Reflections on the future of work

After closing our "Future Of....." client conference in Melbourne today I reflected on eight learnings from the many many conversations I have had at Future of Work conferences in Paris, Sydney and Melbourne in the past 3 weeks. 

1 It's really not the future of work, it's the NOW of work. We have been talking about this issue for almost ten years and the issues we have been talking about are with us now.

2 Whatever they may tell you no-one knows how this is all going to play out, in which context Eisenhower was right, "plans are nothing, planning is everything". Do your planning now so that you can respond swiftly and intelligently in the future, whatever that may actually hold,

3 Organisations have to figure out what their responsibilities to employees are, as jobs change or are shed. Whilst you can't protect jobs uneconomically, do your values argue you have some commitment to current employees to at least encourage agility and lead them towards life long learning? 

4 Be careful that your starting point doesn't constrain your response to a changing world, you might find that you need more radical change than just a small step away from where you are today,

5 Jobs, in the traditional sense, are only one way of providing individuals with meaning and a sense of contribution to society - we need to think more broadly about how we allow everyone in our society to feel useful and valued, even if they don't have a job,

6 The big issue of our day may well be taxation. How do we redistribute the economic prosperity created by machines in a way that doesn't reinforce a two-tier elite versus the rest social system? 

7 Artificial intelligence and machine learning may actually prove to be the solution to our stuttering ability to continue to drive economic growth, but we must figure out how this could lead to a universal generous income not just a universal basic one and

8 Our employees are anxious about the future and their role and jobs. This anxiety kills their confidence and ability to take risks and innovate, the two attributes you most need for the uncertain next few years. Our role as leaders is to help our people have mature conversations about the future and plan and move towards it confidently. 

After my conversations with leaders over the past 3 weeks I remain positive about the long term future of work, but acknowledge many of us have much to do to address this personal, organisational and societal issue in a way that leads to the greatest level of societal happiness. Personally, this year marks 30 years for me working in the people field and I can't think of a more exciting time in all those years. Let's get on with it.