The future of work looks good, according to the latest report from professional services firm, Deloitte. The report titled ‘Building the Lucky Country’ was released in mid-June.
The extensive research debunks a number of myths that have many employees—EAs included—worrying about their future career prospects.
First on the list, robots aren’t going to take your job. The report suggests that despite how quickly technology is changing the way we work, it won’t replace us. With historically low unemployment rates in the US, Europe and Australia, technology creates as many (if not more) jobs on the market than it takes out.
Technology’s ability to perform repetitive tasks will augment employment opportunities, not replace them. The future of work will involve softer and more human skills like creativity and critical analysis.
“New technologies create as many jobs as they kill, it’s just that the ones they kill are obvious, while the ones they create are hiding in plain sight,” Deloitte partner, Chris Richardson, told the National Press Club in June.
The report also found that the gig economy isn’t taking over. “45 percent of workers have been with their current employer for more than five years,” said the report, and casual jobs actually take up a smaller share of the total job market than twenty years ago.
And lastly, working from home or from a beach somewhere is unlikely to become a reality anytime soon, despite more employers offering remote working arrangements.
Flexible working opportunities are more likely to help people pick up kids in the afternoon than to eliminate the need for an office. As our work becomes more creative we will need to be in close proximity to one another to share ideas, collaborate and socialise.
The report’s executive summary reads, “We are not facing a dystopian future of rising unemployment, aimless career paths and empty offices. Quite the opposite—we can use technology to our advantage to create more meaningful work. In doing so, our message in this report is simple: the future of work will be human.”
