The future of work will be transformative, exciting and dynamic, and new careers and ways of working will open up as globalisation continues, new technologies are introduced and we adjust to continual challenges like COVID-19. All of these changes will reshape the nature of work itself. Here we look at the top 5 trends to watch.

#1 – Advancing technology

Technological change is having an unprecedented impact on the future of work, particularly in the areas of AI, virtual reality and automation. When technology complements the work humans do, it can lower costs, lift the productivity of workers and increase the demand for new products and services. However, there has been some debate about the impact that automation in particular has had on jobs.

According to figures released in 2019 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD), 10.6 per cent of jobs in Australia are vulnerable to automation. However, automation, and in fact technology as a whole, has varying effects within different industries, occupations, job types and skill levels.

For example, computers have replaced labour in some jobs, but also created new tasks including programming and application and software development. Construction workers who in the past have relied on operating physical tools and measurement techniques are now relying on the use of visualisation software and drones to execute projects. And marketers are seeing a shift in the way audiences are targeted with more money now being spent on digital ads than TV ads.

Hence, there is, and will continue to be, an increase in demand for workers with particular skills to meet these opportunities in the future. And organisations will focus on sourcing and developing these skills through re-skilling, up-skilling and drawing on the wider “gig economy” of flexible workers.

#2 – An increase in job transition

Along with the future of work being centred around the need for workers to be prepared to re-skill throughout their careers to meet changing demands, the 2021 National Skills Commission report also cites that Australian workers will be likely to change their jobs 2.4 times over the next two decades.

This parallels research that shows that Australian jobs are changing by an average of 18 per cent every decade, and Australians are predicted to spend 33 per cent more time on training and education across their lifetime by 2040. This is estimated at an additional 8000 hours (or three hours per week) until retirement.

The result? Apart from workers re-skilling and retraining, organisations must be prepared to invest in workforce planning and learning and development, and education providers and policy makers must provide the necessary infrastructure and information to enable these investments.

#3 – Alternative ways of working

One of the “future of work trends” that emerged during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was remote work. And, while it was a challenge to both monitor and manage, it showed that work can get done effectively — sometimes more effectively — away from the office! However, while productivity may have been enhanced, many leaders reported that team dynamics, culture and the depth of relationships was suffering.

Hence, and according to a report by management consultant firm Korn Ferry, not only will organisations continue to experiment with new roll-out models of work, there will be fully onsite and fully remote models and everything in between. This might also include shifting from “synchronous” to “asynchronous” work (where work doesn’t happen in meetings but independently on shared documents) or ensuring that employees on a particular task are “all remote” or all “in person”.

And according to the 2021 National Skills Commission report, there is also a rise in part-time employment, with these employees growing to represent 31 per cent of the workforce, which is double the level of the late 70s.

#4 – A change in leadership structures

COVID-19 also forced many of us to work in temporarily agile ways, including organisational leaders who were challenged to remain flexible in the face of, what was in many cases, disruptive change.

One of the future of work trends also predicted by the Korn Ferry report cites that organisations will be looking to make this permanent. This will result in flatter, non-hierarchical structures and more project-based working where teams assemble to achieve specific goals before dispersing out into the organisation again. Companies will reinvent where work gets done with “hub-and-spoke models” and remote-only teams.

There will be a shift from hierarchical leadership (rising to the top of the “pipeline” resulting in Executive Leadership) to “Enterprise Leadership”. Leaders will perform and transform by working across organisations and the wider ecosystem.

And learning agility will become more important for everyone in an organisation. With this shift, it will be critical to ensure that increased fluidity does not lead to greater fragmentation, so collaboration and connectivity will be key.

#5 – The importance of soft skills

According to the 2021 National Skills Commission report, there will also be growing importance for core competencies, otherwise known as “employability skills” as part of the future of work, which will ensure workers have continued success in the labour force. “Core competencies” are the basic building blocks that are common across most industries and occupations.

They are a set of skills — often called soft skills — that can enhance career progression, and they include teamwork, communication skills, critical thinking, self-management and problem solving and they provide a base to further develop specialties and skills.

And according to a 2019 employer survey done by the National Skills commission, they are highly valued by employers. In fact, 75 per cent of employers considered them to be as, if not more, important than technical skills. International professional services network Deloitte also estimates that two thirds of jobs will be soft-skill intensive by 2030.