Future of Work and Business

Our professional lives are tightly integrated to the overall future of humanity on several dynamics including family, social identity, physical and mental health, and economy. In 2050, there would be sweeping transformation of the way we work. Europe and the United States will face a decline in population and a shortage of manpower, whereas population in Africa and Asia would continue to grow and act as a source of manpower for these regions. However, Africa and South Asia would continue to be plagued by the absence of infrastructure and capital. Labor force from these regions would migrate to the developed regions in search of better opportunities and improved livelihood. Across the world, unemployment among the youth would increase multifold, leading to severe political and social unrests, resulting in disintegration and implosion of many nation states. From a micro perspective, from an organizational point of view, by 2050, many of them would revert to social capital—trust and goodwill between individuals and their communities—to coordinate business activities compared to the current formal systems like business contracts, management policies, hierarchies, and bureaucratic rules. There would also be sprouting of micro-multinationals that would replace large multinationals of today. Business decisions being driven by real-time data analysis and predictive and actionable data would help them thrive.