Certain factors like the necessity to expand the talent pool, evolving workforce, technological developments and innovations, and social-economic forces are dramatically shaping the future of work.

Let’s have a look at what the future of work has in store for the world.

Gig Economy

The gig economy incorporates those jobs that are not permanent such as freelance work and short-term contracts. These jobs are made available as tasks or projects through online platforms or apps that connect the job seekers with the hirers.

These jobs are preferred over in-office jobs because they offer greater work flexibility, relief from tiring commutes, and autonomy to the workforce. It allows individuals to pursue their interests or explore a variety of opportunities to find greater job satisfaction.

The gig economy allows businesses to find and hire experts and specialists who can independently handle the tasks or projects, as and when needed. It facilitates businesses to find the talent they need beyond geographical boundaries. It is also a boon for companies that need an extra helping hand while struggling to meet a deadline or expect a different perspective, ideas, and creativity than the existing in-house team offers.

Entrepreneurs and SMEs, who need high-quality work and varied skills but have limited budgets find the gig economy cost-saving. Outsourcing non-core tasks helps solo business owners focus on tasks that add more value to their business growth, development, and success.  

The growth projection of the global gig economy is highly promising. The market size of the global gig economy platform is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20% as it is anticipated to make it to USD 92,897.28 million in 2031 from USD 14,750 million in 2021. This shows that the gig economy is about to boom over the next decade.

Automation

Automation employs AI technology and machine learning to independently execute tasks with the least human intervention. Businesses find automation immensely valuable to carry out their repetitive and monotonous tasks and chores. Unlike humans, it can perform reliably and 24/7, non-stop. It adds to human abilities and competencies, makes things faster and consistent while cutting down the redundant and wasteful exertion, saving costs as well as mitigating the errors and mistakes of manual work.

In the manufacturing industries, automation is immensely valuable in creating products of high quality and precision. It is also used in place of workers to perform risky, physically challenging, and hazardous jobs to maintain workplace safety. Overall, automation helps to streamline business operations with high efficiency boosting overall productivity. 

However, automation raises the problems of job displacement and income inequality. It can also affect many industries, create ethical and social implications, and pose a question of accountability in case of blunders. It can also cause threats to data ethical usage, security, and privacy. Nevertheless, it can create new job opportunities and increase the demand for skills for designing, maintaining, managing, and controlling automated systems. And so, the future of work would be an integration of automation and human skills.

The industrial automation market was worth USD 205.86 billion in the year 2022 and has shown a substantial growth projection of USD 395.09 billion by 2029, indicating a CAGR of 9.8% from 2022-2029.

Reskilling

Reskilling involves learning new skills and attaining new competence and proficiency totally different from one’s career path or job description to shift into another job role.

Reskilling is specifically becoming the future of work because of the rapidly changing, and advancing technology, evolving industries, escalating trend of automation, and some jobs becoming obsolete because of it, economic downturns, and global uncertainties.

According to the World Economic Forum, over the coming five years, about 23% of jobs around the world will evolve and reshape as a result of industrial transformation, and modern technologies like artificial intelligence as well as those that process voice, image, and text, image.

For companies, reskilling is a great strategic investment to tackle their skills gap. It helps them to find the skilled people to keep up with the developing technology. It is also immensely beneficial for businesses to enhance their workforce’s loyalty, engagement, and morale which can ultimately boost their productivity, and bring down employee turnover while retaining talent. It supports the long-term stability, vitality, and competitiveness of business.

In today’s evolving job market, reskilling helps individuals to be resilient and adapt to the latest demands, increase employability, and future-proof their careers. It not only assures livelihood security but also helps to effectively compete with others in the workforce marketplace and reach higher-level positions or get jobs with better pay. It also supports personal growth and development, generates a sense of accomplishment, and builds confidence.

Businesses that intend to thrive and stay ahead of the competition in the evolving global marketplace must efficiently adapt to these aspects of the future of work.