Summary

  1. The future employee wants a leader who supports their side hustle outside of the daily 9-5 commitment.
  2. The future employee wants a technologically advanced work environment.
  3. The future employee needs an emotionally safe workplace environment
  4. The future employee is a multi-tasker

When we talk of the future workplace and the future of leadership, do you think it is important to talk about the employee of the future? This is the essence of this insight. For the past two years, the human race has been in a constant adaptation period which has called for innovation, resilience, tenacity and a long list of skills needed to adapt to the new normal. We have seen the great resignation which is now dubbed as the ‘great update’. There has been a call for employers to create a people-first culture in their workplace and long conversations have been had around ‘the future of work’. In this segment, we talked about the ‘future of leadership’ as an important enabler of the future workplace and a drive towards a people-first culture.

It is always easy to point a finger at our authority/leaders if something does not work out or is not going as expected. Personally, I like to push boundaries and challenge systems by asking questions – it is the way I learn. For instance, when we talk about the future workplace, employees may see it as the responsibility of the leader to ensure that the work culture is futuristic and ensure that a people-first culture is incorporated. It is also common to hear that workplaces are a leadership problem, the employees need to show up and do their part as is required of them in their job descriptions. 

In an ideal work environment that is futuristic and boldly innovative, the leaders have acquired the necessary skills to enable their organizations and employees to thrive, they have adopted technologies and implemented humane work cultures. Now their employees may have options to work remote or hybrid, they may even be working four days in a week or lesser hours in a day. The leaders are now supportive of their employees’ side hustles or volunteer activities and are now able to practise emotional intelligence in their daily running of activities.

I believe that while all these strategies are in place, it is not enough to build a thriving work environment. Employees are the driving force of an organization. They too need to adapt to these trends in the future of work. As such, it is important to look at an ideal future employee.

the future employee
Employees in a workplace.
Characteristics of the future employee

Who are the employees of the future? An article by Indeed highlights the future skills for the workplace. The future employee needs to be dynamic. While technology is a big driver of change, we have seen that for it to thrive, it is important that there is a balance between humanity and technology. The future employee is not only tech savvy but also possesses human skills such as communication skills and emotional intelligence. 

Gone are the days where employees would only stick to their roles as expressed on their job description. The future employee needs to be adaptable and open to trying new roles in the organization. Employees now need to be able to succeed in a variety of things – the human resources manager needs to acquire digital skills, the IT expert needs event planning skills which require them to gain emotional intelligence skills- the goal is to ensure that you excel in a variety of things.

The future employee is a multi-tasker

The rise of digital technologies means you’re going to need to be able to handle the plethora of opportunities and challenges that come with it. Do you have the ability to adapt to change and conceptualize complex multiple ideas all at once? If so, you’re showing qualities that reside in advanced multi-taskers and which are highly valued by employers and recruiters.

Despite a report by the World Economic Forum in 2018 suggesting robot automation will create more jobs than they displace, you’ll still do well to keep on top of your creativity skills and maintain an innovative mindset. Much like having an excellent sense of social intelligence, natural creativity is something which can’t be easily replicated by the latest digital technologies. As long as you can think outside the box, you’ll be just fine.

It is now upon you as an individual to be as dynamic as possible to be able to adapt to the rising trends in the future of work. 

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