Future of Work Predictions 2021 and Beyond

‘Place’ joins the party and congruence is key

• Over the last few years, Future of Work narrative and teamwork narrative has evolved, where we’ve talked about People, Practices and Products.
• When casting an eye into the FoW, ‘Place’ or environment, will join the other three components as being critical in an organization’s success.
• As companies continue to collaborate and cross-pollinate, we need to create central ‘places’ or ‘hubs’ for businesses to convene and do their best work.

Companies are assessed on long term impact outside the org

• Quadruple bottom line has been around for a good few years. Lots of CEO’s talk about purpose, even if it’s to sugar coat the bad things their organisation does.
• In the future of work, we’ll truly assess organisations and their custodians, on the impact (positive or negative) outside their organisation and outside their profit and loss.
• This isn’t OR. This is AND.
• Quarterly and annual reports won’t just talk about customers and $$’s, but also Community, Corporate Social Responsibility, Belonging and Engagement, Alumni, Foundation, Ways of Working, Investments in startup community, Future of Work, Education, Partners, Events, and the Ecosystem.
• Our impact will be purpose, planet, people, and then profits.

The workday is retired

• In 2021, the end of the old way of doing will be quick and decisive.
• There is a whole load of constructs that many organisations still hold to be true, that we think won’t hold true:
  • working day is Monday to Friday, 9-5
  • work occurs in an office or at a desk/station
  • the most senior people are the smartest
• If we want belonging and access to a diverse talent pool, and if we want people to do the best work of their life and want inclusion to surface brilliant ideas then a lot of old ways will need drastic overhaul.

The end of productivity

• Based on the whole profit, purpose, people and planet chat above on the quadruple bottom line, and the anemic growth of productivity in the western world, maybe it’s time for a different measure of prosperity?
• As the great Huggy Rao, Professor at Stanford Uni once said “let us reframe. We do not own people for 8 hours a day. We borrow them from their family, community, and life for 8 hours a day. Our job is to return them in a better state than we received them.”

Credit: Authored by Dom Price, Work Futurist, Atlassian