The Future of Work
FountainBlue's June 14 VIP roundtable was on the topic of 'The Future of Work'.
This month's executives are clearly faced with the challenges and opportunities around the future of work, including Hybrid and Remote Work Arrangements, the Rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Changing Job Roles, Flexibility and Work-Life Balance Concerns, the Growth of Independent Work, as well as the Rise of Virtual Organizations and Teams.
Our executives emphasized the importance of building a trust-based, engaged, empowered, productive and passionate workforce which is aligned on the corporate mission, vision and goals, while delivering to the needs of the customer.
Indeed, if we can deliver the experience of trust and belonging leveraging technologies, we can optimize the trifecta of productivity, creativity, *and* innovation!
We could help individuals, teams and the organization overall to transition seamlessly to a hybrid work world with a rich, diverse and inclusive culture that balances work from home and work on-site, without compromising on output, excellence, collaboration, or innovation.
Our executives challenged us to leverage technology to gently integrate very human social needs, like the desire to connect deeply with work-mates as well as the need for serendipitous social interactions while producing high-quality business results.
There are many thought-provoking opportunities ahead.
With the blurring of lines between work and home, people are leveraging technologies and solutions both at home and at work so that they can be fully productive wherever they are physically.
With the advancements in networking, mobile, and automotive technology, we are approaching the ability to seamlessly work as you commute from one place to another.
With the integration of AI, data collection, integration, and management tasks can be automated more easily and seamlessly, allowing people to ask questions and make decisions based on large volumes of real-time, vetted, data.
With AR/VR immersive experiences enabled by cutting edge technologies, users can experience deeper emotional connections to each other.
But challenges remain:
Workforce Preparation
How do we upskill and reskill current individuals and teams so that they are active contributors in the new ways that we work together?
How do we manage through the very real fear of losing your job due to technology innovations?
Cultural Transformation
How do we leverage technology to naturally integrate human habits to build a resilient, inclusive, and collaborative culture?
How do we connect, inform, educate and support diverse people across generations across geographies?
Support for Our Workers
What can we do to address the natural isolation which stems from *not* building in-person relationships at work as we continue morphing into hybrid workforce scenarios?
How do we build a sense of belonging and community if we don't meet in person?
As we wound up our discussion, I was surprised at the interesting and passionate discussion about how to maintain a level of respect and civility in the workplace.
It's a testament that the executives in attendance spoke so consistently and eloquently about how the future of work is more around how we enable and empower our workforce.
Ultimately, it is this focus on our people what will help companies deliver on business imperatives.
Resource:
At the request of our participating executives, we have compiled some research around the upskilling needs for our workforce. You can see our compilation of resources at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SJcJvtBp5BWOpZQUC2u70p5uN6NXcWI3-t4kU1wB7hk/edit?usp=sharing. E-mail us at info@fountainblue.biz if you would like to recommend another article or survey for inclusion in this document.