From AI to new leadership: in a recent study, the German Zukunftsinstitut provides an outlook on how the global world of work is changing – and heralds the “post-New Work era”. Is the megatrend history? Harry Gatterer, CEO of the Zukunftsinstitut, provides answers.
The concept of New Work, as developed by Frithjof Bergmann in the 1980s, describes a forward-looking work organisation that combines the needs of people and the requirements of the economy. The impact of this idea on the design of modern working landscapes today is demonstrated, among other things, by the Ambiente Working range, which has developed into an indispensable hub in a very short space of time. Now the Zukunftsinstitut is talking about the dawn of a new era. The trigger is the study „13 Trends for the Future of Work“, which the internationally renowned think tank for trend and future research published at the beginning of the year.
Mr. Gatterer, what is the “Post New Work Area” all about?
The New Work megatrend is experiencing a boom, particularly in the German-speaking regions. Globally, however, the topic is developing in a different direction and is moving away from the original meaningful approach towards a technosocial world of work. This development can be observed above all in technology-orientated countries such as Japan and the USA. Here, people no longer talk about New Work, but rather about the ‘Future of Work’ or ‘Future of Organisation’.
Technosociological sounds complicated. What does that mean?
In the work environment, techno-sociological means that we no longer just use technology in the traditional sense as devices, but actually work together with technology. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a major role here. You can see this everywhere: AI solutions are taking on an increasingly relevant function. They support employees with content-related tasks, help to avoid errors and make strategic decisions. In some cases, entire areas of responsibility are being transferred to them, such as chatbots in customer service. Figuratively speaking, technology becomes a colleague and is given its place in the organisation chart.
Your study defines 13 sub-trends. What are the three most important findings for you?
For me, this is firstly the transformation into precisely this techno-social world of work. In this context, we will have to renegotiate the value of human labour. In my opinion, finding a good balance here is one of the biggest challenges. The second issue is the “human-to-human experience”, i.e. interpersonal encounters, which will take on a completely new significance in this technosocial environment. And thirdly, I see the need for “generational leadership” – in other words, intelligent interaction between young and old.
How are AI & Co. changing our working environments?
Overall, we can expect the world of work to remain in a constant state of flux. This will continue to require hybrid, highly flexible office landscapes that are set up for context-independent and highly networked working. However, there is also a focus on the ‘human-to-human experience’. The aim here is to place people and their special skills at the centre of attention once again. In doing so, we can think across generations – with intelligent spatial concepts that not only cater for Gen Z, but also the older generation.
