The World of Work Is About to Get A Major Makeover

The World of Work Is About to Get A Major Makeover

Hold On Tight

We are now smack in the middle of what experts are calling The Fourth Industrial Revolution. A technological revolution that will completely alter the way we work and the way we live forever.

In fact, Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum, says the scale, scope, and complexity of how Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, and machines will change our lives will be unlike anything we have experienced before. While no one knows for sure exactly how robots and machines will change us; look around and one thing is for sure; things are changing fast.

The Internet of Things and the automation of processes is here. Today we can control all sorts of things in our house without actually being there. Like controlling the thermostat, closing the garage door, even turning on our security system, right from our smart phones.

From driverless smart cars talking to each other, to algorithms software that can calculate the moods of employees, machines have come of age. There are 3-D printing machines creating body parts, flying cars just on the horizon, and so much more. No, this is not science fiction, this is real, and it is happening now.

Dramatic Changes Ahead

But this is elementary stuff compared to the many changes about to occur. And, the technology of the future will wipe out millions of jobs. Jobs that you see workers currently doing today. This will put millions of unprepared workers in the unemployment line. Life inside of every organization, as we know it, is about to change rapidly. This Fourth Industrial Revolution will see many job casualties as robots and AI gets introduced into the workplace at a frightening pace.

In fact, according to the World Economic Forum as many as 5 million jobs will literally disappear as soon as 2020- and 36 million more will be lost by 2030. That’s 41 million American workers that will be displaced over the next 10 years. Many workers are simply not paying attention?

Once these jobs are gone, they are not coming back. Yes, there will be new and better paying jobs created, but workers will have to retool and update their skill sets before it’s too late.

The New Open Talent Economy

Another thing that will alter the way we work is the changing workplace platform. A survey of leading companies around the world show they have already ceased to hire the majority of their workers on a permanent basis. In fact, already most of these companies have a 50 to 50 ratio of permanent workers to what is now termed “gig workers.”

Welcome to the new “open talent” economy where employers hire top talent (gig workers) on a ‘as needed” basis. This is a major sea change being felt globally.
Now is the time for organizations to prepare their workforces for these new changes. And now is the time for every worker to reinvent themselves for the new world of work.