{"id":2345,"date":"2020-03-30T03:25:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T00:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kusuaks7\/?p=1950"},"modified":"2023-12-22T10:57:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T10:57:07","slug":"the-shape-of-things-to-come-for-the-world-and-the-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/future-of-work\/the-shape-of-things-to-come-for-the-world-and-the-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shape Of Things To Come For The World And The Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn Dorian Lynskey\u2019s The Ministry of Truth, a \u201cbiography\u201d of 1984, the author describes how Orwell\u2019s book was the end point of an obsession with utopian (and ultimately dystopian) fiction that characterised the first half of the Twentieth Century and reflected the competing political, social and economic ideologies of the era.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlthough rooted in the Victorian age and a yearning for a better society, such works were given fresh impetus by the horrors of the Great War. By the time the Second World War ended, this yearning had found new outlets, most notably in a newfound optimism amongst people who never wanted to live through anything similar again.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis manifested itself in consensus in the Western world about international cooperation, liberal economics, state investment in infrastructure and rebuilding, progressive taxation and a sense of shared social responsibility. This was the era that forged the NHS, Welfare State, Common Market and the Wirtschaftswunder and embraced Modernism, and celebrated technological innovation and scientific achievement.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The current global crisis, has raised questions about the complacency we have developed about many things we once fought for<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThere are obvious parallels with the current global crisis, which has raised questions about the complacency we have developed about many things we once fought for. Certainly it has demonstrated who the key workers really are,\u00a0who is most at risk<\/a>, the faultlines between people\u2019s lives and work and how politicians view them, the inadequacies of some technological infrastructure, and how dependent we are on each other and\u00a0the complex systems<\/a>\u00a0that meet our needs.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt has raised questions about the impact of travel and daily life on the environment by showing\u00a0what happens<\/a>\u00a0we don\u2019t do as much. It has introduced politicians of all parties to the new realities of working life for many people, especially those who are self employed or in precarious \u201cgig economy\u201d work.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFlip Chart Rick highlights<\/a>\u00a0how the self employed had been thrown to the wolves by an ignorant government until they came up against a massive public outcry forcing them to do something based on the reality of self-employment for many people. I would add that the Labour Party is not immune to similar criticism, focussed as they have been on 2.7 million workers \u2018clocking in at factory gates\u2019 with not much to say about the 5 million self-employed until very recently indeed.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYet again we are invited to reassess the world we have created and what we should be doing better and\u00a0especially for those most at risk<\/a>\u00a0of crises. As we peer out on the world from our isolation, we might have similar thoughts to\u00a0those of Michael Morpurgo<\/a>, who argues that the UK in particular has become a nation defined by its divisions and we have been given the unwanted chance to come together.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe might share a wishlist similar to\u00a0that of Charles Foster<\/a>\u00a0writing in The Conversation which includes this plea:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe atomistic billiard-ball model of the person \u2013\u00a0a model that dominates political and ethical thinking in the west<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 is biologically ludicrous and sociologically unsustainable. Our individual boundaries are porous. We bleed into one another and infect one another with both ills and joys. Infectious disease is a salutary reminder of our interconnectedness. It might help us to recover a sense of society.<\/em>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOr we could respond to\u00a0Anthony Painter\u2019s argument<\/a>\u00a0that the crisis has exposed where we have gone awry and what we might do to build bridges to the future.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nPandemics reveal structural weaknesses: at pace and scale. And that is precisely what Coronavirus has done over the past few weeks. Deep structural weaknesses have left more vulnerable people and places exposed for some time; now these weaknesses are visible to all.<\/em>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYuval Noah Hari also argues in the FT<\/a>\u00a0that we must embrace the opportunity we have to create a better world.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHumanity needs to make a choice. Will we travel down the route of disunity, or will we adopt the path of global solidarity? If we choose disunity, this will not only prolong the\u00a0crisis, but will probably result in even worse catastrophes in the future. If we choose global solidarity, it will be a victory not only against the coronavirus, but against all\u00a0future epidemics and crises that might assail humankind in the 21st century.<\/em>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The future of work<\/strong><\/h2><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe are also invited to consider the future of work. All too often, this is being presented as a zero sum game with people swapping the office for the home. But all this will mean will be swapping one set of problems for another. Commuting at the same time as everybody is clearly a ridiculous and anachronistic thing to do, as has become newly apparent, but so too is locking oneself away in a home office or dining room with its\u00a0isolation<\/a>, lack of ergonomics and amorphous routines.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s not even as if people can expect to be less distracted than in an office. At least in an office that distraction is less likely to be a toddler or half naked partner.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat we can expect is a new balance between physical and digital space as more people and businesses\u00a0embrace the potential of remote work<\/a>\u00a0for the first time. It also presents\u00a0an opportunity<\/a>\u00a0for workplace managers to emphasise their importance to the growing number of organisations who will be prepared to adopt more agile and distributed workplace cultures.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe can expect a great deal of conjecture about the future of work. This includes single views of what will happen, such as the perspective presented by Matt Mullenweg of WordPress in\u00a0this interview<\/a>\u00a0with Sam Harris, but also in the nuanced and diverse opinions of experts such as those expressed in\u00a0this webinar<\/a>\u00a0led by Dror Poleg.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAs people are now fond of saying, we are in a new normal. If that\u2019s the case let\u2019s make it a better one. In particular, let\u2019s use it as an opportunity to develop better habits and display better ethics. In particular let\u2019s rediscover our connections with others and create better spaces to share with them.\n