Staff shortages are one of the most consequential by-products of the latest coronavirus variant, Omicron. Health care, aviation, education and dining are among the industries scrambling for employees to provide essential services.

As the pandemic enters its third year, robots and automation are becoming a necessity rather than a novelty, with a labour market in flux.

This is according to geopolitical futurist Abishur Prakash, who joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week to talk about the future of work and the role of technology.

Mr Prakash is a co-founder of the Centre for Innovating the Future, an advisory firm based in Toronto, Canada. His latest book is called The World Is Vertical: How Technology Is Remaking Globalisation.

In this episode:

• UK's Omicron surge causes hospital staff shortages

• Workers sleep at power plant to stop Omicron cutting Austria's lights

• UAE residents want automation in their homes, but not in health and education