The Future of Work..?

What will the future of work look like?

The traditional model of work goes something like this: get grades to get into university. Study and learn what they give you to get your degree. Find a job aligned with your degree and then work your way up the ladder in that company for say 10 years.

The system is very systemized. You're put into a system, told what to do, and paid to do it. The company requires anticipated behavior to eliminate as much risk as possible. Structures are hierarchical (top down), people are viewed as cogs in the system, not necessarily paid to think, but paid to follow rules and regulations.

But people's mindsets are shifting as expectations rise, structures change and a global consciousness emerges.

So what will the future of work look like? Well there's no way of predicting at this stage, but there are some patterns/dynamics emerging. What will these changes be based on? Rapid change for one. Work will need to be more fluid and flexible to fit increasing flux.

Work will no longer follow a linear path, it will be more expansive, more transitional. Work will come from who we are as individuals. We will need to take greater responsibility for the direction of our work through self-awareness, knowledge and a deeper understanding of systems (personal, organizational and environmental).

A lot of our work will revolve around mastering skills associated with our strengths as well as the ability to adapt to game changing technologies and scenarios. Greater emphasis will be placed on personal development. The internet has made all types of information readily available so there's no longer an excuse for not knowing something in your specialization.

Finally and by no means least of all, there'll be an ironing out of hierarchies, an integration of mentoring and coaching and a fostering of environments to nurture and grow talent. People will gravitate towards greater levels of autonomy and purpose in their work. There'll be more aligning of skills and interests.

The power must lie with both employee and employer to see that authentic communication, skills training, emotional intelligence, self-improvement, and the seeking of new knowledge all happens in conjunction with each-other.