Future of Work
Summary
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
"I tried to do everything all by myself at first and it didn’t catch on because no one else knew I was doing it."
Shipra KayanHow we Built a VoC (Voice of the Customer) Practice at Upwork from the Ground Up
September 30, 2021
"We often use radio buttons when check boxes or sliders would reveal the truth."
Peter MorvilleThe Architecture of Understanding
May 13, 2015
"Don’t just run away from something. Make sure you are running towards something."
Renee ReidBecoming a ResearchH.E.R (Highly Enterprise Ready)
June 3, 2019
"Gestures serve as a window into the embodied mind by replaying prior embodied experiences when we communicate."
Dane DeSutterKeeping the Body in Mind: What Gestures and Embodied Actions Tell You That Users May Not
March 26, 2024
"Involving people with disabilities from the start reveals impact and usability issues that automated testing simply cannot catch."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
October 3, 2023
"Three quarters of users who fail their mission don’t come back, risking lost revenue and market share."
Andrew Custage Michael MallettThe Digital Journey: Research on Consumer Frustration and Loyalty
March 29, 2023
"Facilitation is part setting the stage and part performing on it."
Shelby SwitzerMaking Space for Community Knowledge-sharing in a Distributed World
December 10, 2021
"Right now, there’s a fear of being replaced by AI, and while a lot of that’s overblown, researchers have a legitimate reason to feel uncomfortable."
Llewyn PaineCoexisting with AI: A practical guide for researchers to navigate tools, ethics, and integration
March 11, 2025
"Simon Roberts calls this the UX ification of research, which leads to a more transactional focus on informing technology requirements."
Robin BeersNavigating organizational systems: Rethinking researcher’s role in driving change
March 13, 2025