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5 Elements Molding the Future of Work According to Sameer Raje, general manager and head of Zoom India, a culture of resilience in hybrid workplace, remote or on-site, is inevitable in the coming future

By Shivang Saxena

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The realm of work is changing. Artificial intelligence, mechanization and robotics will aid this transition same as in prior eras of agriculture and manufacturing. While some jobs will be sacrificed, numerous others will be produced. Explorations, new knowledge and ingenious ideas will shape the future of work.

According to Sameer Raje, general manager and head of Zoom India, a culture of resilience in hybrid workplace, remote or on-site, is inevitable in the coming future.

In April, lockdowns happened worldwide and things changed overnight. There were old-school organizations and there were new-edge organizations, and that's when old-schoolers started realizing that they need to be agile.

Professionals were forced to work virtually overnight. At the same time, the new generation organizations saw this as an opportunity and diversified.

"We are at a stage where probably all of us are approaching burnout. Everybody's stressed working at home. Those weekends get together with employees and with colleagues. That's what is missing now," said Raje. Businesses are facing humongous inter-departmental challenges.

Five keys to the future of work

COVID-19 will have lasting effect: The COVID-19 epidemic has affected the the future of work. A future of jobs survey finds that 50 per cent of employers will change the way of their work, while over 80 per cent are set to broaden the digitization of their work procedures. That implies that some jobs that have been forfeited will never come back, and those that do will impose new ways of working and new techniques.

Mechanization proceeds to enhance: By 2025, the hours of work executed by machines and humanity will be equal. Around 85 million positions are set to be ousted by automation—largely across physical or redundant roles stretching both blue-collar and white-collar jobs—from assembly manufacturer workers and accountants.

Fresh jobs will originate: Though there will be accelerated disturbance to jobs, 97 million new jobs of tomorrow will arise by 2025. The most in-demand positions in future include data analysts and scientists, AI and machine learning specialists, robotics engineers, software and application creators as well as digital transformation specialists, information security analysts and Internet-of-Things specialists, which can be broadly clustered in 10 emerging jobs clusters.

The most in-demand skills are a mix of hard and soft skills: The most in-demand skills of the future will include working with people, problem-solving and self-management skills such as resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility. This increase in required self-management skills is clear as workers face a range of pressures to adapt to new, more digital ways of working. Product management, digital marketing and software development lifecycle are among the core set of specialized skills required for emerging professions. Reskilling for the roles of the future will require a time investment ranging from three weeks to five months.

Human riches is increasingly critical: Employers are convinced in the value of building human capital: with 66 per cent believing they will get a return on investment from training employees within a year. Data from the past five years shows that workers often actually don't need the perfect skill set to transition into new roles. The scale of the challenge is significant, with employers looking to internally redeploy half of their workers. Meanwhile, some 40 per cent of the average worker's skills will need to be updated to meet the demands of future labour markets. Employers are facing this challenge broadly on their own; only 21 per cent can tap into government funding to deliver training programmes.

Shivang Saxena

Freelance writer

Shivang Saxena is a New Delhi-based writer-entrepreneur. Reading, writing & entrepreneur-ing always. He's the founder of The Words Vibe. A platform for newbie writers to hone their skills. He's also working with his first book called, "Too Many Thoughts, Too Many People" which is due to get published by end of 2021. 

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