It’s a question that will always be persistent in our minds: what will work look like in the future of work? We can derive our inspiration by looking to the past, present, and future.
An article by Cal Newport published in The New Yorker, “What Hunter-Gatherers Can Teach Us About The Frustrations of Modern Work”, drew a parallel between hunter-gatherer societies and modern work, where hunter-gatherer societies had more varied breaks and focused on skilled labor, while modern-day work prioritizes productivity and focuses on role-specific and non-role specific labor (answering emails and so on).
This doesn’t come without consequence, however. The result of this difference may be a less engaged workforce where employees feel their skills could be better utilized and may not be as engaged. The solution? Looking at work as more of a source of passion, as opposed to a means of pure survival. Enter in: The Great Reshuffle, a time when employers are transitioning into roles they’re passionate about, redefining what work will look like. Call it subtle, but it’s these shifts that define the future of work–a shift from work to being “just” work to an exercise of passion.