The future of work in the technology driven world

Tech is the most important enabler of remote work, but it hasn’t been without issues. The current “work anywhere” trend ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the dismantling and reimagining of many of the characteristics of last century’s workplace. The future of work is being shaped by two powerful forces: The growing adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and the expansion of the workforce to include both on- and off-balance-sheet talent. It’s clear that remote and hybrid work is here to stay.

Employee expectations are changing, and we will need to define productivity much more broadly – inclusive of collaboration, learning and wellbeing to drive career advancement for every worker, including frontline and knowledge workers, as well as for new graduates and those who are in the workforce today. All this needs to be done with flexibility in, when, where and how people work.”

As the traditional office transitions into a place without borders, business leaders need to be proactive about keeping their talent loyal to their mission, values, and goals while adequately supporting their workforce with the tools they need to stay productive, engaged, and successful. But that’s not all. Employers also have a new burden to contend with in this new working environment: elevating the protection of their assets against bad actors.

According to Gartner, remote workers will make up 32% of all employees worldwide by 2024. Businesses face myriad challenges shifting to this hybrid landscape. Ivanti’s research shows that the remote and hybrid work experience for IT professionals varies across gender lines. More men than women report losing personal connections with co-workers in this digital-first culture.

Women, however, have benefitted the most overall from the flexibility that remote work brings. This shift in employee experience cannot be ignored. Employers must respond by adopting technology that facilitates collaboration and lessens the disparities in experience across gender lines, and that begins with prioritizing employee input in every tech implementation. Digital experience and access to the right technology matters to employees, particularly as Gen Z has begun to enter the workforce. We expect that AI investments will optimize IT teams so they can focus on the human touch for isolated users.

We will see a rise in AI investments to optimize front-line analysts so they have the time to spend on humanizing the service experience (whether internal or external) both personally and through improved digital experiences. One way to enable more personalized engagement with reduced budgets is sophisticated AI solutions that react to changing conditions with tailored solutions and organizations will continue to need tools to make the Everywhere Workplace possible. 

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA