We do live in interesting times. We are living through many crises at once: never-ending stream of news about COVID-19 infection spikes, decimated labor markets, deep economic recession, reversion of globalization, global movement for social justice just to name a few. We are now at an interesting moment in history where there is a widening gap between workers’ expectations and what workplaces provide. We’ve witnessed the demise of the notion of a lifetime career. The benefits, perks, and anything else that traditional employment used to provide are things of the past. We feel “replaceable.”[1]The exciting thing is that we are witnessing the beginning of a new reality of work that, at the core, is fueled by the information revolution.

Digital innovation breaks down physical and speed barriers; enable us to learn and do, see and touch, create and share in new ways. It is the world of free-flowing knowledge rather than information dispensed by central authorities. But with the ability of technology now to generate “deep-fakes”, it is getting even more difficult to know the “truth”[2]A consequence of the digital revolution is that current work models are crumbling, the puzzle of work is being decomposed and reassembled in new ways, the organization of tomorrow looks a lot more fluid, and the workers of tomorrow are a lot more independent and empowered.

Disruptions impacting the workplace described in 4Ds: demographics, digitization, datafication, disintermediation

Dramatic shifts are influencing the world of work and are impacting corporations, non-profit institutions, governmental agencies, and independent agents alike. These shifts are changing the dynamics between work requesters, workers, and the workplace. They can be grouped in the following framework - 4Ds - and specifically:

• Demographic shifts that include a multi-generational workforce[3]; growth in global/local/social/job mobility[4]; more women entering the workforce[5]diversity in sexual orientation/identity, backgrounds, and thoughts[1]. This requires rethinking of the workplace practices and value proposition to ensure an inclusive, productive and innovative workplace that embraces the diversity of thoughts and backgrounds and creates products and offerings that are accessible to everyone. More importantly, organizations are forced to rethink the sources of talent in light of shortages of qualified talent and the changing preferences of the modern workforce[2].[RC1] 

• Digitization including intelligent automation, virtual/augmented/mixed reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc. “Digital” forces organizations to rethink their business model, decision making, and communications flows. It requires a very different mindset on how work gets designed such that it is more fluid and less constrained by the traditional (manufacturing) style of producing work-units. It opens up new opportunities and markets at the intersection of fields and industries and the persistent element in all of them is technology[3]. 

• Datafication of the interaction across and between humans, devices, sensors, bots, tools, etc. that is becoming increasingly sophisticated[4]The massive amounts of data allow us to see patterns, glean insights, and find the optimal solution. What’s unappreciated is how quickly these processes are evolving and the impact they have on the speed of decision-making. Along with many benefits, there are also risks associated with our pursuit of quantifying everything. To reap the benefits of an analytics-driven world, organizations must develop a different set of skills, rethink what gets measured and how, and set policies and control systems to bring common sense into the data deluge around us[5].

• Disintermediation, capturing the rise of independents, the gig economy, collaborative consumption, networked work, 3D printing, blockchain, cross-value chain companies, etc.[6]  Many technology-first organizations are rapidly disrupting the neatly organized adjacent industries. This doesn’t only change your product strategy but also the competitive landscape you have to consider. It brings a new complexity to the overarching principles of defining market share, value creation, and measurements of success[7].

These shifts demand that corporations rely more on technology, data, and analytics to make decisions about their business, workforce, and workplace strategies. Corporations have to adapt their internal processes and management systems, have to change the communication and knowledge distribution flows to make sense of and influence human behaviors in the workplace, and have to identify opportunities for learning and development to maximize workforce performance[1].The same shifts are also forcing workers to rethink their digital personas and reputations, the management of their networks, and the development of their skills and credentials. As computers take on a bigger role in managing information and intelligence, the value creation will shift toward innate human traits that are difficult to automate and digitize, such as creativity, expressiveness, intuition, emotional intelligence, and storytelling. These traits will influence how we connect and work with others, how we relate to brands, and how we make choices and purchasing decisions. Business models, products, and offerings will become less about their quality and price and more about the language of emotions used to describe them[2].

We are witnessing a wholesale change in the way we work, think about work, as well as how we engage in our wider personal life. Digital identity and reputation will form the basis for a new system to describe the value and worth of actors in the future world of work. Workers’ digital imprints will enable them to carry their work and knowledge portfolios, profiles, networks, and expertise from one job, project, or experience to the next. Managing digital identities of corporations and institutions will be just as important, since these will determine attraction factors for workers, who will not only consider the monetary value of the relationship, but also the value the corporate brand will add to their own reputations[3].