Alex Pollock is the ideal person to start a conversation about work beyond 2030. Quietly revered in circles of labor strategy, Pollock offers forecasts combining dry humor with hope. He is not about whirling buzzwords. He is the honest neighbor you rely on to identify the truth before the audience ever sees the shadows.
Image this: One of your colleagues is tuning in from a beach in Costa Rica when you show up for your Monday conference. Another features a furry cat scaling her keyboard. Pollock predicts these sceneries will be consistent pictures before long. He argues, companies will become more selective about outcomes rather than processes as hybrid and remote roles continue to rise. According to Gartner’s 2023 workforce research, 48% of workers today want freedom on where and when they log hours.
Pollock makes jokes about artificial intelligence taking jobs instead of chores. He enjoys reminding people that although technology always takes with one hand, it also tends to give. Automation is definitely simplifying monotonous tasks, but it also creates opportunities for those with emotional intelligence, creative problem-solving, and relationship development.
He is not blind to difficulties, either though. Pollock’s talks hardly ever overlook the digital divide or pay inequality. Based on the International Labour Organisation’s projections for 2022, over 37% of workers worldwide still lack consistent home internet. Policymakers should thus give infrastructure and upskills top priority. Though it’s not glitzy, nobody builds towers without a solid foundation.
One concept Pollock throws around is “work as a mosaic,” in which individuals shape their professions. Unlike parents and grandparents who intended for one career till retirement, new workers might teach yoga on Wednesdays, freelance as programmers on Thursday, and sling coffee every Saturday. Although it appears disorganized at first, recent Pew Research indicates that 16% of Americans made money on gig platforms in 2021—that figure is rising.