Why do we work the way we do? Will our future of work be more about a place or a practice? What does a day at work look like for you, in 2020? Have we already hit a time of peak ‘playbour’? Will productivity reign over presence? What is the right way to organise ourselves when our tired systems are no longer relevant?
We’ve been exploring these and a myriad of other questions over the years at our Future of Work event series. I wanted to peak back in the rear view mirror and appreciate the wonderful contributors we’ve had thus far (their mugs are also flashing above):
Hannah Blake, Innovations Director — MEC
Sam Reid, Digital Innovator
Devin Hunt, Parnter — Founder Centric
BabyCakes Romero
Jody Osborn, Founder — The BackScratchers
Erik Rodin, Innovation Consultant — ?What If! Innovation
Jon Burkhart, Author — NewsJacking
Gianfranco Chicco, Founder — Taiken Lab
Simon Levene, Film Director
Naveed Akram, Co-Founder — Vestd
Lucas Seidenfaden, Founder — Fashion Link
Alison Coward, Founder — Bracket
Some soundbites from these past sessions:
On Collaboration
The importance of fostering an open and collaborative working culture will continue to be crucial in order for organisations to thrive in the coming years.
On Burst Working
Working spurts and sprints will become increasingly popular as we actively shift our mindset from working around the clock to that of intermittent bursts with intense focus.
On Environments
It’s all about mixing things up. Hang out by the water cooler if you fancy, hit the hip coffee shop, lounge out on the floor, co-late, co-work — do #whateverworks
On Mechanical Minds
Fifty percent of the world’s jobs are set to be automated within the next two decades. Views are split on the precise implications, but the next generation of deep learning machines will be so damn smart — they will simply program themselves
On People
Strike a fine balance of finding that autonomy in the workplace, but also stay sensitive to the limits and the benefits of interconnectedness with others on any given project.
On Engagement
Generally speaking, we aren’t engaged at work (nearly 85% claim they are not engaged or actively disengaged). And the many in startup land who are by necessity engaged — will work an 80 hour week just so they doesn’t have to work a 9–5.
On Agencies
To stay relevant they must continue to move from push to pull models (mimicking Hollywood), emphasising agility and evolving to become 21st century learning organisations.
On Innovation
Bring the outside in — Recombine. Simple.
On Creating Content
Content is eating the world and you’ll need to stay relevant at any and all costs.
On Nomads
Charles Handy was right. 65% of the workforce is predicted to be independent contractors by 2020. Wether you choose to travel the world while slackin’ in from the beach or bringing the world to you on your VR headset — the freedom for controlling your destiny will become commonplace.
Nearly 25 years later, we concede that William Gibson had it nailed:
“The future has arrived — it’s just not evenly distributed yet.”
Join us next month for our 5th Edition of The Future of Work Series:
Brett Macfarlane, Director — ustwo
Elco Ian, Growth Hacker — Paintingtheinternet
Along with surprise mystery guests helping us explore new operating models, designing communities and hacking the future.
Thursday May 19th @ Shoreditch House