The future of work: ‘digital’​ and ‘human’

One of the big topics of discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos was the future of work. With 75 million jobs expected to be displaced due to automation and technological integration in the coming years, worries around unequal opportunity, large-scale unemployment and widening income inequality are rising. However, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is also creating demand for millions of new jobs. 133 million new roles may be created to cater to the needs of the future of work.

If we look at the Jobs of Tomorrow report issued at #WEF #Davos, it reveals that “digital” and “human” factors will be driving growth in the professions of tomorrow.

“The jobs of the future are set to grow by 51% in the horizon up to 2020 and we project they will present 6.1 million job opportunities globally. These reflect the adoption of new technologies—giving rise to greater demand for Green Economy jobs, roles at the forefront of the Data and AI economy as well as new roles in Engineering, Cloud Computing, and Product Development. On the other hand, emerging professions also reflect the continuing importance of human interaction in the new economy, giving rise to greater demand for Care economy jobs; roles in Marketing, Sales and Content production; as well as roles at the forefront of People and Culture”

Over the next three years, 37% of projected opportunities will be in the care economy; 17% in sales, marketing and content; 16% in data and AI; 12% in engineering and cloud computing; and 8% in people and culture.

The World Economic Forum is launching The Reskilling Revolution Platform to provide better jobs, education, and skills to 1 billion people in the next 10 years.

Balancing humans and AI

AI will have a profound impact on work of future. As AI enabled digital platforms take on automating time consuming chores away from humans, organisations will have to invest in reskilling their employees, re-tooling their processes and re-thinking job descriptions.

Organisations will need to balance the extent of human touch, as expected by employees and customers, vs. the extent of AI-powered automation.

Human Experiences Matter

Experience is the ability of digital tools and apps to create superior human experiences. Doing this for employees can yield higher retention and engagement rates. Doing the same for customers can drive more revenue, customer satisfaction, and brand loyalty.

As every company in the world becomes a digital company, organisations in every industry are embracing digital platforms to empower employees and customers with great humanexperiences. LinkedIn data shows that 60 percent of job openings for developers are outside the tech sector.

Satya Nadella calls this phenomenon tech intensity – every organization will need to invest in latest digital platforms, and invest in human capital – to thrive and maximise.

We look forward to collaborating with our customers and partners on this journey. We also pledge to contribute to future workforce by bridging the skill gap through our training and university programs.