The Corvus | August 2018
high demand across all industries for
roles such as data analysts, software
developers,
information
security
analysts, robotics engineers, product
designers, specialized sales people, and
HR development specialists – to help
employees develop new skill sets.
Technological
advancements
are
transforming the way we work, and
this has led to big innovations that
have created a lot of new jobs, and
side-lined some. For example, the
invention of the PC and smart phones
essentially turned all of us into typists,
and in turn eliminated the market
for professional typists. Today, we
have jobs such as virtual assistants,
digital marketing experts, SEO (Search
Engine Optimization) specialists, app
developers, web analysts, bloggers,
social media managers, and user
experience (UX) designers – all of which
did not exist 20 years ago.
According to Forbes, jobs such as
postmasters, switchboard operators,
agricultural workers, data entry keyers,
door-to-door/street vendors, petrol
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pump operators are fast disappearing
and would massively decline in
numbers by 2020. The shift to a
knowledge based, tech-heavy service
economy is hitting many workers hard,
and will affect jobs like retail cashiers,
travel agents, taxi drivers, librarians,
print media, sports referees/umpires,
and even bank tellers, all of which are
unlikely to exist by 2030.
In addition, it is expected that by 2030,
the technological landscape will be
unrecognizable and about 60% of jobs
will be completely new compared to
today’s workforce. Children going into
primary school today will likely work in
roles that have not even been created
yet.
Many of today’s jobs will be redefined
as opposed to totally eradicated, with
skills that are transferable to other
roles. No matter what your job looks
like today, it will be a significantly
different job by 2030. Flexibility and a
willingness to change career will be an
important attribute in the future job
market.
Beyond the transformation of ‘work’
itself, changes in the external world
have also led to changes in the attitudes
and expectations of various groups of
stakeholders – customers, governments
and particularly employees.
Customers and governments now
demand greater transparency of
business, and the availability of data on
organisational activities and behaviours
has put more pressure on employers to
find ways to brand themselves as socially
responsible, and to have a positive
effect on their host communities and
employees’ lives.
Employees now want more out of their
work relationship with employers. This is
not a question of defined ‘g enerations’,
but rather an ongoing trend in the
morphing characteristics and demands
of employees. Evidence does not
support the idea that millennials, for
example, are dramatically different
from generation X but rather that
attitudes are changing over time due to
differences in successive generations’
experiences as they grow up. For
example, the younger generation of
The Future of Work
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