The future of work: what you need to know
If we look at History, we will notice that the role of businesses in society has changed, so it is only normal that we should expect some changes ahead as well.
But with how fast things go nowadays and how globalized the world is, the changes that we will see in the work environment are expected to be more dramatic and visible than ever.
According to this study by Virgin and The B team, these are the 5 main changes we will be seeing in the close future of work. Keep them in mind and be prepared.
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A general tendency to work in businesses and projects that have a purpose.
Ever since the millennial generation reached the workspace, things have changed drastically. People become committed and invested in projects that are sustainable and have a meaning. Those are the projects that will catch the best professionals, and therefore the ones that will survive and succeed.
The reason is that since the millennial generation, the goal is not just to reach a position or a specific income, but also to believe in what you do and projects that allow creativity and fun besides the hard work.
The challenge for every already existing company will be to recycle themselves into that kind of companies, offering projects that would catch the attention of those new professionals.
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Employees will expect constant growth and learning
As we said, is not about getting the job and just holding on to the chair. The new generations are used to learn a lot and fast thanks to their lifelong relationship with technology, so they will require from the companies a constant growth and therefore some attention to keep moving forward. If they feel that they are stuck and there is no more motivation, then they will probably start the search to move to the next project.
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Companies will have to find the balance when it comes to the 24/7 availability thanks to technology
These new generations are the first ones to be always and forever available since the very beginning of their careers thanks to technology.
This is obviously good for the business and can be good for their work, but it is definitely draining both physically and psychologically.
Companies won’t be able to make excuses or disregard the fact that it happens even when they don’t require anybody to check their mail at 2 am, so the way to deal with it is giving people the chance to really disconnect and focus on their own health.
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The worlds of private, public and non-profit will merge and so will their leaders
In the future work environment, people from different sectors and will collaborate to bring different concepts and techniques from one field to other to make new things happen.
Leaders will have to learn to engage in different projects and bring to the table proposals that can coexists with the private company and the public and social environment.
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Nobody will expect to have the same job for the rest of their life, neither would their pursue it
One major change compare to previous times is that the concept of “growing up and retiring” at the same company will no longer exists.
Why? Essentially for the reason that we were mentioning before, nobody wants to remain doing the same thing forever regardless of whether or not that is a guaranteed check in the bank for life.
The premises of always being in search for the challenge and learning means that in most companies the days are limited, and eventually every member of the team will move on to the next opportunity.
This might sound negative for companies that will see as pointless to invest on forming employees only to loose them later on. But the truth is that a dynamic company is a company that is alive. By constantly bringing new workforce into the picture we also guarantees that new ideas and solutions will update your company. Also, new people tend to have a high motivation and energy, which translates into a high productivity and success.
Yes, all these changes are happening and we will hopefully see them soon, so be prepared, open your mind, recycle your company, be ready for new challenges and strive for success.
