The Future of Work What is the Future of Work? Driven by social, political, and technological developments, work has evolved throughout history. Yet when, where, how, and why people work has undergone significant change in recent years, leading to the term the “future of work.” In a 21st Century context, discussion regarding the future of work often centres on technological development and includes a focus on: The role of education and training: determining how education and training can best prepare workers for the future and understanding skill development, upskilling, and reskilling in an evolving and increasingly tech-oriented job market. The quality of work: understanding how factors such as job satisfaction, security, pay, autonomy, and risk influence an individual’s working experience now and in the future. Evolving roles, tasks, and responsibilities: as technologies and industries change, so do the specific tasks that workers perform. Predicting and preparing for the future of work on a task-based level has become a central component of understanding the future of work.96 At the same time, work is becoming less long term and more task-based, a phenomenon called the “unbundling” of work.97 The influence of automation and AI: recent estimates suggest that nearly a third of Canadian workers are at risk of “automation-related job transformation”. This could have disproportionate outcomes for some workers and brings up significant questions about leisure time, social safety nets, and the purpose of work.98 Equity, inequality, and precarity: as working conditions, norms, and relationships have changed in recent years, issues of inequality have taken centre stage, whether in terms of the concentration of capital, class stratification, or attention to demographic-based inequity. Decentralization and digitization: people work remotely and asynchronously, communicate by chat, work fewer standard hours, and generally have less defined boundaries to their work. 96
Beer, P. and Mulder, R., “The Effects of Technologyical Developments on Work and Their Implications for Continuous Vocational Education and Training,” May 8, 2020, Frontiers in Psychology, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00918/full
97
“The Changing Nature of Work,” June 1, 2016, Policy Horizons, https://horizons.gc.ca/en/2016/06/01/the-changing-nature-of-work/
98
Frenette, M. and Frank, K., “Automation and Job Transformation in Canada: Who’s at Risk?” June 29, 2020, Statistics Canada, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2020011-eng.htm
99
Marshall, T., “Wicked Problems,” 2008, Birkhauser Basel, https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-7643-8140-0_304
Thinking Green: Building a Sustainable Digital Economy for Canada
www.ictc-ctic.ca
29
