The Future of Work - As visualised by me in 2007!

A few members of the Marketing and Communications team at Tata Consultancy Services in 2006

Way back in October 2007 as a part of the Master's Degree at Deakin University, we were asked to write a detailed assignment on the 'Future of Work'. The report I had written was long forgotten, until a few days back when I was having a discussion with my wife on this very topic. I remembered discussing remote and virtual work in the report, and it only made sense to dig up the assignment to recollect what I had written. It was written as a part of my 'Communications Entrepreneur' module.

Today, as I opened the document to read it, I literally got goosebumps with what I read. I had spoken about 'Virtual Office Space', 'Shared Office Resources', 'Office Technology', 'HR hiring practices and policies', 'Communicators of the future'. 

The Deakin University Art Department Exposure launch team of 2007

While there are many predictions that I had made, here are 3 predictions that have relevance to our collective current work situations:

Prediction 1 - About Remote Working:

"In the future, people will not need to leave the confines of their offices or homes to conduct meetings or interviews. Managers will have to manage virtual teams, those that conduct most, or all of their work using virtual technologies like email and, voice/video over the internet.

Simple enough right? But, there is more:

"Managers will be able to spend more time maximising the efficiency of processes than resolving daily personal issues that arise when working in a team that works face-to-face. However, these formats of communication pose their own set of interpersonal problems and they will need solving. People will be communicating through machines and hence, sometimes be unable to catch the subtle non-verbal signs of communication. If individuals are not observant enough they will lose out subtle signs that will tell them if they are being understood by the receiver or vice versa."

Prediction 2 - About Virtual Offices:

"The concept of virtual offices is already gaining popularity among small entrepreneurs who are not yet ready, nor prepared, to commit to long-term leases, subleases, or even temporary space. A virtual office allows tenants to enjoy a legitimate corporate address without actually occupying physical space. Services available to tenants, who opt for a virtual office, ranging from the simplest amenity, securing a telephone number, to a more elaborate menu, which includes a mail/messenger drop address, access to individual office space on a pay-per-day basis, personalized call answering, and conference room usage. Does this mean that in the future, all office space will be rented out like a hotel room or service apartment?"

This was before WeWork and other shared workspaces. There is more...

"Experts say, that despite these huge technological advances and economic changes in the last generation, most businesses will continue to operate out of a large, centralized office. They justify this stand for three reasons. Firstly, businesses still need storage place and it's just as well to put it in one place. Secondly, having an institutional presence makes it easy for new hires (and new clients) to discover what the company is about, and lastly, many people either aren't suited or don't want to work from home."

Prediction 3 - About the Challenge for Communicators:

"The job of a communications person will demand ever more skill and sophistication. He or she must be a translator, an interpreter, a distributor, and a facilitator. Promoting two-way communication in its fullest sense and deepest application leaves no room for the dabbler or the dilettante. To be a successful communication professional in the future, a person must become a global thinker, with a broad view of sources of change. The modern communicator has to communicate to an audience that is no longer a passive listener, but a willing participant. The true professional will be an adroit strategist, a creative tactician and a skilled facilitator, a friend of technology, and an exponent of lifelong learning."

And some words of encouragement (to myself and other communicators),

"In conclusion, the future is a global voyage into the art and science of communication, where the successful communicator will be like the men and women of the Renaissance, pulling it all together, but in the high-tech environment of the 21st century."

Read the full paper here.

Some/most of my predictions have become a reality or come close to it. This was exactly 13 years ago. Mind you, this was not written as a whim of a starry-eyed youngster, but is a well researched and referenced paper!