Few companies enjoy excessive margins these days, and the pressure to stay profitable will require businesses to examine their general operating expenses closely. According to a recent study by the Center for Effective Organizations at USC Marshall School of Business, only 37% of employees would share innovation or automation ideas if they believed they would have to do different work as a result of such technology being implemented. Report highlights: The flexible future of work. He sums up decades of research focused on what is happening inside our brains—chemical imbalances thought to trigger certain emotions—pointing out the critical missing focus on external factors, such as the environment in which people live or work, that may influence feelings like depression. Our team’s research and analysis provided much insight on workplace transformation, how it’s happening, what’s driving that transformation, and how that impacts both the future of work as well as business operations. hoped might change and what impact could COVID-19 have on the world of business? A happier, more effective, more productive workforce? The weight of connecting with an audience can be stressful, and may even prohibit some from saying what they want or need to say. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Employee demand drives the flexible workplace. Recent events have put the flexible working agenda into fast-forward. The countryside is calling. Disappointed by Tesla’s Battery Day? In the past, these interactions would have been exclusively human to human. Staying physically close was the only way to survive, and this fact drove people to remain together or to find their way back to their group. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked with some of the world’s largest brands to lead them into the digital space, embrace disruption and the reality of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of Digital Transformation. If business trips were reduced by 10%, each business would start saving more than £500 per person, each year. Of the nine future of work trends, some represent accelerations of existing shifts; others are new impacts not previously discussed. Today’s business reality is simple: We live in a consumer-driven world, where businesses are perpetually in danger of becoming irrelevant and/or commoditized in some way. Under normal circumstances, 1 in 5 workers in the UK were taking a domestic business trip once a week. This is not to say that others can’t research the same things, but if your paper gets published, it’s out there that you had the idea. The company’s platform routes guest requests directly to the right staff member, then records and tracks the work through completion to ensure the highest level of customer service and efficiency. We asked This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. AI is stealthily creeping into just about everything humans do today—most importantly, into the way we work and communicate with one another and the world. These cookies are used to improve your website and provide more personalized services to you, both on this website and through other media. Many hope this flexibility will bring them a better work-life balance, making them happier at work and more productive. Download report. Combining flexible working with increased environmental concern could spell the end for business trips. Now that we have the option for flexible working, we could see an end to the daily rush-hour and gridlocked traffic. I write about people, purpose and leadership. Instead of embedding outdated processes in silicon and software, we should obliterate them and start over. As technology advances and companies look for more ways to control costs and increase their competitive advantage, workers should expect increased interaction with artificial intelligence (AI), job reengineering, more remote working and a need to find new ways of ensuring meaningful human connections in a virtual culture and world. In fact, the World Health Organization reports that depression is now the number-one cause of global ill health. They’ll need to consider elements like workspace setup, background, lighting and device positioning. Those humans? “Humans need tribes as much as bees need hives,” Hari concludes. Katy Lidell, Director of Business Sales & Service at O2, reflects on how work has changed in recent times and shares the headline results from our latest report, The flexible future of work. And companies need to continue to adapt to a more flexible way In A.D. 1495, Leonardo da Vinci imagined a mechanical man. He is the author of four books: How to Find a Job, Career and Life You Love; Purpose Meets Execution; Beyond the Ink; and the children’s book, What Kind of Bee Can I Be? Our research paper looks to the future. Those working outside the office may not be in the loop on opportunities for promotion and may have not had meaningful face time with those assessing the internal candidate pool. Now, for the first time, there are more job openings than workers available to fill them (6.7 million versus 6.4 million). How can flexibility make your people more productive? Such AI could evaluate and offer feedback on the speaker’s clarity, tone, confidence, mastery, rate of speech, facial expressions, body language and, ultimately, the level of audience trust in what the speaker is conveying—whether the audience is one or 5,000. However, working remotely can present challenges, too. Louis Efron (LouisEfron.com) is a globally recognized thought leader, speaker, writer and Fortune 200 HR Executive. So are your credit card fraud alerts, many call center interactions and, in some cases, even the job application process. We were then able to continue collecting responses during the first week of lockdown. And this means companies must also transform their workplace (and their workforce). In line with the evolution of remote working and virtual operations, workers will need to learn how to shine and stay connected through screens or holographic images instead of through in-person interactions. 2 Future Workplace Wellness StudyFuture workplace wellness study The workplace environment and its role in employer-employee relationships are in the spotlight. he explains what the future of AI-assisted human development and coaching could look like. Download the public survey results: The views of 10,000 workers Key report messages for leaders. Take the quiz. Read the special report on Workforce strategies for post COVID-19 recovery. Download ‘The flexible future of work’ research report. Photographer Matthew Rolston provides a valuable resource in his YouTube video “How to Look Good on a Webcam.”. Not for the first time, we’ve found that opinion is roughly split in two. Billion-dollar organizations already exist without any company offices at all, and in some cases, without email either. Louis Efron (LouisEfron.com) is a globally recognized thought leader, speaker, writer and Fortune 200 HR Executive. We won't track your information when you visit our site. That’s the challenge, of every organization, of every size. It is mind blowing. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Future Workplace Wellness Study The workplace wellness triple threat: air, light and temperature have the biggest influence on employee health, productivity and engagement RESEARCH STUDY ® Your window to wellness. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. He studied Labor Relations at Cornell University, New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and Advanced Leadership at Harvard Business School. The way we communicate is impacted by technology, the way we work and collaborate is impacted by technology, and the way we acquire and serve customers is impacted by technology. Remote workers have less interaction with colleagues, and thus miss out on the benefits of “water cooler” or impromptu hallway conversations that can yield helpful information. In the UK, one week before lockdown was brought into effect, our flexible working research paper was in its data collection phase. Many organizations today are missing the real opportunity to leverage technological advancements: they are looking to AI and other technologies only to speed up or increase accuracy in existing mechanical processes instead of thinking about how innovations can bring about radical improvements in the way we work. Working to understand how technology drives business today, and how to leverage that technology to stay agile, adapt to rapidly-changing consumer behaviors is on the mind of business leaders everywhere. How do companies stay alive and, equally as important, thrive and grow? More than 70% of people around the world work remotely at least once a week. You will also see people working side by side with human-like machines assembling products for customers. Among Generation Z workers, this is even more significant. Recent events have put the flexible working agenda into fast-forward. The flexible future of work. The world of work is changing faster than most realize. Why join our email list? Technology has without question changed—and will continue to change and revolutionize the way we work and live. Depression and related illnesses cost the U.S. economy an estimated $1 trillion each year in lost productivity. It has the potential to improve a person’s confidence and sense of fulfillment, increase people engagement, heighten the impact of a message, reduce the time needed to deliver a message and improve overall business efficiency. Most people feel that being near to a city has been important for job opportunities – this is particularly true for the younger members of the workforce – but 63% would happily live more than an hour away from the office, if flexible working became more common. 2,000 people gave their views on the future of flexible working. “More people say they feel lonelier than ever before,” writes journalist Johann Hari, who presents research showing that loneliness leads to depression and that drugs are rarely the solution. They’re consumers and they are, without question, in charge. He is the author of four books: How to Find a Job,…. As doomsday predictions about the clash of humans and technology proliferate, it is important to maintain some perspective. You can always unsubscribe from our content at any time. Such platforms also make life easier by keeping multiple work streams in one place, avoiding missed or lost emails. The opportunity to work remotely is a desirable option for many people, but a remote workforce will also become a necessity for organizations of the future as they look to reduce their operating costs. In organizations that embrace the synergy between humans and machines, you may no longer be able to go out to lunch with your “co-workers” or boss, as they won’t eat human food. Another way to look at the future work section, is a way to sort of “claim” an area of research. While it may be easy to see how such AI bosses can drive costs down and profits up, a bigger question remains: can AI interaction help humans develop and grow to be better in their jobs and careers? can be immensely helpful in keeping teams connected and on the same page. When it comes to screen interactions, employees will need to adapt their remote workspaces for maximum effectiveness and learn video basics to ensure their talent is noticed. They develop a thick web of meaningful social connections that support those who are sick, in danger or hungry. You can opt-out of receiving communications