specialised roles .
It ’ s what we ’ ll see more of in the future :
“ Technology answering the questions and humans questioning the answers ”.
This is the litmus test of whether a job or a skill is going to stand up long term .
WANT MORE ? Click below to watch the interview with :
Sky Business - Switzer
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