7 Bold Predictions By Startup CEOs On Work Life In The Future

What will your average work day look like in the future? I invited startup CEOs across the world to share their boldest and craziest predictions on what the employee worklife of future looks like. Before we look at the results, let’s get some context.

The world is changing at a pace like never before. Our lives have transformed beyond recognition in the last 50 years. Never before was the generation gap so profound and the evolution of human habits, so transformational.

Earlier this year, together with MIT Tech Review, Bill Gates, revealed his curated list of breakthrough technologies that will change the world in 2019. Gates boasts some of the most accurate technological predictions of modern times. He correctly predicted the rise of home computer, the modern graphical operating system and the proliferation of the internet. The world of work is no different.

The emerging forces that affects our future work, would change everything from the nature of our jobs to people who manage it

Specialist technologies like Cloud Computing and AI are already helping us become more human despite the growing automation and can further benefit the worklife in this future of work. Several jobs that defined the late 20th century are on the verge of extinction (from switchboard operators, to postmen to door-to-door salesmen).

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From wifi like power to demise of pensions, here are 7 bold predictions by startup CEOs of what the life of a future employee looks like.

1. No More Menial Desk Jobs

“Over 50% of all ‘desk based’ jobs will be automated by 2040“, says Andrew Hunter, CEO of Adzuna, a search engine for job ads. With solid technology foundations being established, he bets on automation of most routine jobs and the elimination of modern desk based workers as we know it.

It wasn’t long ago that the office was considered the staple of modern industry. Modern office workers spend an average of 10 hours a day in front of a screen or at a desk. But businesses are still reluctant to embrace remote work.

Will that change? Will the modern office stay relevant in the future? Or will the office based desk jobs be a relic of the past?

2. Freelancing goes mainstream 

Increased access to experts and rising employee empowerment has resulted in an increase in use of freelancers across the industry. Within the legal sector, Alexandra Isenegger, CEO of Linklaw, a legal platform for small businesses, predicts that “More than half of lawyers will be self-employed by 2030″. Based on her observation of current business model at most professional services firms, she adds, “In a very competitive landscape, lawyers are becoming more resistant to allowing law firms to bear the fruit of their hard work. Being self-employed, a consultant or having an equity stake in the firm where they work allows lawyers more freedom with both their time and charging structure“. 

In a very competitive landscape, lawyers are becoming more resistant to allowing law firms to bear the fruit of their hard work.

Would this apply to sectors outside legal? And would it then be a global phenomenon affecting all knowledge workers?

3. No more working for money

Universal Basic Income will create knowledge networks that will eliminate most repetitive jobs, accordingly to Roger Gorman, CEO of Profinda, a workforce optimization platform. He believes that “this talent migration will redefine our society“. Roger predicts that the future employee will leave jobs like driving and factory work to machines not be part of an organized firm like today.

It’s an interesting thought and one that’s promoted by proponents like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. But how long before this becomes the reality?

4. Fitness overtakes pensions as the preferred workplace benefit

“Coaching in all its guises will become more valued than pensions as we get more focused on our mental and physical health rather than our future financial status”, says Jason Goodman, CEO of Eastnine, a new fitness startup. He claims that the fitness industry will finally become honest and use wellbeing science to improve daily lives.

“The physical and mental health crisis is going to be solved by a revolution in the way we think about everyday fitness” he says.

Will physical and mental health be more important than pensions and financial benefits in the future?

5. Digital Avatars for you and me

“In 25 years’ time we will all have digital avatars which can do 80% of our routine tasks, freeing us up to be creative and spend more time on developing social and community skills”, believes Saul Klein, Founding Partner of LocalGlobe, an investment firm and former CEO of Lovefilm (acquired by Amazon). Betting on emergence of automated digital personas, he believes that our individual productivity will increase exponentially.

Better than Alfred the butler from Batman, our digital selves could do all the menial and routine tasks for us, leaving us to focus on creativity. Saul also predicts a growing debate on values and ethics that will drive this future.

6. Wireless Power that follows us around

Dan Bladen, CEO of Chargifi, a smart charging company, believes that access to power will become universal and power will follow us around like wifi. “We spend our days concerned about battery life. Everything we rely on to perform is reliant upon battery life. Phones, iPads, laptops, EVs. Imagine a world in which power flowed to our devices like the way WiFi does today.”

This as he predicts, will result in a “totally agile mobile worker” and finally allow the future workplace to be untethered.

7. The rise of intrapreneurs: the employee entrepreneurs

Dhruv Gulati, CEO of Factmata, a startup fighting fake news, predicts that “people creating micro-sub divisions and cultures within business” will increase. This rise of intrapreneurs will result in independent workers who are empowered and trusted to take risks.

Technologies like AI can help us improve future human managers to enable this trustful relationship.

Noteworthy mentions to other predictions that did not make the cut. From increasing focus on training, growth speed (Andre Lorenceau, CEO of LiveLike) and elimination of traditional salaries in favor of universal equity in your company (Sai Ranganathan, CEO of Sensorflow). With improved health, better pay and greater freedom, work-life in 2030 looks particularly exciting to look forward to!