Modern Changes to the Way We Work

The rise of modern technology has created a shift in the expectations of workplaces. Gone are the days of grueling office commutes and bland water cooler talk. As communication has increasingly begun to take place over video conferencing and email, there has been a low need for employees to consistently come into the office. These new developments have given rise to the work from home trend, where employees are offered either a hybrid or completely remote work option. 

Employees are very satisfied when they are given the opportunity to work remotely- 91% of people report higher levels of happiness when given this option. These employees often cite the benefits of being able to maintain a much better work-life balance when working from home. 66% of employees explain that they are able to spend more time with family, 61% report that they have improved savings, and 62% report that they have an overall increased morale. It is clear that employees’ lives are greatly improved by remote work, so jobs and workplaces must adapt their work environment to the changing desires of their employees.  

There are many other ways that workplaces of the future are expected to change. Smaller corporations are likely to flourish without the cost of bigger businesses. There will likely be more of an emphasis on collaboration between team members, where everyone is expected to be a leader rather than falling into place within the hierarchy. This will lead to smarter brainstorming, where there is greater diversity of thought and less overall groupthink in order to create the optimal strategies for a company. 

As technology continues to play a greater role in the business world, there will be a greater increase of digital assistants. Workers will be able to focus in on their more complex tasks while assigning the routine administrative work for smart assistants, similar to Siri and Alexa. Coworker relationships will shift as well, as informal get-togethers increasingly take place online. There will no longer be a need to consistently show up to an office when an employee can access all of their work through a laptop. 

Artificial intelligence and new technologies will become more ingrained within the workplace, but the human touch will be more important than ever. Many of the most in-demand skills for the job of the future revolved around “soft skills”, such as people management, negotiation, and emotional intelligence. Workers will still be expected to interact frequently and verbally communicate with each other. Future technology will primarily be implemented in the more routine and less emotionally complicated work. 

Some of the fastest growing occupations include home health aids, restaurant cooks, software developers, and fast food workers. The highest paid career is software developers, which is unsurprising given the increased importance of technology. However, there is no standalone sector of the economy that is expected to grow at the detriment of all other jobs. It is certain that there will be more integration with technology, but humans are impossible to completely replace in the workforce.