Are we ready for the new world of work?

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Author: Cleo Turner

I spent 3 minutes of pure adventure after stumbling across a video clip of Jabob Morgan, Futurist and Author, while doing research yesterday. Call me a “People Dork”, if you want, but this got my heart-rate up!

There are a few reasons why this clip resonated with me.

Firstly, Jacob gave me something to aspire to. Not only do I want to work in the New World of Work he talks about, I want to be part of creating a workplace that has the vision and courage to lead the way on the New World of Work!

Secondly, he proclaimed work as we know it, is dead!

Why?

People no longer want to work for organizations where their work result in little to no meaningful impact. The modern workforce wants to work on things that really matter to them, their communities and the world. Workers of the future will have deep yearning for freedom: they will want to choose what they work on, who they work with and when they work!

So what excited me most about this clip?

Access to a flexible workforce: Freelance employees will make up half of the workforce population and as a people practitioner having access to a flexible and global talent pool, is very attractive.

Increased engagement and productivity: “The Internet of Things” is removing barriers to access & information and will contribute hugely to making us more productive and engaged. Technology is enabling us to engage and collaborate like never before removing work barriers and work borders.

Tapping into collective wisdom and intelligence! Why rely on the wisdom of a few if you can tap into the collective wisdom of many, Jacob asks? This really excited me. Working across boundaries, cultures, languages and domains towards common goals in virtual and physical communities will vastly contribute to propelling us forward.

Continuous learning: Collective intelligence will transform the learning process – we will learn and teach continually through our networks. Social networks will be put to good use and will facilitate a culture of continuous learning.

Lastly, these workforce changes will result in an organizational shift from profit to prosperity: There is a richness to the word prosperity. It is more inclusive than simply chasing profits, but, it does not exclude making money. In the New World of Work employees will deliberately and actively make career decisions based on organizations who are able to keep their employees engaged, provide meaningful work, are connected and involved in their communities, and who positively impact on the world.

The New World of Work sounds like the place where I want to be. Let’s go out there and be part of the journey.

 

By Susan Fouché

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