10 Predictions for the Future Workplace: Are You Ready?
The world of work is changing. Some of the tools we’ve come to rely on are disappearing and new technologies are here to stay. Here are 10 predictions on the near future of work.
The world of work is changing, and we’ve already started to get a glimpse of what the future workplace will look like. We are on the brink of seeing some of the tools we’ve come to rely on disappear and new technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI), become part of our jobs.
Some of these changes have been a long time coming, and you may not be surprised to see them. Others signal major shifts in the workplace that puts an emphasis on human skill and will have an impact on how HR teams work on a daily basis.
Here are 10 predictions on what the near future of work will look like.
1. The End of Email
According to the Workfront 2018 State of Work report, U.S. workers only spend about 40% of their workday on primary tasks. The reason? They are tied up with email and wasteful meetings.
As more organizations begin to rely on digital tools like work management platforms—instead of email and meetings—HR teams will have the ability to work smarter. They will see better alignment of work to strategy so that employees can work on the right things at the right time.
Managers will be more effective with increased visibility into their team’s work, clearer views of timelines, and more focused results that tie back to company-wide goals. As teams begin to be more efficient, email and wasteful meetings will disappear.
2. Introduction of Personal Chatbots
Instant messaging is another distraction that keeps employees from doing the work they were hired to do. With the rise of AI, chatbots are making their debut in many workplaces, and soon employees will be able to rely on them to take care of administrative tasks so they can focus on more meaningful work.
Imagine how much more you could get done in a day if you had your chatbot to communicate information to coworkers, share project status updates, and manage documents and to-do lists for you.
3. Increase in Data-Driven Decision Making
In recent years, many companies have recognized the importance of data and have become adept at tracking and gathering it. The next leap is using that data to make more informed decisions, something we’ll see more of shortly.
The State of Work report gives us insight into this dilemma: 40% of U.S. workers say they have good data, but they are struggling to make the right decisions with it. Only 4% say they want more data.
In the future workplace, products that can organize data in meaningful ways will be the norm and companies will need skilled data analysts and strategists who can help managers interpret data for better decision making.
4. The System is the Manager
Along with personal chatbots and better data, businesses will be able to implement intelligent work management platforms that will take over the bulk of project and task management. This means HR managers will be able to spend more time on high-value work and less time on administrative tasks.
5. The Rise of Innovation
As email decreases, wasteful meetings disappear, chatbots get adopted, and data becomes more usable, employees will be able to spend more of their time innovating. We’re already seeing this shift. The State of Work report found that 44% of U.S. workers say that some parts of their job have been taken over by automation, freeing them up for more strategic work.
The State of Work report also found that 26% of workers say that in the future every employee will be able to see how their work tasks directly align to the company’s strategic initiatives, and 24% say that thanks to technology, every worker will be able to see how their work directly affects the bottom line.
6. Getting Back to Basics
The idea that robots will take over our jobs isn’t likely to become a reality. Instead, we’ll most likely see people and AI working together. McKinsey reports, “Nearly all occupations will be affected by automation, but only about 5% of occupations could be fully automated by currently demonstrated technologies” and “about 30% of the activities in 60% of all occupations could be automated.”
Automation will pave the path for HR teams to focus their efforts on things that require a human touch. Humans will always be better at critically thinking, collaborating with coworkers, and providing the face-to-face assistance workers rely on HR professionals for. Embracing automation as a tool that manages administrative tasks and allows the human touch to shine will be the way of the future.
7. Implementation of Voluntary Job Boards
**In the near future, many managers will maintain an internal job board with tasks that need to be done while individuals and self-organizing teams will choose which tasks are the best fit for them.**
This approach lets workers stretch their creative muscles and take on work that is relevant to them. With modern work management platforms in place, they won’t be burdened with status updates or confusing processes—they will be free to innovate on more meaningful tasks.
8. All Human Roles are Creative Roles
By now you should be getting a picture of a future workplace that allows employees to spend less time on mundane tasks and more time on work that matters. With automation, a system as a manager, and better work prioritization, all work done by humans will be creative.
Slogging through endless spreadsheets, sorting through hundreds of emails, wasting time in meetings, and being overwhelmed with administrative tasks will no longer occupy all your time. You’ll have the freedom to think and spend time on creative tasks that only you can accomplish.
9. BYODx = Bring Your Own Digital Experience
It’s hard to imagine a more digitized world than the one we live in, but the future workplace is going to bring organizations that are already digitized and a wave of individual digital transformation.
Workers will become even more connected to each other, the organization, and their work, making workflows, collaboration, and creativity more streamlined. Digital tools will be there to make work easier, not to create more work that just gets in the way of what employees are hired to do.
10. Trust Will Increase
The State of Work report revealed that workers would give their colleagues 3.7 stars if they were rated the way Uber drivers are. With siloed work, poor communication, and a lack of clear prioritization, many workers aren’t aware of what others are contributing to a team or how their work impacts the company as a whole.
But with the way technology will be implemented in the future workplace, transparency into each other’s work will increase trust on teams.
These predictions paint a picture of a workplace that is heavily reliant on creative, strategic, and innovative workers who have the time and tools they need to do their jobs well.
Alex Shootman, Workfront CEO, believes this is key to helping people do their best work. “Put the tools and skills into the hands/heads of your folks so that they are prepared and have the opportunity to do their best work,” he said. “Streamline what can be streamlined. Automate what can be automated. Free your people from repetitive work so they can think, imagine, and innovate. Provide the digital productivity tools that will supercharge their human efforts.”
New technologies and new ways of doing work will shape a future that puts people first, making work more meaningful.
