Six major trends in the workplace in the next 20 years under the impact of the Internet of Things and automation

Will this industry still exist in 20 years? Under the impact of the Internet of Things and automation, many people worry that their jobs will soon be lost. Even if they survive temporarily, they may find that they have gone wrong in 5 or 10 years.

In an era of rapid change, it is indeed increasingly difficult to predict the survival of an industry. However, the Australian government released a research report in early 2016, The Future of Digital Workforce, and pointed out six major trends in the workplace in the next 20 years for our reference. :

1. Machines and equipment will be faster, safer and more efficient than manpower.

2. The future work will be more flexible and linkable.

3. The jobs of large enterprises are limited. skills and spirit.

4. Due to the extension of the retirement age, the age and cultural background of the future members of the organization will be more diverse.

5. In the future, low-level jobs will be outsourced or automated, increasing the complexity of human work. Even entry-level positions require higher skills and education.

6. In the knowledge economy, employment opportunities in the service industry and education and medical fields will increase. Especially in the service industry, social skills and emotional intelligence are becoming more and more important.

The report also pointed out that, in view of the current demographic changes and technological development trends, there will be several new types of jobs that only people can do in the future:

remote pilot operators - captains, captains, and drivers may all sit in the control room in the future. , and may even drive planes, boats, and cars thousands of miles away.

Personal Wellness Instructor - This type of work requires not only interpersonal skills, but also the ability to interpret physical and mental health data to help clients prevent chronic and diet-related diseases, improve cognitive function, enhance health, and establish good living habits.

Such work will become increasingly important as the global population ages. In fact, the potential for this type of work can be seen in the growing popularity of personal coaching.

Cyber ​​Defence – With the increasing risk of cybercrime, there may be a new industry in the future that provides protection and counselling of online activities, protection from fraud, theft of personal information, and reputation management on social media.

Big data analyst - Unpredictable data is currently generated every day in the world. When the Internet of Things era comes, the data will be even larger, and someone must interpret it.

However, the author of this report also admitted frankly at the end that these are speculations and are purely for reference. After all, the world is changing too fast, and no one can say for sure about the future.

In addition, the World Economic Forum also listed the top ten competencies required in the workplace in 2016, each of which is an ability that is difficult to replace by automation:

1. Ability to solve complex problems

2. Coordination ability

3. Management ability

4. Critical thinking ability

5. Negotiation and negotiation ability

6. Quality management

7. Service orientation

8. Judgment, decision-making ability

9. Active listening

10. Creativity