Throughout recorded history, and most likely going back even further, prophets have predicted the end of the world. They’ve been seen as lunatics, as God’s messengers, or as visionaries, but almost always the average person is at as a loss as to how to respond. I grew up under one such prophet, David Berg, the founder of The Children of God, a doomsday religious cult born in the late 60s and still active today. My situation was pretty extreme—we grew up practicing drills for when the Antichrist declared himself on earth and we didn’t go to school because we were all supposed to die as martyrs before the age of 25 anyways.

Often times, when I tell stories of my life, folks see it as extreme, as something that could never happen to them. But the reality is much more complicated. Many Americans alive today can remember growing up under the specter of atomic war, and hiding under their desks at school, and both religious and sci-fi visions of an inevitable apocalypse have long been popular in pop culture, as can be seen in the success of the book series Left Behind or the Blockbuster hit The Day After Tomorrow. And it hasn’t’ changed that much. On the verge of a new decade, kids are coming of age with school shooter drills and Greta Thunberg is Time Magazine’s person of the year.

And right now, at the end of 2019, we know that there’s something to it. There’s plenty of scientific proof now that the robots are indeed coming and nobody knows what the future of work will look like in a decade, much less a century.

“In September 2013 two Oxford researchers…published “The Future of Employment”, in which they surveyed the likelihood of different professions being taken over by computer algorithms within the next twenty years…The algorithm…estimated that 47 per cent of US jobs are at high risk. For example, there is a 99 per cent probability that by 2033 human telemarketers and insurance underwriters will lost their jobs to algorithms. There is a 98 per cent probability that the same will happen to sports referees, 97 per cent that it will happen to cashiers and 96 per cent to chefs.” (Homo Deus, 330) And the list of jobs that will be replaced goes on and on.

When the industrial era began, we saw what happened with horses, they went out of business—almost entirely. Further back, when the agricultural era began, hunters and gatherers were almost ubiquitously replaced. In the past, while some have suffered, as a whole we humans have upgraded our skills, ways of thinking and even our needs, creating new jobs and ways of life. But what will happen this time as technology is potentially upgrading most jobs out of needing humans at all?

There are two schools of thought. One is that robots (actually algorithms) will replace all jobs, and there will no longer be a need for humans, and the second is that humans will always be necessary because there will always be creative processes that require humans. More and more, scientists are starting to predict that eventually artificial intelligence will gain so many advantages that even creativity won’t weigh out in the long run. It’s important for the thinkers, movers, shakers and business leaders to be contemplating these questions, but we shouldn’t let them overly dominate our lives or paralyze us with fear.

The reality is, as with any future predictions, nobody really knows what the future will look like. In my opinion, true apocalyptic predictions all have one thing in common, an easy way out that does nobody any good. It’s can be almost comforting to just believe that ‘the world is coming to an end’ and that there is nothing that we can do about it. But what we really need is to engage in the hard conversations, what might the new world look like? how can we prepare for something that no one can predict? how should we speak to our children and young people about what’s in their future? how do we prepare for change

Nobody has all the answers, and it’s likely that as long as there remain humans alive, we will continue to have these discussions. But today, as we go into the second twenties decade in modern memory, here are some ways that we can we prepare our minds, and our employees, for the incredibly unpredictable future of work.

1. Constantly Learning & Fostering Creativity at Home and at Work

Back in the day, it used to be that life was split into a period of learning, a period of work, and if you were lucky, a period of retirement. Not only is retirement becoming less common than it used to be, but we no longer can cling to the comfort of closing up our educational books and moving on to the ‘real world’ (not to mention books may be on their way out, too). These days, the learning never stops, and if you take yourself out of the classroom even for a short while, you may find yourself falling behind.

Fortunately, brain scientists have long since discovered that constant learning keeps us younger, fitter and more adept at dealing with change. And thanks to technology, we don’t have to take sabbaticals from work to go back to school. Learning can, and does, take place online, at home, as part of work, and even in apps on the go. Don’t believe me, download Duo Lingo, pick a language, and you’ll see how much you can learn in a very short time. I just bet it increases your creativity too!

Don’t forget that all learning doesn’t have to look like learning. Creative activities, artistic journeys, or physical challenges can be learning experiences as well. Getting outside of the box, thinking differently, and constantly writing new stories is one of the things that has given humans their edge for millions of years, so let’s not let that part get away from us too easily.

2. Accept that the Success Ladder Now Goes in Multiple Directions

Popular culture has put a lot of emphasis on success being the shape of a ladder, almost like we can and should have a plan from the first step to the last—even though anyone with more than a few years of work experience knows better. These days, it’s becoming more important than ever to stay flexible in your professional outlook. Be open to taking on non-traditional roles. If you’re the boss, think of ways that you can develop your team outside of ways that make linear sense according to old models. Even the US military is starting to realize that they need to change the way that career development is being done—and if the largest organization on earth can make changes, we can too.

3. Develop your Cultural Intelligence

One thing is for sure, the world is getting smaller and more closely connected every day—don’t believe me, just watch the stock market for 15 minutes. The need to be adaptive, inquisitive and as open as possible to change and new ideas will become increasingly important for the future. We don’t have to be able to predict the exact changes that will occur to start exercising our muscles of open-mindedness and cultural intelligence—just find yourself a friend from a completely different culture and get started now.

4. Learn to Use Technology

I’ve been more than a little guilty of using the “I’m just not a tech person” excuse in the past, but that ship has now sailed, and those still clinging to it are likely to disappear without a trace in the future. Technology is here to stay, and it’s impacts are increasing exponentially by the nano-second.

Fortunately, this is an easy one. Challenge yourself to learn a new tech-hack, integrate a new app into your business processes, or link up Alexa to a fan that she can turn on when your smoke detector goes off while you’re cooking bacon. If you’re an employer, even better. Challenge your team members to all learn a new piece of tech, and then teach others on the team how to integrate it into your business in different ways.

5. Learn to see “Back in the Good Ol’ Days” as a Warning Sign

No matter who you are, we are all tempted to see ourselves as the protagonists—which means we often look at those who came before us as outdated, and those coming up after us as upstarts. But one thing is becoming more and more clear, we can’t un-ring the technology bell. ‘Kids these days’ don’t stay kids forever, they become the inventors and implementers of the next things that will change our world.

Whenever we are tempted to shrug off a new trend, roll our eyes, or mutter about how things used to be done, let’s reverse the idea. If we think about all the reasons why this new trend makes sense, and what new things might be possible because of it, not only will it help us to relate to the next generations, but it just might help bring us a little closer to being a part of the crowd that is able to successfully make the big shifts.

Because, one thing is for sure, the robots aren’t coming. They’re already here. What are you, and your business, going to do about it?

Happy New Year and welcome to the new twenties! 

DANIELLA YOUNG IS A TEDX SPEAKER, AN AUTHOR, COMBAT VETERAN, BOARD MEMBER OF OPERATION CODE, & THE CO-FOUNDER OF CAVNESSHR—AN HR-TECH COMPANY WHO’S MISSION IS TO MAKE BIG-BUSINESS HR AVAILABLE TO SMALL BUSINESSES, THROUGH INNOVATIVE SAAS AND VIRTUAL CONSULTING. DANIELLA SPECIALIZES IN HELPING BUSINESSES CREATE CULTURE ROADMAPS, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLANS & EFFECT TEAM TRANSFORMATION. WANT TO LEARN MORE? VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT cavnesshr.com.

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