Kevin Empey considers how we can “test and learn” our way through the aftermath of COVID-19 while creating a more informed and positive world of work.

“The future is not quite what it used to be.” Quoted by numerous writers over the past 100 years, from Paul Valéry to Robert Graves, this phrase certainly has a new resonance today.

Observers of the evolving world of work point to times in history when a significant change in the underlying economic and technological landscape triggered far-reaching changes to how we work and live. We are told, for example, that the exponential technology advancement in the last 20 years alone has moved us into the 4th Industrial Revolution, which is a game-changer for how, and by whom (or by what), work will get done into the future.

The COVID-19 outbreak has further accelerated our thinking and practices regarding new, digital, remote and innovative ways of working. These trends were already well underway as part of the ongoing ‘future of work’ debate in recent years, but the pandemic has dramatically catapulted these practices into the mainstream.

It is now an open question as to what the ‘zoomification’ of work will mean for employers and workers as we shape the post-COVID world of work. Like previous disruptions through the ages, the zoomification of work will likely bring many advances and upsides, but also risks and dangers.

However, perhaps the lessons learned from our individual and collective COVID-19 experience will signal a more human and authentic world of work. A world where ‘good work’ is valued and a more mature and honest employment relationship is built on genuine partnership, empathy, trust, and servant leadership. Where technology serves as a toolkit for flexible working lives and as a final solution to some of the more outdated and inflexible work practices of the 20th century. Perhaps the next phase of work will be more human and not just about technological adoption and economic efficiency, which typified earlier cycles.

The challenge now is to ‘test and learn’ our way through the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 while shaping a more informed, positive vision of work, culture, and leadership, which we will be forced to explore more radically and deliberately than ever before.

The combination of skills acquired since March 2020, and those we have yet to develop as we adapt to the new hybrid world of work, will also serve us well in future-proofing our careers through the inevitable disruption that lies ahead. In Thrive In The Future of Work, we explored this evolving world of work from this more personal perspective. It is a research-based account of what we can do as individuals to navigate and thrive during all the changes that seem to be coming at us in greater frequency and impact than ever before.

Kevin Empey is the Founder of WorkMatters and author of Thrive in the Future of Work: How Embracing an Agile Mindset Will Benefit You and Your Organisation.