Flexi future predicted for work

What will work be like in 2036? According to a survey by Office Angels, most people expect that millions of us will work flexibly with almost three quarters saying an increasing number will work form home and over half predicting standard hours becoming a thing of the past.

Just over half of the employees surveyed believe that people will work outside of traditional office hours by 2036, but whilst 48% suspect that global markets will create a need to work night shifts, the change in working hours will largely be down to flexible working.

The survey shows 36% of people think more of us will job share in 2036.

A third of employees agree that commuting will be unheard of, as people will work from home rather than a central office; almost a third (32%) also feel that the cost of travel will simply be too high to warrant a daily commute.

Some 46% of the people surveyed think that employees will become more efficient and effective as a result of new technology, but 36% believe that new technologies will make work more stressful, due to increased demands and tighter deadlines.

Some 89% of employees believe that IT skills will be essential to working life - more important than even such basic skills as numeracy and literacy. However, 69% of workers also think that people will interact more with technology than they will with each other, due to the predicted dominance of remote working on a global scale - with 39% worrying that this will remove any opportunity for colleagues to learn from one another.

There were concerns that technology could lead to job losses and 36% believed the talent pool will be global by 2036. A quarter of people surveyed are convinced that retail will move entirely online - negating the need for the millions of sales staff, merchandisers and managers currently employed by this ever-adapting industry - and 55% predict that manufacturing jobs will be cut, as machines fulfil more tasks than ever before.

A concern voiced by just under half (46%) of the employees surveyed is the notion that remote workers might experience a loss of identity with the organisation they work for; with just over a third (31%) predicting low levels of engagement. Office Angels says this could be down to the fact that 39% of employees think that by 2036, workers are unlikely to meet their bosses before starting work. An even higher percentage (54%) believe they may never meet other members of their team; leading to what 30% of respondents think will be a possible reduction in knowledge sharing amongst employees.

A quarter of managers think that it will be harder to monitor productivity in the future due to remote working and flexitime; and 31% believe it will be more difficult to provide training.