Future of Work
2020 has truly been a year unlike any other; we’ve witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic infecting over 55 million people worldwide and causing about 1.33 million deaths within a span of a few months. Resulting in the implementation of travel restrictions and strict social distancing rules, which have significantly disrupted our way of life.
Therefore, many people may wonder what the future of work lies during these uncertain times. So, here are some of the trends we’ve identified that will affect the job market as well as the way we will work in the future.
Remote Working Is Here To Stay
With the advancement of collaborative technologies such as Zoom, remote working is becoming more and more compelling for businesses to implement for the long run. According to a survey conducted by OWL Labs, 83% of employees say that the opportunity to work remotely would make them feel happier at their job. Moreover, the World Economic Forum (WEF) also states that employers are considering shifting 44% of their workforce to work remotely.
The Birth Of A Hybrid Workplace
With remote becoming the norm , companies are re-evaluating ways in which their office space can be used. A Hybrid workplace brings out the best of remote work and physical touchpoints creating an efficient workflow. In fact , DBS bank is already shifting into this model by giving its employees a choice to work remotely twice a week once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. With more employees working at home, DBS will also reconstruct it’s workspace by focusing on facilitating collaboration and ideation, which can be difficult to conduct through a remote setting.
Robots May Replace Your Job Sooner Than Expected
Findings from a survey done by the World Economic Forum predict that robots will destroy 85 million jobs at mid-sized to large businesses over the next five years as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt established norms in the workplace. For workers to stay relevant in their jobs, half of them would have to pick up new skills as it is estimated that work will be divided equally between humans and machines as early as 2025.
The survey also found that jobs involving administrative duties, accounting, and data entry are more likely to become obsolete, while jobs in content creation, care economy, and technology industries (such as artificial intelligence) will experience a rise in demand in the future.
The Rise Of The Gig Economy
In a post pandemic environment , companies would need to have a scalable workforce that is agile and flexible to navigate through the ever changing nature of the business landscape and Gig workers / freelancers offer just that. A research done by Gartner indicates that companies would continue to hire more gig workers to maintain flexibility of their workforce management post-COVID-19 and 32% of companies will replace full time employees with gig workers as a cost saving measure. With platforms such as Upwork, companies could easily hire the talents they need across different industries and expertise and the convenience makes hiring these people a compelling choice.
So how can one prepare for the rise of the gig economy ? Andy Storch, the author of “Own your career own your life” shared in a recent interview with Forbes that reputation is an important determining factor in who will get selected for the job. Therefore workers should be intentional in building their personal brand, which can be reflected through factors such as their work ethic , how they treat others and present themselves on social media.
As Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the intelligent that survives, it is the one that is most adaptable to change” let us remain resilient while we continue to navigate through these uncertain times!
Accordingly, AIESEC in Singapore has adjusted as well by providing Semi-remote and remote internship & job opportunities to the youth.