Welcome to the future. It’s not hovercrafts and robot butlers, but instead it’s a dramatic shift in the way we work and how employees engage with their roles and organizations. This article will cover how to prepare for the future of work, and the critically important role technology plays in this pivot to the future.
The future of work is how work, workers and the workplace will change and evolve. Some of these changes have been forced through quickly by the onset of the pandemic, such as the pivot to working from home, and the workforce's quick adoption of video conferencing as soon as video calls became a must-have instead of a nice-to-have. Other changes are being led by advancing technologies, such as the creation of automated response bots for customer service enquiries.
On the positive side of these changes, moving forward, thanks to the advancement in robotics and automation, people will be less likely to work in traditionally hazardous environments, which will lead to a decrease in the risk of illness or injury from work. However, working in a technology-driven world like this, whilst offering many exciting opportunities, also comes with a number of challenges. For example, 37% of workers are worried about automation putting their jobs at risk, which may lead to resistance in adopting new technologies.
As a leader, it’s part of your role to nurture a future of work where your people and your technology work in sync to create a strong workplace. Whilst new tech and powerful automation may now enable cars to drive themselves, the future of work is still human. It has to be. When you’re looking at how to prepare for the future of work, there should be a focus on making it a future that centralizes, champions, and empowers your staff.
Your workers are already prepared to embrace new ways of working, you just have to equip them with the resources. Today's workforce is agile and used to rapid change, which is something that will only grow with time, particularly as new generations begin their careers. Teams are ready to dive into new technologies and experiences, with 74% of workers ready to upskill or re-train.
The best way to help prepare your team for the future of work is to ensure they are equipped with and trained on up-to-date technologies, designed to make their days easier and streamline their work. Whether it’s a project management software, an automatic meeting note transcription program, or a desk and meeting room booking system like Nura Space, providing your team with top tech helps build happier teams and greater outputs. In fact, up-to-date technology is one of the top five things employees want in a workplace for their wellbeing.
Supporting and embracing changes are incredibly important for a smooth transition. This may include things like being open to flexible work arrangements, such as hybrid work models or self-led start and finish times. This managerial flexibility will be particularly important with new generations of workers coming into the workforce, who value and appropriately prioritize mental health and a work/life balance in workplaces. Discovering and harnessing technologies and systems that can help support these pivots will ensure teams can still work seamlessly together, both in person or remotely.
Employee experience is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of good work culture. This trend will keep growing, helping develop what the future of employee experience actually looks like.
The growth of technology enables flexible working. With teams able to connect from anywhere, hybrid work arrangements, remote-first meeting styles, and the freedom to choose where to work from will only become more standard across businesses.
Employee engagement is already an important aspect of maintaining happy, productive workplaces. People who are interested and engaged with the work they do and the company they work for are more productive and stay at workplaces longer. The importance of engagement will only keep growing as the workforce becomes more transient, and as hybrid teams begin coming back into offices more and more.
The future of work is human. As more people adopt remote or hybrid work, and seek part-time, contract, or freelance positions, outside the traditional employee/employer relationship, instances of loneliness, anxiety, and stress may increase as roles become more isolated. Open communication with employees, and supplying resources to help connect and monitor their wellbeing will become increasingly important.
So what does the future of work look like for leaders? Leading from behind a screen offers some unique challenges, and some exciting opportunities.
Say goodbye and good riddance to micro-managing, now your teams will step straight into the deep end and know how to swim. There’s no more 40 page onboarding document that people fall asleep reading on their first day, there’s digital, potentially interactive resources to help get people up to speed. Resources will be centralized and available digitally, saving employees from having to navigate a labyrinth just to get the information they need. Work will become faster, workers will be better equipped, and leadership will be informed and built through data knowledge and managed through analytics and engagement to better understand and lead your staff. Invest in your employees and they’ll invest back into the company twofold.
Companies will become fully tech led, and new technology will change the future of work for the better. Software with smart workplace analytics will help with a hands off approach to understanding your staff and building a work culture that benefits them. Desk booking systems will help streamline teams of hybrid workers, giving transparency over location and helping connect people. Artificial intelligence will impact the future of work in many ways, helping optimize processes, and increasing safety efforts in the workplace by taking over previously dangerous roles and empowering staff to upskill.
This workplace management technology will become a cornerstone of collaborative teams, and leading organizations are already implementing platforms like Nura Space to lead this transition. Adopting new technologies is the first step toward the future of work that is already knocking at our office doors. Embracing new tech opportunities means you no longer have to wonder what the future of work looks like, because you’ll be the one building it.
Learn more about how Nura Space can help lead you into the future of work here.
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