This is according to a University of Otago research project The Future of Work.It looked at how business and community leaders in the greater Dunedin area envisaged the future of work in order to understand the extent to which our local community: (1) has thought strategically about our future; (2) has begun to plan for the future; and, (3) is aware of the implications of what we do today on tomorrow.
The group behind the project wants to foster strategic thinking, decision-making and planning now about the future of work to consider how collectively we each might proactively respond to changes. Sara Walton sets the scene today.
Articles in the series over the next three Wednesdays look at the ageing workforce and millenniums, migration because of climate change and finally artificial intelligence and whether computers will take our jobs.
I have been part of a project looking at the future of work, asking New Zealand business and community leaders from industry sectors, including education, professional and administrative, about their visions of the future of work.
The aim of the project is to identify the specific drivers likely to affect the workplace over the next 25 years, 50 years and beyond, and their implications.
After three years of surveying people, it is clear different workplace practices and changing consumer needs are substantially altering work.
A disruption - a radical change in business - is likely, and the reality is some businesses in their current form will not survive.
Artificial intelligence is one workplace game-changer.
Other changing workplace practices include diverse workplaces including older workers, climate change, new technologies, skill changes and shortages, new business models including sharing economies.
So what will the future of work look like?
Flexible working will be very important, if overseas trends are anything to go by. Productivity is increasingly tied to outputs rather than a standard 8 to 5 workday, and workplaces can be from home or even in another country.
And several career changes are likely over a worker's lifetime.
What do we do then, to position New Zealand and ourselves for the future of work?
Firstly, change is not all doom and gloom - it also provides opportunity. And people with good skills are still going to be in demand.
We can look to overseas and learn from what is already being trialled in flexible workplaces and skills training, and see how we can adopt it for New Zealand.
We can also identify the skills needed as a country and set processes in place to deliver them, and as individuals, we can mentally prepare ourselves for the possibility of upskilling.
I believe education is the key and is something that New Zealand should be considering right now.
Skills development is going to be much more important, so matching skill development with future needs is crucial.
What do you as an employer need to meet future markets, and how can jobs be designed to fit? What skills will your changing business need, and how do you meet this?
Can we better use the strengths of an individual rather than applying standard job descriptions and being prescriptive to roles?
Training may become an integral part of the career for a worker, rather than an add-on. So what skills would you like to develop further? Is part-time study an option (e.g. an MBA programme or a Doctor in Business Administration), or industry-based training, or courses? Or is now the time to start down a new career pathway?
The bar is shifting - training something you can approach with gusto and design a development path to suit your strengths, or be dragged kicking and screaming into the new era. Standing still is not an option.
Change is like a supply chain - it affects every level of business/organisation and no-one is immune. So how do we collectively respond?
This has been termed a ''wicked problem'', which means it is something that requires whole systems thinking - i.e. there is no easy solution.
Greater co-ordination and collaboration is therefore required - shaping the future of work is everyone's responsibility, not just academics, policy-makers or city leaders. Providing skills and employment therefore needs nation-wide planning and every business and organisation needs to be part of the discussion.
Education providers will play a crucial role, but they may also need to adapt. Tertiary providers, for instance, need to consider how to provide more flexible education options for people already in the workforce, as well as for school-leavers. And organisations and businesses may need to work more on opportunities for transferring training from the classroom to the workplace.
Long-term strategies are needed. Silos may need to be broken. And geographically challenged areas may need more help, particularly in technology.
Too many people are fixed in their way of doing things, or looking backwards. New Zealand is too far away from the rest of the world to be complacent - we have to create a future for ourselves in which we have products and services the rest of the world wants to buy.
That future has to provide jobs for our children.
We need to discuss this, as individuals, within the business and education communities, and as a country. The implications for employment and education need addressing for a vibrant future, for Dunedin and for New Zealand, and we need to move now.
-Dr Sara Walton is a senior lecturer in the University of Otago Business School, department of management. She and colleagues Diane Ruwhiu, Paula O'Kane and Virginia Cathro worked on the Future of Work Dunedin project.
