For most people, work has been a defining aspect of their lives. It is a place to socialise, be creative and satisfy needs for recognition. While work can also get frustrating, most people were happy working from nine-to-five, aligning with one company where they can build their entire career. Now, a lot of this way of working that we have taken for granted is changing. Work in the 21st century looks very different from the norm we are used to.
Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice at London Business School, led an investigation to identify the forces that will have the greatest impact on the way that work will be done by 2025, as well as the impact this will have on organisations. The study started in 2009, where a research consortium of 21 companies and over 200 executives from around the world looked closely at the hard facts of the future and their own companies.
The research identified five external forces that will be instrumental to the future of work.
1. Technological development
By 2025, it is expected that five billion people will be connected by mobile devices. The cost of computing services will be lower and robots will have the capacity to learn and create new knowledge with no human help.
2. Globalisation
Greater numbers of people will move to mega-cities and talent pools will emerge in areas where the population is connected to the world knowledge net. Emerging economies like Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Korea, will add value through innovation and low-cost manufacturing. Globalisation will bring opportunities for talented and energetic people to become part of the world economy wherever they are born.
3. Demographic changes
By 2025, most of the Baby Boomers will have left the workforce, taking with them a huge store of tacit knowledge and knowhow. Life expectancy will increase dramatically; healthy children born in 2010 and people currently in their 20s are expected to live more than 100 years.
4. Societal trends
It is expected that most people will become more individualistic and increasingly prepared to forge lifestyles based on their own needs rather than societal expectations. By 2025, the norm will be to work from home or from small community hubs.
5. Low-carbon developments
Our use of energy will also frame the way we work in the coming decade. We will see increased penalties for high carbon emitting individuals and companies. This could result in a rapid escalation in the cost of moving goods across the globe and a rapid reduction of commuting and work-related travel.
All these changes will affect not just individuals but also the organisations that they work for. Among 20 areas of expected change within organisations, the executives in the consortium rated the ones they believed will be critical for the future. Here are the top five areas that emerged during the research:
6. Transparent leadership
In a future world of transparency and connectivity, leaders will be looked upon to work in a collaborative maker and their behaviours will be scrutinised. Leaders will be encouraged to be more democratic, improve decision making and create balance within the organisation.
7. High-performing virtual teams
Work is increasingly performed across businesses, departments and functions. Network and video conferencing technologies allow for virtual teams to work without team members seeing each other frequently. High-performing virtual teams will flourish and it is important for organisations to develop the capacity and skills to manage such teams.
8. Valuable cross-business networks and relationships
The value of the organisation will be held in its 'social capital', that is the value of the networks and relationships held within businesses, across businesses and into the wider community and ecosystems. Such relationships will be crucial in driving organisational innovations.
9. Valuable relationships with partners, consumers and entrepreneurs
Similarly to point 3, value will be created through the relationships held with those outside, be they partners, consumers or entrepreneurial businesses. Nurturing relationships with a wide and diverse ecosystem will be of essence for the success of organisations.
10. Flexible working
The capacity to work flexibly is key for the future. Working from, part-time working, job sharing and flexible hours, all help to meet the personal needs of staff, as well as the demands of working across many time zones.
The future workplace looks very exciting, full of opportunities and challenges. Individuals will enjoy flexible working schemes, but at the same time they will need to develop highly-specialised skills in their area to be competitive in such a globalised and connected world. Organisations will need to become more transparent and nurture a wide ecosystem of businesses, partners, entrepreneurs and virtual teams. There will be some trial and error, until both managers and workers learn new ways of working together, but at the end the system will come to a natural equilibrium.
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