FUTURE OF WORK JO CRIBB
Workplaces of the future:
human or robot?
Dr Jo Cribb, former Chief Executive of the Ministry for Women and now consultant, coach, governance expert and keynote speaker, shares her predictions about what the workplace of the future will look like. She asks if our uniquely human qualities will ever be up for grabs.
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hen we think about the past decade, we have seen much change. This should cause us to pause, think about who and what in the future will be affected by technology and what our workplaces of the future will look like. In so doing, we can start to map out how we, as HR professionals, can influence this ever-changing landscape and how we can support our people through the transition. After all, ‘Future of Work’ has turned into a hashtag. It is a thing. But how are the trends in technology going to affect our workplaces? What can we reliably predict (as opposed to the dystopian Blade Runner or Jetson’s ‘no-more work’ scenarios that are bantered about)? Here’s what I predict, based on the research for my co-authored 22
HUMAN RESOURCES
AUTUMN 2020
book Don’t Worry About the Robots: How to survive and thrive in the new world of work and what I shared with participants at a recent HRNZ Summit.
The pace of change will accelerate, exponentially
Many of our predecessors have faced periods of widespread change and social upheaval. Water and steam drove the first industrial revolution in the 19th century and, hence, harnessed mechanised production methods. The invention of electricity drove the second industrial revolution in the 20th century, which led to mass production, assembly lines, specialisation and urbanisation. The mid-1970s are characterised by what is called the third industrial revolution when advances in computing power brought us the personal computer.
Computing power is doubling every two years, and computer power underpins most aspects of our life. Experts say we are now living in the fourth industrial revolution, but this one is different from the past three. In previous revolutions, only one technological change was
arguably driving things. This fourth revolution is driven by advances in the computing power that drives most facets of our life and economy. These advances are exponential. As Moore’s Law predicted, computing power is doubling every two years, and computer power underpins most aspects of our life. Just imagine the power and functionality our smartphones will have in five years time’.
Roughly half of all jobs in New Zealand today are at risk of technological displacement over the next few decades (New Zealand Institute of Economic Research). We can expect change across many areas, with advances in nanotechnology, 3D printing, biotech, robotics and genetics. What we don’t know is how these technologies will converge with a breakthrough in one area unlocking change in another. The exponential change also means this will hit fast. We may not even realise change is going to happen until after it has arrived.