The future of work.: Recent Episodes
Akka Architects
Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we have deserted our offices. Our offices have suddenly become empty shells. We have gone from a contained office to a network of people, facilities, documents and ideas. We have gone from a contained structure to a network, where people operate from a multitude of contexts. We now have to operate in a network on contexts. The new workplace is a network of contexts, that we call the WorkNet. In the new WorkNet, interactions become more important than ever. The key question, therefore, becomes: how do you foster the interactions of your employees in a network of contexts? Over the decades, we have seen the workplace evolve through the four questions of utility, productivity, engagement and experience. The shock of this crisis has thrown us back into the basic question of utility, with an extra emphasis on safety. From this point onwards, my personal hope is that we don’t go back to the old normal. I do not think that we should go through the evolution of the four questions again either. My personal hope is that instead, we leapfrog into a higher question of meaning: “How do we reshape our world of work to serve a higher purpose?”.
How we can use this opportunity to transform our workplaces in order to create a future of work that is healthy, compelling and successful? The workplace is never an end in itself, but rather a tool to contribute to more prosperous people, a more impactful business and a happier society.
Most businesses today face challenges they have no answers to. We have all heard it, we are in a crisis. What is notable is that the root of the word ‘crisis’ actually means a decision point. Isn’t that a much more empowering way to look at the situation we are in?
When it comes to our workplaces, what decisions do we need to take now in order to create a future of work that is healthy, compelling and successful?
Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes, Nikki Greenberg, Martijn Roordink and Herman Knevel discuss about the future of work at the Transform panel.