What Will The Future Of Work Look Like — The Big Questions

The 9–5 model evolved from the industrial revolution, where people worked in factories for long hours. The industrial age didn’t invent the model. It came from the Agricultural Age, where sunrise and sunset decided the working hours.

However, the world has moved on and so should our idea of work!

It is time for us to kill the 9am–5pm , 5 day/week model! And move to something appropriate for the times we live in!

Hundreds of millions of jobs can be done remotely and don’t require us to be in an office from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

So why haven’t we updated our work model yet? This post will explore what the future of work could look like and what challenges it could bring.

Never in the history of humanity did we have the opportunity to think about WHY we work the way we do.

We have that now! What most people will want to do now will become the new norm. We are responsible for asking for what we want, so it becomes normal for the next generation.

Imagine a future where we can all work flexibly and enjoy a better work/life balance! What would that look like?

Let’s imagine the future!

Home office: This is where you do most of your work. It will become a standard practice for businesses to pay employees to set up their home offices. The real estate sector will continue to be shaped by this as individuals will require more work area!

Classic Offices: I still expect office buildings to exist. It gives comfort that you could go to an office 100% or 3% if you wanted. I hope this to be the secondary place of work.

Companies would need to know the fixed cost of maintaining office space. I expect policies that say — we will have room for at least 30% of the staff at any given time. Please reserve your space to have a guaranteed desk!

Work Vacations: Why go to Italy for one week if you can spend four weeks! You can work for a week, take two weeks break and work for another week before you return! Millions of people have already tried this. It works!

Working Hours: I expect some regulations to still govern the number of working hours/wages. However, the more skilled jobs should break free from the shackles and become outcome/output driven.

Why work 40 hours if you can do it 32 hours. Why work 5 days when you are more productive working only 4 days. Atom bank and a few other companies have already tried this. The results seem positive!

Policies around physical meetings: Companies are evolving policies around physical co-locations. For example, Meesho has announced that people can work from wherever they please. And the company will fly the teams to a cool place once a quarter to work together.

Childcare: Why should parents choose work over childcare or vice versa. I have seen many companies normalizing working parents in the office. Parents should either stay home and care for the child or bring the child to the office and care for them there.

Business Travel: Business travel will come back, but never to the pre-pandemic levels. I really look forward to the world not changing here! Less carbon footprint!

Daily Commute: Many public transport companies are already thinking about the new work model. For example, in Copenhagen, where I live, the public transport system has introduced plans for flexible travel days at a fixed price.

Big Questions — What do we not know fully?

What if I want to go to the office? Some people will still want to go to the office. We need to find solutions that don’t exclude them. They cannot be relegated to the workplace minority.

What will replace the office gossip? I genuinely do not know! We can do what we can virtually, but it will never be the same.

How will the beginners learn? Learning is quicker when someone sits next to other people? Or does it? But we have now tested this twice. The graduates from the years 2020 and 2021 seem to be doing ok. But time will tell!

How will it impact the economy around work? People going to offices spend on transport, parking, coffee, lunch, drinks, dinner, etc. How will this change the economy in the long term? Will coffee delivery at home become new normal? Or will coffee machines be the latest addition to every house?

What will change around Insurance policies? Who is liable for an accident during a work trip? Usually, it is the company. That is why they ensure your travels are insured. Let’s assume you live in Germany but chose to stay in Rome and work for 4 months a year. Who is liable should there be an issue? We need to evolve an answer to this question.

What will change around Tax Regulations? Countries generally have a tax agreement based on people’s primary work location. I expect these policies to come under scrutiny as more people work outside their primary tax domicile longer.

Will Compensation levels change? Location is a crucial component in determining the salary levels. Will we see policies that adjust salaries based on how much time people work remotely?

There are more questions. But these are the questions we need to ask and answer. Our needs should drive the policies that will shape the future of work!

It is my dream that we won’t repeat our past mistakes — where hundreds of millions will not be forced into a fixed way of working without questioning it.

Sources:

Picture: Pexels

Meesho’s work from anywhere policy — https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/meesho-adopts-permanent-work-from-anywhere-policy-for-all-employees/article38392020.ece

Atom Bank’s 4 days a week policy- https://www.atombank.co.uk/newsroom/four-day-working-week/