I believe the workplace of tomorrow will bear little resemblance of the workplace before the pandemic – there is no going back to the ‘good old days’
That’s not wishful thinking on my part: it’s a logical consequence of major demographic and social upheavals
And I don’t think we’re well placed to deal with either
The first reason is demographics, and we are seeing it all across the western world
In Australia, our working population is around 14 million people, and as many as 25% of those might retire in the next 10 years
In the United States, as many as 10,000 boomers reach retirement age every day!
And the ageing workforce situation in Europe is dire, particularly in the advanced economies.
You might be thinking that retirement is good because it creates opportunities for younger workers, and that’s true.
But there simply aren’t enough people to replace the boomers and the ones that do will have different skillsets
Remember, when boomers entered the workforce computerisation was at its infancy
Their skills developed alongside technology, which gave them incredible depth to their understanding
This can be good, but it can be bad, because familiarity makes us suspicious about new ways of working
So, with a changing of the guard, so to speak, there will be some conflict
Both might perceive each other a threat, instead of seeing it opportunity to augment their collective understanding
It’s really important that we find ways to respectfully learn from each other because both perspectives are valid
But don’t forget – not are the boomers our most experienced generation, they are also our wealthiest
When they joined the workforce, the boomers were promised a comfortable retirement in exchange for years of hard work and sacrifice.
Most leave the workforce financially comfortable, which means there no need for them to work
This changes the balance of power, and the incentives for them transfer knowledge
Whatever you do, please treat boomers with respect. You will need them!
As a Gen X, I have been an understudy to boomers all my career.
And certainly in the early part of that, I didn’t feel it was my place offer ideas and suggestion
Even if had felt empowered, there was no real way do to that because the corporate office is designed to reinforce power structures
The office culture promotes visibility, being seen to be doing, rather than doing
And that makes it incredibly hard to say no: working late and accepted tight deadlines.
You were expected to ‘suck it up’ because you’re at the bottom of ladder
Working hard was glamorised, because that was a generational value
I’m not sure that the new generation sees things in the same way.
Thanks to social media, they seem to be a lot more comfortable expressing an opinion, and pushing back where the demands are unreasonable
There is certainly a difference in the work ethic and the way they want to be heard. I don’t think its a bad thing
And here the balance is power is tipped in their favour
Just because we worked hard, and put up with a lot of crap, it doesn’t mean they should
Especially if they can work smarter, and find better ways at integrating their work life and home life together
Because businesses are not just paying people for their time – they are rewarding them for their contribution, their passion and their energy
This generation will have choice and they don’t feel bound by same rules we were
Whether you agree with it or not, generational change will undoubtedly reshape our concept of the workplace
The second reason why I believe the workplace will be different is because of broader social changes brought about by Covid-19
During the pandemic, many of us were told ‘if we could work from home’ we ‘must work from home’
In the early days, it was tough. We weren’t set up for remote work, but as the weeks turned into months, things started to change.
And began to notice that, we could make it work. Rather than spend 2 hours a day in traffic, we caught up on sleep, or took the kids to school
For the first time, many of us realised that we didn’t have the work-life balance right
And we wanted a change
And as a result, corporate offices are still empty
And this is causing major disruptions in the commercial property market
Because businesses have had little choice but to compromise
A recent Australian Government research paper showed that the overall effect of working from home was positive, people were happier in their lives
But there is also empirical evidence emerging showing knowledge sharing is reduced
We’re yet to fully understand how this will play out, especially for younger employees entering the workplace
Combined this, with boomers leaving the workforce, and I think you’ll agree the future workplace will be different
The question is whether have the tools and processes to mange the workplace of tomorrow
Or do we need to be thinking about a better way
In the next video, I’ll talk about the solution design and explain why our approach allows our customers to get access to advanced technologies
and how Knowledge Orchestrator levels the playing field, with the big end of town
