The cataclysmic changes caused by the pandemic across the globe has triggered job losses at an unprecedented scale. Over 122 million people in India lost their jobs in April, according to estimates from CMIE. Sectors like Media and Entertainment, Hospitality and Tourism and non-essential goods have been hit rather hard with consumption levels going down sharply as per a report by Global Consultants. The massive disruption has brought about a structural change in the work place. Consequentially, some jobs may cease to exist. The nature of jobs was already undergoing a transformation with the rising wave of digitization and automation, the pace of change has only accelerated with the pandemic impact. Industry watchers and veterans are emphatic about the fact that some traditional jobs may simply cease to exist. New forms of jobs mostly at the intersection of technology and functional lines are most likely to emerge.
Work from home now an accepted norm in the workplace has dramatically changed the way organizations function. Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley and other major companies have extended their work-from-home options, according to the largest human resources organization, SHRM, and other sources. Corporates have taken a lead in announcing a near permanent work from home policy and followed it with a SOP for remote working. Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, said, “77% of the workforce say they want to continue to work from home, at least weekly, when the pandemic is over.” Lister estimates, “25% – 30% of the workforce will be working-from-home multiple days a week by the end of 2021.”Many Organizations clearly think they can now access a larger talent pool without any locational constraints, boost productivity with happier employees, and reduce real estate costs significantly. Guidelines on online access, data security, work hours and work-life balance by the corporates has only accentuated the shift and from the look of things this is likely to gather acceptance and momentum even after the first vaccine hits the market!
The shift to online for most functions has been almost seamless. The changes which would have taken some time have been made possible within weeks. People have been surprised by how quickly and effectively technologies for videoconferencing and other forms of digital collaboration were adopted. A brilliant example is Zoom which has more than 300 million daily users, as more and more people continue to use the service during the ongoing pandemic. We shall see an increased demand of digital skills both in the existing jobs as well as in the new jobs as the world moves more towards a touchless and online way of life.
The manufacturing sector which was already adopting automation will now see an enhanced pace post covid-19. A McKinsey report on ‘The future of business reimagining 2020 and beyond’ puts a clear premium on new age skills and need for upskilling and reskilling to navigate the jobs landscape. These changes will be necessitated with the large-scale adoption of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics and Robotics Process Automation (RPA).
The change in the schools shifting to online mode has been very swift with 88% of the govt schools and almost 95% of the private schools in NCR having made the transition in 30-45 days (NABET report). This could not have been possible if we were to plan this transformation of schools shifting en masse to the online mode say in Jan’20. While the shift to the online mode has been made in quick time the major changes need to occur in the reorientation of the School and College curricula. Digital courses, Data Science, analytics, machine learning, virtual reality, augmented reality, cybersecurity, web designing, and the likes need to be introduced in the curricula in the schools and in quick time. The emerging work force will need to have the ability to navigate the digital world.
With a high degree of automation setting in and the imperative of managing the cost structure much better than the usual annual organizational budgets of a 2-3% margin to beat the inflation, we are beginning to see a clear shift in the employee-employer relationship. The employers are now more than willing to look at freelancing options in their quest for an efficient variable model. People have liked the massive savings in commute time and the operational freedom while working from home, this model has also found favour with many employers and is gaining ground. Does it mean a death knell of ‘Lifers’? perhaps yes, the changes are rapid and unlikely to reverse. The ‘freelancing’ or as most of us now refer to it as the ‘gig economy’ is set to grow rapidly with technology enabled platforms connecting buyers and sellers, service providers and end consumers, skilled workers and employers and in a way connecting the seeker and the sought at the flick of a button.