The workplace of the future

A mix of work at a fixed workplace and other locations such as the home office is increasingly becoming a must for German companies. This is reported in the new "ISG Provider Lens Future of Work - Services and Solutions Report Germany 2021" by the Information Services Group (ISG). Leading the way are industries with a high proportion of office workplaces, such as banks and insurance companies, as well as the IT industry. At the same time, the study states that employees in higher positions are particularly often given the option of hybrid work models.

Constant change

According to the study, this trend has led to a change in the portfolio of digital workplace solution providers. Providers no longer offer primarily technology solutions. Instead, they are developing into companions of a more comprehensive transformation, which also includes the change of the entire work culture in companies. "Home office will occur primarily in conjunction with office work in the future"says Dario Maisto, Senior Consultant DACH at ISG. "Because hybrid working combines the advantages of both worlds." The important thing, he said, is that the user experience is always the best possible, regardless of where they are working. "In this way, the advantages of the home office can be combined with those of the office: here, above all, an improved work-life balance, and there, informal and personal exchange with colleagues. This in turn promotes team spirit." It is also important to have a sufficiently secure home office, especially if employees work with sensitive data.

However, some jobs will not be moved to the home office, but will be replaced entirely by corresponding solutions in the near future. Forrester predicts that 34 percent of European jobs are at risk and that twelve million jobs will be lost to automation by 2040 in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. So the strict definition of a job is starting to crumble. Rather than viewing automation as a substitute for a job, European companies are moving to evaluate both human and machine skills when performing various tasks. This is true in areas such as administration and human resources or the design of training and development programs.

Ticking time bomb

Jobs will be lost, but new ones will also be created and change as new skills are in demand. The most significant European job losses from automation will be in the wholesale, retail, transport, hospitality and leisure sectors. At the same time, sustainable energy and automation will create nine million new jobs in Europe by 2040, particularly in clean energy, clean buildings, and smart cities. In addition, Europe's aging population is a demographic time bomb. In 2050, there will be 30 million fewer people of working age in the five countries studied than in 2020.