The Corvus | August 2018
employees will increasingly want
a higher level of feedback, instant
appraisal and reassurance, and the
constant interaction of social media
applied to a work environment.
Similarly, they will also expect to be
able to share personal opinions and to
be involved in organisational decision-
making, driven by the need for a sense
of pride and ownership in their work.
Organisations and their structures of
managers will need to find ways to
deal with different working styles.
Perhaps transparently communicate
goals and desired outcomes, and
let team members own the strategy
and implementation of projects. This
would create more investment from
teams and also produce creative ideas
and processes.
Today, technology has made it
possible to work anywhere, anytime
and with anyone. The exponential
growth of digital connectivity, devices
and information is driving profound
changes in the way people work across
the globe. We have moved from a
world where information was scarce,
to one of information abundance.
While at times, the constant
communication and flood of data
around us can be overwhelming, there
are also immense creative possibilities
for growth and positive change due to
this flow of information.
The line between work and life
itself is fast eroding. The erosion of
traditional work hours has challenged
the conventional concept of the
workplace. Many employees juggle
a work-life balance - off the clock
25
The Future of Work
emails and quick calls to colleagues/
clients leave the boundaries between
work and personal life blurred. As a
result, employees now demand work-
life balanced focused benefits and
flexibility in working conditions – job
sharing, telecommuting, flexi-time,
compressed work weeks etc.
More often today, companies are
becoming less bound to traditional
corporate culture and hierarchies
as suits are evolving into hoodies
and cubicles into open plan offices.
Already, revolutionary organizations
such as Apple and Google have
adopted collaborative
office designs where
running into people
and having chance
meetings are more
important than having
a desk. Creating paths
for chance meetings
by designing agile and
unique workspaces are
solutions that promote
collaboration, creativity
and productivity in the
office.
It is predicted that
outsourcing
or
contracting work will be
on the rise. According
to a PwC report, by the
year 2022, 20% of the
workforce will be made
up of contractors and temp workers
- flexible workers, gig workers
and networks of self-employed
freelancers. ‘Employees’ would most
likely have a strong desire for variety
and flexibility in their roles and the
ability to both develop and showcase
their unique skill sets. For many
organizations, this will translate to a
huge shift in workforce strategy from
“I need to hire a person for a role” to
“I need someone to complete a task or
project”, which will drive the utilization
of the independent workforce.
There will be varied models of the
employment relationship, providing
more choices for many groups of
people and those with ‘market power’.
To remain valuable in the workforce,
one would need to be multi-skilled
and be able to transfer skills from one
area of life and work to another. Today,
the more skills you have, the more
employable you become.
Skills such as social intelligence and new
media literacy will become increasingly
important for workers. In addition to
technical skills, capabilities that will be