Work, a fusion of two Old English words: wyrcan and wircan. In the past, work was related to craftsmanship. One person took end-to-end responsibility for producing an outcome. The farriery, for example, was responsible for cleaning and shaping the sole of a horse’s hoof and then selecting the appropriate size of a horseshoe and affixing it to the hoof with nails. The industrial revolution changed the traditional concept of work as manufacturing led the way in creating faster and cheaper end-products. The notion of a job became a collection of tasks that didn’t necessarily have to be related to each other, but just a set of actions that in the end delivered a complete outcome. Then the cognitive revolution began in the 1950s, where a shift in redefining work evolved from task completion to problem-solving. Fast forward to today with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where technology has a big impact on how we work. According to McKinsey, “the introduction of the personal computer, for instance, has enabled the creation of 15.8 million net new jobs in the United States since 1980, even after accounting for jobs displaced. About 90 percent of these are in occupations that use the PC in other industries, such as call-center representatives, financial analysts, and inventory managers.” The current state of technology has led to AI and robotics that automate simple tasks and free up their human counterparts to do more meaningful work. Robotics and robotic process automation have transformed manufacturing while digital technologies are redefining the limitations of time and distance. The projects that while the future of jobs will be more machine-powered and data-driven and 1.75 million jobs will be gained in human service skills. In-demand techniques such as design thinking, problem-solving, communication, and listening will shape the future workforce as machines continue to take over repeatable tasks. Additionally, roles will continue to be redefined to bridge the gap between humans and machines.
