Future of Work

COVID-19 has transformed the landscape in which organizations and individuals operate. Within days of the first outbreak, almost every aspect of our lives changed, including how we work, attend school, shop, access healthcare, and socialize. Fortunately, digital versions of all these activities existed before the pandemic, resulting in quick adoption, and are likely to persist long after the pandemic is over.

Like millions of other parents, we have been struggling to sustain the competing jobs of work, home schooling and parenting. School is out for the summer, and the debate about how and where to resume it in the fall is raging. But here’s how our spring went and how the fall will probably look: We wake up when our younger daughter climbs into our bed to tell us about her dreams, we make breakfast, and we triage the tasks everyone needs to get done during the day

The hardest part of work is getting started.

It’s never been easy — there’s something about human nature that makes many of us wait and wait for the ‘perfect moment’ to open that Word doc or switch on the phones. However, science has shown that today’s plugged-in workforce genuinely has a tougher challenge than our ancestors.

High up the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs lie the self-esteem and self-actualisation blocks, where we achieve with the respect of others, existential purpose and finding inner potential—all threatened by criticism.

Jane Mather, INFORMS member and Founder and Principal of Critical Core, encourages businesses looking to improve space usage and management to look beyond new workplace software and tools, especially in complex situations, or they could be looking at millions of dollars lost.