The future of work is here
Here’s a great article by Leagh Turner, Contributor to The Toronto Star on Sunday January 3rd, 2021.
Take special note of the bolded section.
COVID-19 has accelerated changes in almost every aspect of our daily lives. This is especially true when it comes to the world of work, where we are in the midst of a sea change, with forward-thinking organizations breaking through decades-old paradigms to meet the demands of a more fluid and frictionless workforce.
Today, all organizations are trying to navigate these uncertain times, figuring out how to be more resilient and agile. The most successful will be the ones who are focused today on improving the employee experience, which drives engagement, loyalty and retention. And for good reason.
According to the Ceridian Pulse of Talent Report, 68 per cent of the Canadian workforce is looking for new job opportunities or would consider changing jobs if approached by another company. Eighty-seven per cent of workers younger than 30 are the most likely to be on the move.
As we look ahead, we see the future of work as borderless and fluid. We believe leading organizations will wholeheartedly embrace fundamental changes that reflect a more intelligent mode of working. In every other aspect of our lives, we expect everything on demand. Whether ordering a burger and fries to your door through Uber or buying a new bicycle from Amazon, we expect instant delivery. This is now becoming the same expectation for our work life. Employees expect job searching, hiring, onboarding, scheduling and pay all to be available on demand. In particular, we believe the notion of a fixed pay period will soon disappear as employees want to see exactly how much they’ve earned at the end of each day and want on-demand access to those earned wages. By enabling workers to access their wages as they earn and need them, employees will be less likely to rely on high-interest loan options. This will help ease stress levels at work as employees no longer oscillate between being cash rich on payday and cash poor as they near the next. We see a much more elastic workforce emerging, where people will work whenever and wherever they want. For employees, this means they will be able to work from anywhere, for anyone and at any time they wish. They may have a primary workplace — at home or a traditional office — or they may prefer a hybrid approach where they split time between a home office and their employer’s office. They may have one employer, or they may want to earn extra income through secondary employment channels. The future is about having the ability to work for multiple companies at multiple locations — wherever one’s skills allow them to add value. We see this happening already in pockets of the retail and hospitality industries. Employees will be able to go to any workplace, identify themselves, verify their right to work, validate their skills and backgrounds, and get paid as soon as the work is done. Who a person works for, and when and where they work, will be driven by a person’s happiness, productivity and financial well-being, rather than by some fading 20th-century notion of employment exclusivity. Free agency is the new norm for many workers.