Posted in Career Advice Future of Careers on March 9, 2010 at 8:35 am
I always loved the Jetsons. What’s not to love about flying cars, robot maids and cool futuristic outfits like Judy’s?
I admit when I watched the Jetsons I wasn’t paying much attention to where the characters worked or what happened when they got there. But today, I am totally fascinated by predictions about the future of work and careers.
Will we all work from home and go to virtual meetings with our colleagues in Second Life?
Will I be able to give speeches virtually, with a holographic image of me (a la CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during the 2008 presidential election) standing behind a holograph of a podium?
Will people have robot assistants?
To help my thinking and yours on this topic, I’ve been doing a lot of research. Here are some of the most compelling career and workplace predictions I’ve come across. It’s never too early to start thinking about how these trends will impact your own career:
1. You probably won’t work at an office from 9 to 5. More than 100 million people are expected to telecommute to work by the year 2015. This sounds accurate to me. With an increase in contract workers, freelancers, working parents and caretakers of elderly relatives, it makes sense that we’ll increasingly work from everywhere except an office. Source: OfficeTeam’s “Office of the Future: 2020″ study
2. You won’t travel for business. Thanks to better and better teleconferencing technology, faster broadband connections for Skype and 3D virtual reality meetings, you’ll rarely need to get on a plane for a meeting or presentation. (This one can’t happen soon enough for my taste!) Source: BNET Insight
3. Work will be good for your health. Instead of going to the gym at lunchtime, you might spend some of your day at a “walking workstation” and grab an apple from a healthy vending machine. Your office will be more environmentally friendly, too, with recycled office products, live plants and LEED-certified building materials.Source: Generation X, Y & Z Blog
Read the rest of this post on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com…
Tags: Career Advice, future of work
[...] 5 Predictions about the Future of Work | Lindsey Pollak: Generation Y Career Expert, Consultant, Aut… [...]
Great post, Lindsey. I just watched “Up in the Air” last nite (excellent film) which brings up some interesting points about face to face meetings vs. teleconferencing. Sometimes you really do have to meet in person. Also, altho a Millennial worker becomes upset when her boyfriend dumps her via text message, she quits her job via text.
I think one thing we should always keep in mind: the future arrives day by day. (Also, we’re still waiting for those Rosie the Robots to do our work for us).
One more thing, because it matters less when the work is done as long as it is done on time, I agree that this might be a good thing for health. So rather than rushing back from the office to try and get to gym at the end of the day when we’re tired, we can go to gym at a less busy time when we feel more like it. Of course, someone still needs to do the work!
This is super duper interesting. I definitely think telecommuniting is in our career horizons and will be upon us all sooner than we think. Especially with the economy in the shape it’s in, hiring out freelancers is better financially for almost any company.
However, despite our “crazy” ideas for the future, nothing will ever replace face-to-face contact. So while I love to work from home in my pjs, I know the whole world wont end up this way because teamworks and meetings and the office atmosphere is irreplaceable. Same with conferences and networking with a real person. Not through video chat or hologram. Though, there’s no doubt in my mind regarding the awesomeness of all that ;-) I think these new technologies will open up doors for people who might not have gone to conference x otherwise. As times change, things don’t become mutually exclusive of one another, but provide opportunities for everyone else! It’s exciting stuff ya’ll!
I agree that this all sounds about right. In my experience though, there are relatively few people that take notice and start thinking of the impact on themselves, how they can position themselves for these changes etc. These changes just creep up on them and one day, they’re there.
[...] 5 Predictions About the Future of Work [...]
Thank you all for the comments! I agree that flexibility and optimism are key traits for those of us wanting to embrace the future of work. I promise to write a lot more on this topic!
Lindsey
I loved the Jetsons, too! It is interesting to hear what people think the future will bring. One thing the “futurists” I’ve heard at conferences say about the future of work – Most people will not be employees of an organization. Instead, businesses will favor hiring contract workers for most tasks. The exception, according to one speaker – sales people and idea people. (For example, the people actually creating the iPhone and the ones selling it – they will be Apple employees, for obvious reasons!)
I’m not sure what that workforce really looks like, and there are a lot of implications for people who have no desire to “hang a shingle” and be an entrepreneur. It is something I share with my clients, though.
I think it is important to realize and accept that there is no “given” in the work world. Being flexible and able to adjust to what might be (in job search and on the job) are traits that will serve today’s careerists well, no matter what the future holds.
Thanks for sharing this interesting and informative article.
The future of work seems to be based around projects. Sounds like teams will get smaller and more micro-work will be farmed out to other individuals and teams. Technology creates a better way to distribute work. Cool article.
All these predictions sound wonderful, except for being on a treadmill while working, that sounds like multitasking taken too far. As far as the rest of the predictions go, how can we get them in my office now!
All of these sound pretty optimistic for the future of the workplace. All of these predictions seem reasonable. Telecommuting already has become very popular. Employers are also really discovering how much they can cut out of their travel budget by conducting virtual meetings. Lastly, anything environmentally progressive is a plus. Thanks for the good news.