The evolving world work: 5 possible futures
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, organisations in all sectors have been asking themselves: to what extent will the intensification of remote work impact on the places, modes of collaboration and organisation of work? How will the crisis in employees' sense of meaning be reflected in new relationships with work and the company? What impact will Artificial Intelligence have on skill requirements and the organisation of activities? With the rise of policies in favour of ecological transition, how will organisations integrate industrial, economic, social and environmental performance issues into their models?
In 2019, we initiated an original prospective report on the main scenarios for the evolution of society and the world of work between now and 2030. Once again carried out alongside Futuribles, a centre for reflection and prospective reports since 1960, this second, enriched edition includes the possible consequences of the health crisis on the future of working methods and places.
Through this new prospective report, we aim to shed light on what work could be like by 2030 in France. The five futures outlined in this study represent several alternative - and necessarily caricatured - realities to enable everyone, individually and collectively, to question their present and desirable futures. Some of these are already at work, while others have yet to be anticipated and chosen. It is obvious that none of the 5 futures presented here will fully become a reality. Our 5 stories are to be seen as invitations to explore different worlds in order to guide the reflections and actions to be taken for a desirable future.
Work organisation and its evolution: our projection
Among the different possible paths of evolution that we present, some are already at work, while others have yet to be anticipated and chosen. It is obvious that none of the five futures presented here will fully become a reality. Our five stories are to be seen as invitations to explore different worlds in order to guide the reflections and actions to be taken for a desirable future.
While it is risky to answer these questions about the future of the work environment with certainty, we can nevertheless rely on an in-depth analysis of the weak signals and trends observed over the last few years within organisations to predict the major movements at work in 10 years. At Colliers, we anticipate 6 major changes that will shape work and its places in 2030. Discover them by downloading our Odyssey 2030 report !
