The Future of Work Isn’t Remote

Jul 15

The Future of Work isn’t remote working.

It’s connected working.

A world where regardless of the distance between us, we can better use technology to feel more connected rather than less.

Imagine if you could see your future more clearly.

As a Futurist I’ve learnt that the future is all around us. It doesn’t arrive all at once. Instead we all live on different timescales, adopting new technology and adapting our habits at different rates.

Which means the Future of Work isn’t an event that will occur at some distant point in the future. Instead it’s a constant evolution that’s happening right here, right now. While last year dramatically accelerated some of these shifts, they’ve been a long time in the making and will continue to reshape how we live and work.

So to see into the future with greater clarity, put your own perspective to one side and observe the world as it is today more closely. Look and listen out for signals of new ways people are actively adapting the way they operate.

This is very different to asking people how they plan to change in the future. Because the problem with asking people their opinion about future events, is that by definition they’re having to make up their answers. Which means it’s just as likely to be wrong as it is right.

Not convinced? Next New Year’s Eve ask others what they plan to do differently in the year ahead, then see how accurate a reflection of behaviour change it proves to be.

Which means predictions about the future are better grounded in the reality of today than opinions about tomorrow.

However don’t confuse this with your reality of today. Instead see into the future with far greater clarity by observing the future from the present day reality of others. Looking for signals of possible shifts ahead from the perspectives of others – all living and working on different evolutionary timescales.

For example I recently spent time exploring changes in the way we work with a group of CEOs and Executive Leaders across multiple industries, from health to transport, retail to finance. Carefully listening not only for common themes but also uncommon themes. As the future doesn’t arrive all at once but begins on the edges as faint signals.

A critical area of discussion was the profound workforce shift to remote working. With the group sharing experiences and learnings in order to better predict what the long-term implications might be and what new workforce strategies were required as a result.

As I listened to the stories and then thought more deeply about the societal implications it struck me – too many organisations risk giving this shift the wrong name.

Remote working.

If that’s what we call it, then inevitably the signal being sent is that the changes are making us more remote.

While other common terms like hybrid, blended and distributed working feel technically correct but still lack the human connection.

Which became clear as the group shared their approaches to navigating the complexities of camera on vs camera off meets. Some were putting in place “rules of engagement” – which led to a discussion about the differences between putting in place rules of engagement vs building cultures of engagement. Where if one person needed their camera off everyone went camera off, becoming more inclusive in new unexpected ways.

All of which helped me better understand that the Future of Work isn’t remote working.

It’s connected working.

A world where regardless of the distance between us, we can better use technology to feel more connected rather than less.

However it won’t be easy.

In many ways the technology is the easy part.

Deliberately shifting out-dated beliefs and behaviours is the real challenge.

So next online meet you’re in, inspire others forward. Experimenting with new inclusive ways of using video, audio, chat and movement to make everyone feel…

Less remote.

More connected.

Regardless of the space between us.