The question of what the future of work will look like is one that comes up regularly when discussing virtual teams, as such, in this article I will try to apply a futurist view to the future of work and the way that virtualisation, technology and the evolution of work and the workplace is going to shape how we work into the next couple of decades.

History of Work

To frame the discussion on the future of work it is important to recognise the history of work as many of us know it now. Prior to the industrial revolution, the vast majority work was individual and most individual work was of an agrarian, subsistence form, with individuals and families working on the land or in artisan roles to produce food or hand made goods that would be traded. It has only been in the past 250 years or so, since the beginning of the industrial revolution, that society has reached the point of mass producing food and goods.

Primarily individuals are paid by employers to work in the production of these goods or services and use their salary to purchase good from others rather than making them themselves. These employers typically demand that their workers all congregate together at proscribed hours to perform their tasks, this requirement dates back to the early factories and research conducted at the time, which demanded such a way of work, one which has carried forward into modern business.

For much of the developed world however, the nature of work has changed. Moving from highly labour intensive manual work in early factories to more skilled manual work and office based knowledge work, yet during the evolution of the work role, the way that organisations are structured and work its self is regarded has changed little, aside from shortening of hours and a reduction in the overall labour intensity of the task undertaken.

Computerisation in the last quarter century has, again, changed the way much work is or at least can be undertaken. Profound changes in the way work can be performed have occurred within the working life of many mid to senior level leaders of businesses and large numbers of the general workforce, yet the ways in which work is assigned and managed and the way in which workers themselves are regarded has changed little. Personnel whose work is individualistic and knowledge based are still expected to attend a common place of work for a fixed number of hours per day, thile there they work under the scrutiny and supervision of their managers, while, in reality, their work could be performed at any time and in many cases in any place.

For many, of course, things have changed little, there are still many countries in the early stages of development where much of society is still agrarian, post industrial and equally for many in developed countries their work is still largely manual and requiring of attendance at these central locations, be they factories or offices. However, as countries and societies move up the industrial evolutionary curve it is to be hoped that they will rapidly progress toward a more knowledge based economy, allowing them to develop businesses that will bring in foreign exchange and provide more free money in their economy to develop their nations.

Challenges To Modern Practices

The current working environment in most of the developed world is one that is evolving at a rate not seen since the early days of the industrial revolution. Yesterday’s seemingly stable and long term businesses are under constant threat from todays and tomorrows emerging businesses. These threats are coming in ways that are continuing to surprise owners, investors and futurists alike.  Former, stable, bricks and mortar businesses are being overtaken by on-line businesses, often run out of warehouses and garages, with prices being undercut, broader ranges of goods available at the click of a mouse expanding the possibilities and changes on a daily basis.