We took a trip to the future of work: this is how you make it out alive
Launching into a high-visibility project looking at the drivers of change in Human Resources, Technology, Sales and Finance has been an exhausting and eye-opening experience. Thankfully for our future work prospects, it has also been an ultimately hopeful experience. For our team, the chance to sit down with a caste of C-suite leaders for companies including Aon, AstraZeneca, Citi, CreditEase, Estee Lauder, Experian, Euro-Asia Holidays, EY, Global Petro Storage, Heineken, PageGroup, PwC and Salesforce, among others, has been deeply insightful and a true privilege. And thanks to this project time capsule, we've now had a healthy look at the future of work: and we can confidently tell you, this is how we all make it out alive.
One key ingredient unites the past, present and future
Passion has never, and will never go out of style. It is this basic key ingredient that has always separated the good from the great in a business leadership sense – and no automation will replace this.
The machines are coming. Join the machines
Automation is coming, though. And it is going to have some harsh and lasting effects on industries that were once viewed as irreplaceable. As one CFO told me recently: "When I was young, I was told by my Dad that there'd always be accountants!" Fortunately for my friend, financial leaders of his generation who came up doing the "grunt" roles of the fast-disappearing finance back office, are becoming more sought after today than ever – because soon, the modern CFO won't have had any of that foresight. What there will be however, are brave new jobs titles – plenty of them in fact. And one area that holds a lot of promise now and in the future, is working at the interface between the machine and the human. Be it big data, block chain, biotech, cyber-security, digital, technology, customer experience or e-commerce, understanding horizons and potential – and learning how to constantly fill in the gaps in your knowledge – should keep you in interesting work for many years to come.
Don’t own your job title. Own and expand your skillsets
As a trained journalist, I know for a fact that platform changes will blow away many job titles we never imagined could be at threat. And no, this doesn't mean there will soon be zero reporters, book-keepers or paralegals – but there will be far fewer of them, as our mass preferences move to easier or more cost-effective platforms. Hold tight however. You can adjust. And indeed, companies are relying on the fact that you will – and many will invest in the training and transitioning (in a job sense) that will see you move your in-demand skillsets into a sunrise area where they can best be used. Will the new jobs be easy? No. Will you at times miss the elegance of the past? Sure, sometimes. But staying at the crest of change will always have its thrilling moments: and then soon enough, another wave will sweep you off to the next opportunity.
Interpersonal skills are no longer soft. Master these now
As former workplace advisor to the Obama Administration and author of Humanity Works, Alexandra Levit, told me recently, to be human is indeed divine again. “Where you can’t go wrong is the human skill elements: making sure you’re really strong in interpersonal conflict resolution, diplomacy, empathy, judgment, intuition, creativity and innovation."