What does the Future of Work look like?

Technological advancements have altered the way we live our lives. Everything in today’s modern times is driven technology. From buying groceries to paying your bills, from maintaining data to advertising, from manufacturing to the distribution of products, from hiring to the delegation of work et al. Perhaps sleep is the only thing where technology cannot help but then we do have gadgets and apps that help us track our sleep routines. Where life is, business went even earlier. We are already witnessing a paradigm shift in the way industries operate today.

Every startup or business event across the globe today has one thing in common – the discussion about the future of work in these technologically driven times.

What to look forward to in future?

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the future of human life with regards to technology? The answer probably is simply – automation. Well, automation for sure, but this is just one tiny part of what the future of work could look like. Here’s what you can look forward to:

Moving over to Li-Fi from Wi-Fi

The internet has drastically changed our worlds. The transmission of data happens with just a few clicks and the introduction of 5G is going to transform how offices operate. Bigger bandwidths and faster data transmission will increase productivity bringing about greater efficiency in the workplace.

The internet may well shift from wireless frequency to light frequency (Li-Fi) which will use light emitting diodes for data transfer. The beta stage modules of Li-Fi are capable of transmitting data at 150 Mbps already. The scientists have said that with the use of more evolved technology backed by stronger LEDs, they can achieve 10 Gbps of speed, making it 1000 times faster than the Wi-Fi!

Transmitting data through a Li-Fi network may also be much safer than the Wi-Fi making it a more secure network to use in public places.

Physical or Virtual Workplace

Owing to digitization, a lot has changed in how companies and employees work. Many startups, for instance, have virtual workplaces. This allows them to save on office rent and commuting time, thus getting more effective work hours as compared to the regular offices.

The workplace environment is seeing a shift of policies towards helping grow employee productivity rather than the number of office hours spent. Communication technology has evolved to keep pace with the increasingly multi-locational workforce. Video calls have changed the way client meetings and conferences are held. Today, you don’t need to be physically present for that team meeting or to crack that big deal.

Humans or Artificial Intelligence (AI)

According to a PwC report, 30% of UK jobs by the year 2035 would be consumed by automation. The future of work is likely to be driven by automation and artificial intelligence. The automation would ease out many of the labour-intensive jobs across the world. Mundane, repetitive jobs are the most likely to be taken over in this manner.

However, it would be wrong to consider automation or AI as something that would rob people of their right to work and earn. Automation and AI offers an avenue to free up human resources from low value-added tasks so that they can focus on tasks that call for more skill, judgement, and emotional quotient. This will mean learning new skills and a degree of retraining -but the rewards could be many.

Automation will also help in eliminating human error thereby decreasing the number of accident and mishaps that happen due to human negligence.

Wrapping Up

Historically, the biggest fear pertaining to the implementation of technology has been that it will take away human jobs and impact many a life. But, that is not inevitable. The advent of technology has always brought about a rise in the standard of living and an improvement in economic opportunities. Humans become free to innovate and bring in a fresh perspective to their work and tasks. The purpose of technology is to help humans reduce the time spent in accomplishing any given task. With more time on our hands, we will be freer, mentally, to think about bigger and better things.

And to run and maintain these technology-driven machines and techniques, we would need humans. It is humans who are making technology and not vice versa. The future of work is likely to be very different from today with the introduction and implementation of new techniques riding high on technological advancements. And, it should be an exciting time!