Here is an example of the how the future of work has changed. Cold calling used to be the way to reach new customers. Try that in 2018 and you are likely to get lots of voice mails. In fact, cold calling has been dead for many years and some companies have acknowledged this and made changes in how their reps reach new customers. There are however, a small minority of companies, who refuse to accept this practice is passé and so, they stubbornly ask their sales people to dialing those numbers in the hope that they might reach some customers, who are waiting by their phone to get a call from a sales rep. Change, sometimes has to be disruptive, for it to be accepted and the use of robotics and the pace of automation will continue to increase, despite resistance to it, by those in the minority who hang on to past practices.

Christy Petty’s article for Gartner 6 Future Work Trends sheds some light on the how the way in which we approach work has and will continue to change

Some of these work trends include:

“Digital dexterity is monitored and measured: The growing recognition of the importance of digital dexterity creates a demand for measurement, which aligns with analytics becoming more pervasive in the enterprise. f Social science-based surveys and observations are increasingly accepted to collect relevant digital dexterity data, which can be combined with machine-generated IT, HR and business data to measure workforce digital dexterity.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will prevail: The conversion of rich input patterns into data that can be readily processed by conventional software is at the heart of today’s AI hype. AI will have a profound impact on how work is assigned, completed and evaluated. Cain suggests that although AI will provide a number of workplace trends in the coming years, workers are experiencing the impact of robobosses and smart workplaces right now.

Robobosses on the rise: While employees will not report to an AI construct, the implementation of robobosses will lead to more automated management duties and more online worker activities. There is opportunity for greater tracking of worker activities and performance. This data can be run against a series of algorithms that can programmatically offer assistance in improving performance or meeting goals.

The gig economy will thrive: Organizations will increasingly learn and borrow from freelance management and gig economy platforms, which dynamically match short-term work requirements directly with workers who have the relevant knowledge, experience, skills, competencies and availability. This will mean moving away from traditional structures to more fluid arrangements.

Employees get work through employment marketplaces: Freelancer marketplaces make it easier for employers to tap into a set of contractors for short-term work commitments. In parallel, professional social networking platforms and recruiting technology providers have been investing heavily in matching algorithms to pair up talent supply and demand.

Jobs get deconstructed: Traditionally, organizations have invested in mapping out clear career paths for employees. While workers need a purpose-focused direction, a portfolio of experiences builds knowledge and skills and allows for the practice and improvement of competencies. Employees will increasingly find the accumulation of experiences to be more realistic than a carefully plotted-out career path”.

Some things were somewhat predictable like cloud computing as it slowly began to edge onsite Server installed applications. But who could predict Apple’s dominance in mobility computing or Google’s search engine literally taking over the world, leaving competitors in its dust? The future of work and its trends will not affect all organizations equally, so it’s important for senior executives to understand where their organization is right now, where it’s going, and how they plan to embrace change as it happens.

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