The future of work is already here – due in part to the

massive disruptions to supply and value chains caused

by COVID-19.
The pandemic has ushered in a new, uncertain, and
constantly changing world, replete with profound
changes in how we think of the workplace, and how
workforces are managed.
 Before the pandemic, many businesses were already
ditching the traditional in favour of a digital approach
to work. However, reactions to the global health crisis
are further accelerating this shift.
Globalization
The impacts of global relations on trade, increased
political polarization, and the shock effects of the
pandemic are being most felt by businesses that
heavily rely on international supply chains.
We see technological advancements that facilitate
seamless, global communications in real-time. This
has enabled the modern workplace to become a
connected, virtual and boundaryless entity, resulting
in a rise of globally managed workforces.
The Evolution of the Workplace
The pandemic has shown that commuting to and
from the office is not the only viable option in terms
of the workday.
With options like remote work or hybrid approaches
likely to become almost as popular as working in a
physical office in a post-COVID-19 world, workers are
either choosing one or other option or being ‘nudged’
into remote working.
A Multigenerational Workforce
With increased life expectancy and people retiring
much later in life, workplaces can have employees
spanning many generations at any given time.
It’s now seen as increasingly essential for employers
to learn how to keep a multigenerational workforce
inspired, fulfilled, and connected in order to harness
their diverse levels of experience and talent to meet
business needs.
Facilitating Scalable and Flexible Workforces
with Digital Transformation
Technology has always played a major role in the way
we work, and it will play an even bigger role in the
future of work.
One important distinction to make is that digital
transformation isn’t about technology replacing the
human workforce; it’s about digitizing how the
workforce operates to help workers (and therefore
business) to succeed.
A Greater Focus on ‘Employee Well-Being’
Organizations that ensure that their workforce is happy,
healthy, and empowered to succeed while working from
their location of choice reduce the risk of things like ‘toxic
productivity’ or burnout.
The future of work will continue to be shaped by the
influence of globalization, digital transformation, a
emphasis on well-being and work-life balance, and other
emerging trends.
As technology evolves, the future of work is becoming
more connected, more collaborative, and smarter than
ever before.
The continuing distribution of organisations
Availability of enabling technologies and social
collaboration tools
Coming Shortage of Knowledge Workers – as the
Baby Boomer generation (1950-1964)retires there will
be fewer younger workers to take their place
Demand for more work flexibility
Demand for more sustainable organisations and
lifestyles – zero carbon footprint campuses, less
physical commuting to work – less carbon emissions
Cloud. Automation. Analytics. Artificial intelligence.
Blockchain. 5G. Low-code software platforms.
The potential impact of each of these emerging
technologies is unquestionable.
And when they converge, their impact on
organizational growth is almost inconceivable.
New technologies are no longer just about doing things
better, faster, and cheaper.
Emerging technologies are transforming every
industry, requiring legacy businesses to radically
reinvent themselves—faster than they ever imagined.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further reinforced the
importance of driving enterprise transformation using
technology as an enabler.
Technology underpins nearly every change triggered
or accelerated by the crisis.
Emerging technologies that enable automation,
artificial intelligence, powerful computing, connected
devices and equipment and massive data transfer, are
all pervasive in these turbulent times.
For example, many industries are fast-tracking the
use of automation and robotics to supplement human
labor.
Companies are investing in myriad technologies, such
as IoT, blockchain, AI, predictive analytics, drones
and extended reality, to make supply chains more
resilient and transparent.
From work-at-home models to more effective supply
chains, technology is emerging as a core component
of how every company operates.
Artificial Intelligence is playing an increasing role:
Industrial manufacturing:
The world is moving toward highly autonomous
factories, where sensors gather and analyze data from
every corner and AI continuously adjusts production
to meet demand.
Manufacturing performance can be truly transformed
by speeding up data transfer to facilitate predictive
maintenance, 24/7 asset monitoring, minimal
downtime, and improved safety.
[Link]
Connected healthcare:
The healthcare sector is arguably the biggest
beneficiary of better data and AI.
Patients can be monitored constantly via sensors that
collect and analyze health information and alert
physicians and caregivers to issues.
The hospital of the future can also track the location
and performance of its high-value medical
equipment.
[Link]
Intelligent transportation:
Data from sensors can be aggregated and transmitted
to transit operators to alert them to performance
issues and problems and keep passengers up-to-speed
on schedule times and delays.
Traffic management will be easier with real-time
updates on hotspots, roadwork, and accidents, while
parking will become less of a hassle with instant
identification of free spaces.
[Link]
Environmental monitoring:
Effective monitoring helps detect signs of
environmental harm and near real-time transmission
of data enables quick mitigation.
Environmental and healthcare agencies, as well as
local authorities, can access and analyze complex data
from multiple sources to make informed decisions
related to diverting traffic, limiting access to
geographical areas, or acting against harmful
substances.
[Link]
Gaming:
5G and edge computing will literally take gamers into
a new reality.
The emergence of AR/VR is creating vivid and
realistic experiences that require ultrafast
connectivity and very low latency (no lag) to support
advanced graphics and content streamed to multiple
players simultaneously.
[Link]
Globalisation:
 Driven by national and international deregulation,
and by the communications revolution.
 Competition is increasingly global. By 2030 Brazil,
Russia, India and China (BRIC countries) will be
among dominant centres of economic influence.
Global talent pools and virtual teams will be the norm
Multicultural workforce and diverse teams are
working together worldwide.
The Knowledge Economy:
 Shift to a post-industrial economy (Kelly, 2006). A
knowledge economy is one where the key asset is
knowledge (Houghton, 2000).
In the modern information and technology rich
market, the trend of value has moved away from
tangible goods and services to that of knowledge
driven industries.
Era of big data used to drive innovation and
competitive advantage.
Employment to Deployment:
 Growth in newer forms of employment arrangements,
with the contingent/free agent workforce projected to
include 1 in every 2 workers in the next decade.
 “Jobs aren’t permanent, locations aren’t permanent,
and workers are returning back to what I would call a
free-agent type of work style. Independent contractors,
part-time employees who move in and out of the
workforce, temporary employees, consultants who
move in and out of the workforce, on its way to
becoming 50% of the workforce, over next decade.” Carl
Camden, CEO Kelly Services 2011.
Agile Working:
Workplace environments are changing right along with
employment roles. Work is becoming more about what
employees do and less about where they do it.
 With a laptop, a Wi-Fi connection, and a mobile
phone, knowledge workers can perform their jobs
virtually anywhere, making the idea of ‘going to work’
increasingly archaic.
 Expect Millennials to ask about social media access,
choice in technology usage at work and flexible work
arrangements.
Internet of Things (IoT):
We are moving into a new era in connectivity where
we will see the proliferation of billions of connected
devices in the world.
The number of “things” connected to the Internet has
already exceeded the number of people on earth.
Many of us already have 3+ devices connected to the
Internet when factoring in PCs, smartphones, tablets,
television devices etc.
Ubiquity of mobile technology.
 A Culture of Connectivity:
 Growth in connectedness between people through
the Internet is occurring at a rapid pace.
3.58 billion people, or 48% of the global population,
were online by the end of 2017. (Digital Divide lecture)
Half of the world predicted being online by May 2019.
January 2021 – it is 4.66 billion online.
November 1st 2022 – 4.9 billion online.
[Link]
worldwide/
Social Networks:
 A fundamental change in the way we communicate.
 Social networks already assisting 16% of job seekers
(Jobvite study Oct 2011). Now 79% (2021)
Networked organizations are gaining a competitive
edge by opening up information conduits internally
and by engaging customers and suppliers strategically
through web-based exchanges of information.

The relationship between the adoption of technology
and its impact on labour is not straightforward.
Since the industrial revolution technology has tended
to improve productivity, which in turn has led to
higher wages
But this has been increasingly eroded by changing
working conditions such as ‘flexi-time’
Equally, fears over technology depleting jobs are far
from new
A set of emerging and rapidly developing technologies
termed Innovation Accelerators, are critical to the
next wave of digitalisation.
The six technologies are:
The Internet of Things (IoT)
Cognitive Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
3D printing
Big data and analytics
Robotics and
Blockchain
The Internet of Things (IoT) can be defined as a
network of uniquely identifiable endpoints (or
'things') that communicate bidirectionally using IP
connectivity, typically without human interaction

IoT brings together things, data, processes and people

through an integrated ecosystem to make networked
connections more relevant by turning information
into action
AI/CS is not a new technology or topic, but the
availability of more flexible, scalable and affordable
computing power, with analytics and exploding data
volumes has created an optimum environment for
AI/CS to emerge as key technologies of the future.
AI/CS is a set of technologies that use machine
learning, speech analytics, natural language
processing, machine vision and analytics to process
data to make informed decisions or
recommendations.
Workforce of the future ([Link])
3D printing is a revolutionary technology. While still
in early stages of use, it has the prospect of
restructuring the economy as prices decline and
technology improves
An example of this is in the medical field, where 3D
printers can create customised implants, helping
doctors and dentists carry out complex operations at
the same time. In the past, doctors relied on
radiographies to diagnose and operate.
Today, scanning organs and printing them allows
medics to practice before they perform operations
Big data technology can be described as a new
generation of technologies and architectures designed
to economically extract value from very large volumes
of a wide variety of data by enabling high-velocity
capture, discovery and/or analysis.
Rapid growth in the use of robots in recent years, has
led to fears that the automation of large volumes of
jobs by robots is imminent
Blockchain, a type of Distributed Ledger Technology
(DLT), is a consensus algorithm that contains
unchangeable digital data in packages called ‘blocks’.
These blocks are formatted in a chain of ongoing
blocks that contain details on a series of transactions.
The data in each block is cryptographically hashed
and linked to the previous block. The cryptographic
process ensures the integrity of all data in the overall
blockchain.
[Link]
In Ireland, the adoption of digital technologies and its
impact on the workforce is a key subject across both
the public and private sectors
The emergence and uptake of digital technologies
such as automation, advanced analytics and artificial
intelligence may threaten certain occupations, but
their impact remains unclear
At the same time, it has been stated that these
technologies are stimulating the creation of new
occupations and new industry sectors
“The Analytics and AI sector has quickly become a
critical driver of economic growth in the global
economy. And we are only at the beginning.
Ireland is in a great position to take advantage of this
opportunity. We are the chosen location for many of
the world’s leading organisations who are leveraging
this technology to develop new products and services,
to create new high value jobs and to drive new
revenue streams. “
Analytics Institute of Ireland; (2020)
The Analytics Institute of Ireland has over 100
corporate and government organisations,
representing over 3,000 Analytics & AI professionals.
Much of the media focus in recent times has been on
the fear of machines and technology taking away jobs.
However, business leaders see these emerging
technologies as drivers for growth, for increased
productivity and for new business solutions.
Digitisation is described by many as a key driver of
the ‘fourth industrial revolution’.
Conclusions of PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC)report
– The Future of Work:
 1) The disruption caused by the advance of
technology in the workplace is a source of both
opportunity and concern for organisations and their
people.
2) Emerging technologies including artificial
intelligence and automation offer the ability to
increase productivity and improve customer
experience by learning from the data that can be
captured.
3) Artificial intelligence (AI) is already revolutionising
the workplace, and its influence is set to expand in
the years ahead.
4) It will use data to assist us with the tasks that we
do and will enable us to do things that we’ve never
thought possible before.
5) AI systems take information from their
environment, think, learn and take action. This ability
to respond sets AI apart from automation, the
replacement of repetitive manual and cognitive tasks
by machines.
The ‘fourth industrial revolution’ is a term that was
coined by the World Economic Forum following a
German high-tech project on ‘Industry 4.0’
Broadly, ‘the fourth industrial revolution’ speaks to the
potential impact of ‘cyber-physical systems’ which
blend hardware, software, and people to complete
work.
An example of this potential comes from healthcare.
A study of cancer detection in images of lymph node
cells found an error rate of 3.5 per cent in pathologist-
only diagnoses
and an error rate of 7.5 per cent in AI-only diagnoses.
However, when insights from AI and pathologists
were combined, the error rate fell to an impressive 0.5
per cent.
This highlights the potential synergies of human-
technology interaction in that context.
The impact of these and other technological changes
on the workplace is difficult to predict with certainty,
but there is universal agreement that significant
change is inevitable.
Two contrasting potential scenarios are widely
discussed.
An optimistic scenario highlights the potential
productivity gains and job creation through emerging
industries and new roles required to manage a digital
organisation.
In this scenario, the introduction of AI and robots will
increase competitiveness and demand, and will have a
positive impact on labour wages for high-skilled jobs.
A more pessimistic scenario, on the other hand,
predicts significant job losses from automation and
augmentation.
While AI will impact the entire workforce, employees
in less complex roles are most likely to face disruption
by automation.
AI Research in Ireland with Prof Noel O'Connor -
[Link]
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