The future of work is here and it looks a lot different than it used to. We are no longer living in the industrial age where people would clock into their jobs for eight hours, five days a week. With the rise of technology and automation, we have seen more people working remotely from home or on-demand gigs. This future trend has many implications on how companies can manage remote workers effectively as well as what skills future employees will need to succeed in this emerging workforce paradigm.
Future of Work Trends
1. Automation of work
The first future of work trend is automation where companies are already replacing human workers with machines.
There has been a lot of buzz around the future of work and automation, especially about how artificial intelligence will replace low-skill jobs like truck drivers or administrative assistants.
However, this future trend has not only affected traditional blue-collar professions but also white-collar jobs as well. For example, there is a future trend of automation in the accounting industry where robots are beginning to take over repetitive tasks that were once performed by bookkeepers and accountants.
2. The gig economy
Another future of work trend is the gig economy, where people are now choosing to forego full-time employment in exchange for freelance gigs.
There has been a rise over the past few years with freelancers making up 35% of the workforce and this future trend doesn’t seem like it will slow down anytime soon.
The future trend of the gig economy isn’t just affecting freelancers but also companies as well who are now turning to on-demand services and hiring temporary workers for short periods instead of keeping their full time.
An example of this future trend is Uber and Lyft who both rely on a pool of freelance drivers to keep their businesses afloat.
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3. Flexible hours, remote work, and freelancing
With future of work trends like automation and the gig economy, future employees will have to adapt to flexible hours that are outside of traditional business hours.
Future workers who want full-time jobs may find themselves working from home or temporarily with companies hiring freelancers more often than they’d hire permanent staff.
As we mentioned before, freelancers are finding it easier to find future work online through freelancing websites like Upwork or Fiverr.
Other future of work trends can include flexible hours, remote work, and freelancing which may be difficult for employees who want full-time employment but this future trend is becoming more commonplace in the workforce today.
4. Artificial intelligence in the workplace
Artificial intelligence is the future of work and we are seeing it all around us in our everyday lives.
We already mentioned how automation will replace human workers but artificial intelligence won’t just be limited to machines like robots or self-driving cars, AI can also be used for future employees as well.
An example of this future trend would be future employees working alongside AI assistants like Siri or Alexa to help schedule meetings, answer calls and emails, and even automate some future tasks.
5. Job security vs job satisfaction
The last future of work trend is future employees wanting future jobs that will make them happy instead of having future job security.
In the past, future workers would take on any future job they could get to have a steady income and some sort of stability but in today’s economy with future trends like automation and freelancing becoming more commonplace; we see future employees taking their time when choosing which future jobs to take.
Many future employees know that the future job market is unstable and are choosing their future careers based on what will make them happiest instead of worrying about having future job security; which may be a future trend for this generation but it’s difficult to tell if future workers in the next decade or so will still feel this way when looking for future jobs.
Future of Work in a Nutshell
The future of work is a tough topic to cover in a single blog post with all the different future trends and insights but it’s something that people should be aware of when entering or re-entering the workforce today.
For future employees, companies, and economies to stay afloat we must understand what this future trend is doing to future workers and make changes accordingly.
The future of work will affect everyone in the workforce today with future trends like automation, freelancing, flexible hours, remote work, AI assistants in the workplace, job security vs job satisfaction making up some of these future trends that are affecting us all.
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