… workin’ nine to five, what a way to make a livin’,” but Dolly Parton’s 1980 workers’ lament may soon become a thing of the past according to a new report by PwC that looks at the future of work.
The report, ‘The future of work: A journey to 2022,’ says the future could see the rise of part-time and pay-by-project contractors choosing to work for several employers, with technology creating a virtual office where workers and employers collaborate remotely.
The report also includes a global survey of survey of 10,000 workers and 500 HR professionals and reveals that only 14% of UK workers see a future where they will continue to work in a traditional office environment, with a quarter saying that traditional employment simply won’t be around in the future.
With over half expecting technological breakthroughs to transform the way they work, one in five workers hopes to work in a ‘virtual’ work environment where they can log on from any location or use collaborative work spaces.
Across the globe, workers fear other factors will also transform the way they work: almost 40% (39%) say climate changes and scarce resources will drive workplace change while 35% are concerned that shifts in economic power will impact on the working environment.
But the worker/employer relationship is expected to experience the greatest change, with both employees and employers acknowledging that the future could change dramatically and they need to prepare for a shift, which foresees the emergence of three distinct business models:
While many workers expect to have their own brands and sell their skills to those who need them by working freelance or as a contractor for a number of organisations, others may fragment into looser networks of autonomous, often specialised operations, with technology bringing people together, often on a task-by-task basis.
That’s reflected in the responses of almost half (46%) of HR professionals who expect at least 20% of their workforce to comprise temporary workers and/or contractors by 2022, with nearly a third (31%) designing their recruitment and retention strategies around so-called ‘portfolio careers,’ which comprise recruiting a diverse mix of people on an affordable, ad-hoc basis.
Kevin MacAllister partner and private sector leader with PwC in Northern Ireland said it was clear from the research that traditional nine to five office working could soon become resigned to history for many workers.
“People feel strongly that they no longer want to work within the constraints of the typical office environment and advances in technology mean that workers no longer have to be shackled to their desks.
“We predict that many organisations will embrace these changes in employee working preferences and use them to their own advantage.
“We could easily see the rise of organisations that have a core team that embodies the philosophy and values of the company, but the rest of the workforce is not fixed and comes in and out on a project-by-project basis.
“These companies will make extensive use of technology to run their businesses, coordinate a largely external workforce and support their relationships with third parties.
“The growth of this vibrant, innovative and entrepreneurial middle market could soon start to challenge big businesses as they can compete on specialism and price due to their slimmed down business model.”
The report says that workers will be more likely to see themselves as a member of a particular skill or professional network, rather than as an employee of a particular company and people will be categorised and rewarded for having specialist expertise.
Project-related bonuses could become more common as people have a personal stake in the organisation’s or project’s success and many contractors and partners will adopt ‘e-bay’ style ratings of past performance to help land the next contract.
Download Future-of-work-report
