Future of Work
Summary
At ServiceNow, we make work work better for people. This past year has shown us the impact the world of work has on productivity, and it is our goal to accelerate its transformation to meet the needs of our employees and customers. In this session, we'll cover the who, what, where, and when of the future of work at ServiceNow as well as examples of how we as an organization are putting these methods into practice. We will also discuss trends and opportunities appearing in the new future of work and ways companies can adapt.
Key Insights
-
•
Hybrid work models require seamless integration of physical and digital workplace environments to foster global collaboration.
-
•
Real-time data on workspace usage enables smarter business decisions and better support for hybrid employee needs.
-
•
Flexible and staggered work schedules help reduce burnout and require companies to promote calendar hygiene and a culture of trust.
-
•
Measuring productivity by quality of work rather than hours spent is essential for flexible work environments.
-
•
Distributed teams benefit from tooling that simplifies access to resources like Zoom recordings and clear remote work policies.
-
•
Environmental impact considerations are influencing business travel policies and employee tooling for travel decisions.
-
•
Reskilling and upskilling are critical as automation shifts work from roles to skills, with dedicated learning time becoming a priority.
-
•
Automation in IT follows principles of automate, accelerate, and amaze, emphasizing customization and user empowerment.
-
•
Integrations, such as bringing ServiceNow tasks directly into Microsoft Teams meetings, reduce tool-switching and increase productivity.
-
•
Organizations face challenges balancing autonomy in tool choices with maintaining connected data and reducing blind spots.
Notable Quotes
"Companies are no longer dependent on where people are located to work."
"With how of work now separated from where we work, the design process stays the same—thinking holistically for all personas and touchpoints."
"Flexible and staggered schedules help people not get burned out."
"It doesn’t matter when work is done, so long as it’s done and its quality."
"Instead of measuring productivity by hours or busyness, focus on quality of work."
"Employees can take as much or as little time off as they want, so long as their job gets done."
"As manual tasks get automated, individuals can focus on higher-value tasks and training machine learning systems."
"Bringing tasks directly into meetings lets you work where collaboration is happening without jumping between tools."
"The future of work is about making the user the hero—humans and machines working together."
"Roles are evolving with automation, but the shift toward skills is what will define future jobs."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We mapped every individual journey on Google Earth attaching quotations and photographs to each location to represent human experiences."
Xenia Adjoubei Sean BruceEmpowering Communities Through the Researcher in Residence Program
March 29, 2023
"We were reinventing the wheel every time we entered a new market, which was incredibly slow and inefficient."
Tamara KartoziiaThink global, adapt local: how service design accelerated B2B market entry by 6 months
November 20, 2025
"We are the solution to preventing harmful AI outcomes like Robert's wrongful arrest."
Jay BustamanteNavigating the Ethical Frontier: DesignOps Strategies for Responsible AI Innovation
October 2, 2023
"Anticipation involves preparatory actions to manage uncertainty about future conditions."
Nicole AleongFuture Orientations to Everyday Life: Futures Anthropology as a Methodology
March 26, 2024
"When I started out, I knew nothing about digital sustainability."
Nick LewisDesigning and building low-carbon websites independently
November 18, 2025
"At best, user experience and product management work together in a healthy tension."
Vicky Teinaki Michele Marut Tim ParmeeShort Take #3: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers
December 6, 2022
"Stress makes us stupid because our creative thinking gets cloudy when under pressure."
Laura WeissTurn Down the Heat: 3 Ways to Handle Conflict in the Moment
November 20, 2024
"This tool radically automates user research steps so that no facilitation is needed, it’s actually automatic."
Joerg Beringer Thomas GeisScaling User Research with AI: Continuous Discovery of User Needs in Minutes
June 10, 2025
"It’s okay to be goofy and have fun—creating space for awkwardness and playfulness helps engagement."
Shelby SwitzerMaking Space for Community Knowledge-sharing in a Distributed World
December 10, 2021
