How digitalisation will drive the convergence of work & life

With the ability to work from anywhere, hybrid work promised so much for individuals, companies and cities by freeing us from the constraints of time and space.

For individuals, it would have meant giving us the tools to become more productive; for employers, it was supposed to have anchored a globally connected workforce. For smart cities, hybrid work opens up new opportunities and challenges in attracting the best talents across the globe and rethinking the degree of onshore human capital needed to drive innovation in the human-machine equation.

It was heralded as a vision for the future of work.

Yet, when the pandemic eased off, many companies yearned for employees to return to the office. Although 83% of the global workforce identified a hybrid workplace as ideal in 2021, more workers are working fully onsite now than before – 36 per cent versus 25 per cent in 2021 – across all industries.

Another study found that post-pandemic, only one in six people feels highly connected to their organisation. And just one in five feels comfortable sharing problems or raising conflicts with colleagues.

Were the past two years simply a blip? Are we moving into a future that remains anchored to the past?

The reality is that many conversations on this version of the future of work have not captured the entire picture, especially when it comes to the importance of human connections and the role that technology plays in enabling them to happen.

To pierce the illusion, we need to take the discussion beyond space and place – we need to elevate the importance of human connections, double down on human talent and leadership, rethink digital technology and re-examine the role of cities in the advent of smarter work.

Omni-connected experiences

If today’s version of work is hybrid, then tomorrow’s vision of work is likely to be one shaped by omni-connected experiences.

Hybrid work has always been concerned with where work is done, with the assumption that unchaining us from the desk will elevate our work experience. But it ignores the crucial role human relationships have in shaping our work experience.

Omni-connected experiences take into account one’s personal and complete lived experience of work, and how connected one feels to their work, their coworkers and their company’s culture.

This idea partially explains why people still love going to the office. They look forward to returning not simply for the amenities, but really because of the energy, connections and conversations they have with their colleagues. In short, the importance of human needs.

We found that 64 per cent of work potential is explained by Net Better Off, a framework consisting of six fundamental human needs that need to be met through work for companies to unlock their people’s full potential.

To ensure that your people are truly “Net Better Off”, companies should focus on creating a safe environment that is inclusive and diverse so that they can feel safe and be able to share their ideas and perspectives. By engaging in empathetic listening, this makes it easy to build intentional connections as a team.

Similarly, leaders today need to effectively include, motivate and inspire diverse groups of talents so that their people know that they belong, that they have a voice, and that they are seen and feel safe.

When done right, these experiences create a culture that champions purpose, authenticity and psychological safety. These factors will, in turn, translate human potential into business potential, as companies stand to gain 7.4 per cent in revenue growth when their people feel connected to each other, their leaders and their work.

Becoming a net creator of talent

To achieve that, it is incumbent on companies to build the right talent within the organisation. Hiring the best talent is just one part of the equation. To win, organisations must also become a net-creator of talent.

We can unlock the full potential of our people only by first redefining what they mean by talent. It used to be that hiring was all about qualifications and work experience. But the workforce of the future will thrive on the right skills and attributes they bring to bear in the company. By using technology and data, companies can identify the current adjacent skill sets in their workforce against the future trends and the skills they need to stay relevant, and a training pathway to close the gap.

Future-ready companies not only recognise the importance of employee development and career growth, but they also make it a priority. For instance, Accenture worked with Unilever and Walmart on a pilot study to develop a new way to create better and more sustainable opportunities for people. Among the key takeaways was that continually equipping people with the right skills is just smart business.

An unhappy employee is also an unproductive one. Paying attention to the mental well-being of staff is crucial to maintaining a positive culture, which can only help boost productivity. For instance, Accenture Singapore has taken a bold approach to redefining the concept of work-life balance with the introduction of uncapped vacation leave. In this era of hyperconnected workplaces, we see the importance for employees to disconnect and carve out time from work.

The power of digital technology

Enabling a hybrid workforce is not just simply about giving them an application to collaborate and meet virtually. Employees need to have seamless access to the same company provided suite of applications, knowledge and expert connections anywhere they choose to perform work. Access, however, must not come with comprises to security. To this end, companies need to invest in an approach to security that will allow employees to adhere to data and system classifications as they access multiple applications from one device. This fosters a frictionless business anywhere, anytime.

Beyond enabling work at home, in the office and perhaps a chosen third space, the exploration now has also moved to connections across spaces. Here, there is so much more digital technology can do to further unleash the power of omni-connected experiences.

An evolving and expanding continuum of technologies including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is creating better interfaces for new ways of collaboration between hybrid teams and increasing workforce productivity.

Take Meta and Microsoft’s recent showcase of how the phygital world is fast advancing the future of work. Meta Connect showed a sneak peek of virtual offices in the metaverse – a mixed reality experience that allows people to multi-task by overlaying virtual workspace in the physical environment, and to collaborate more effectively and creatively with expressive avatars and 3D models.

Our own virtual office space, Accenture’s Nth Floor, is a virtual environment that brings people together to socialise, collaborate and learn. Thanks to mixed realities, we are able to bring a geographically distributed workforce together.

The use of VR was also tested out with a multinational energy company which wanted to explore different ways of expanding and enhancing remote collaboration, including conducting daily agile meetings, immersive training sessions and even playing VR basketball.

The pilot showed the client the potential of such possibilities – participants noted higher productivity and reduced costs.

Smart cultural and technological hubs

In a way, workplaces are a microcosm of today’s cities; cities are no longer mere drivers of growth, but cultural hubs that bring people together.

For example, cities like Singapore are the regional headquarters to many multinational companies where they are able to access, connect and manage both a local workforce and talents across the globe through the use of digital technologies. This will allow the island state to overcome the traditional constraints of space and place and entrench its position as a globally connected digital city.

And when companies enable their omni-connected global workforces and help them unleash the power of human potential, the future of work promises to usher in a new era of productivity and connected communities.

That’s a vision we can all get behind.