The Future OF Work
Course Ministry is going to publish a series of articles on the subject of “The future of work”. In the very first series of this article, we will discuss the fundamentals. And what’s in the middle or you can say the most significant professionals of the organization who take care of the organization and their people in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. We will start the conversation with what we have observed first – Change.
As everything changes or you can say evolve with time, so is the future of work. Change is the need of the hour. Change is the only necessity of time. And, change is the only constant of life. And if I say in a more metaphorical way then change, is life.
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of human life so it impacted the way we used to work, we used to think of the workplace. And all the notion of how a workplace policy should be. The future of work is in tandem with AI along with digitization. As the Covid-19 didn’t give much time to think about what must be done or in which way things and business need to manage. It becomes imperative for leaders, executives, senior HR members, and for boards to make decisions quickly which must not be only based on the current reality, however, considering the future as well. And we must not forget some important lessons we have learned in the Covid time. What I learn from the pandemic is the fundamentals of life and I realized that – the word “constant” and “ever-lasting” is some of the few illusions that our mind treasures. That experiment is sometimes the only hope. And it’s also a great thing to believe in. Experience matters and assists. Patience is your greatest friend. And understanding is the substantial expression of life. Even in my opinion, “Understanding of life is life”.
Let’s discuss the changes that evolved the workplace and unveil the importance of digitization, automation, and also the urgent requirement which makes the point of embracing hybridization. As we know the Covid-19 has accelerated what people call a digital movement, revolutionizing automation and digitalization becomes imperative. According to a McKinsey Global Survey of executives, the executives reported that their companies have accelerated the digitization of their customers and the supply chain interactions within the organization by three to four years ahead of the time. In that same survey, they also reported, that their companies increased the use of digitally enabled products by a shocking seven years. As the Covid-19 pandemic impacts every sector and industry in every region, yet, there is one particular change in the one common department in all these industries and sectors is that it evolves the HR Department. And as work from home as well as remote work become the new normal, it, on the whole totally changes the way the HR department operates.
HR Operation and The Future of Work
The HR department is one of the most crucial as well as the critical departments of any organization. As Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer said: “I didn’t need Covid to appreciate the importance of HR professionals. The pandemic has made the work of HR professionals more worthwhile and authentic. In the past, HR department work was more about the service than the strategic planning, but the pandemic has shifted the goal, the challenge, the purpose, and in some ways the value as well. Now CHRO plays a great role in strategic planning and decision making as well. In the wake of the pandemic HR’s work happens to be more diversified rather than any department in the organization. The professionals become the axis of the organization and all the subjects of diversity, equity, and inclusion revolve around this center.
To handle yourself use your head; to handle others, use your heart. The former first lady of the United States “Eleanor Roosevelt” said it very well. And I find that one some of the most crucial sayings which are still relevant.
As I have always mentioned an organization is not only about its product and service. It’s all about the value, the great experience; their consumer, as well as their customer, feel around the product and service. Apple could never be so valuable a company if their amazing employee wouldn’t feel the same determination and value for user experience and making things simple as Steve Jobs once envision. The key to making your people believe in the same value and purpose, you envision for your organization is to make them realize that their hard work, as well as smart work, is part of the success of the business. And here comes the role so significant as the HR, the discussion and communication they make to the people; not only with regard to rewards and salary discussion, performance, and grievances but about their well-being about their problems, their break down, and many more.
Well… as we all know AI, Automation and Digitization are not here for the short term rather it is the future of the future. Yet, there will be the need for the human workforce not only to create a future but also to manage and supervise it.
So… in the next article, we will discuss the importance of AI, Automation, and Digitization along with the human workforce and also how they can co-exist.
