There are many things about the workplace that we think are current but are, in fact, already grossly outdated. Gone are the days when decisions were bellowed from the top of the ladder, subjecting those of us languishing on the lower rungs to simply accept whatever a superior inflicts upon us.
These days, we might not be the CEO but we are expected to constantly evolve in line with the moving waters of the work culture itself and, even now, that means taking on more than just one role.
Futurists and entrepreneurs are regularly quizzed about their workforce predictions so The Huffington Post Australia is taking a fresh look at what might be around the corner.
CEO and entrepreneur Peter Bradd told HuffPost Australia we will be more entrepreneurial in the near future, but not in the traditional sense.
"Entrepreneurship will largely find its form within 'intrapreneurship' in larger organisations as not everyone will have the interest, resources or aptitude to go out on their own," Bradd said.
"Around one third of millennials are said to already aspire to some form of entrepreneurial venture. It's not just the younger generation getting into the entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurial thinking is catching on in the enterprise world as executives strive to match the high-performance innovation coming out of the start-up community."
Bradd believes that along with a growing demand for innovation and entrepreneurial skills and roles, there will be no linear career path for those entering the workforce.
"Workers will have multiple careers and multiple title changes and will need to continuously build new skills. Companies will have training programs to consistently upskill new employees, as the skills they need will change as the marketplace does.
"There'll be more investment in employee health and wellness; programmes to educate and promote overall physical and mental wellbeing. Organisations will continue to flatten the hierarchy. Don't expect the same kind of management structure to be in place in the coming years. There will be more emphasis on outcomes and remuneration tied to outcomes rather than activity; digital natives and blended workforce, part time, full time, VAs and consultants."
Director of Cultural Forecasting at GalKal Australia, Michelle Newton told HuffPost Australia according to a recent PWC report, 65 per cent of people want to work for an organisation with a powerful social conscience.
"Big business knows that in this new paradigm they need to stand for and support ethical and environmental causes. Taking a strong stand, even a political one, is very attractive to a young employee. In the US, Starbucks has taken a stand against Trumps travel ban, announcing that they will hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years," Newton said.
"This is why so many start-ups have emerged. Gen Y wants to work on their own terms to solve the issues that big business can't solve as fast as four kids in a garage with a Mac and a coder can. These environments are creative, collaborative and output quick to market. In the future everyone is an entrepreneur."
It is no secret that jobs are being taken over by robots. The World Economic Forum predicts that Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and robotics will take over more than 5 million jobs by 2020. We're advised to make sure we are as creative as possible in a bid to prevent a robot from stealing our job.
"For the first time, AI beat a human at the game of Poker. There many views on what this means for the future of work. One is that the only safe jobs of the future are the ones that involve creativity and anything that is fundamentally human and uses the quality of empathy, things that machines don't have," Newton said.
"The other jobs in hot demand are in the areas of coding and data analytics. Others view this new 4th industrial revolution as a productive era where life gets easier as the mundane jobs are done for us by machines and we are all freed up to pursue more fulfilling life ambitions."
One US researcher has predicted that 65 per cent of children who entered primary school in 2011 will end up working in careers that have not yet been invented. Peter Bradd predicts we'll see new jobs such as Chief Innovation Officer, Innovation Strategist, Innovation Engineer and Innovation Catalyst.
"Within organisations, innovation will become more of a core focus; shifting from a 'nice box to be ticked' to part of our operational DNA within enterprise. Innovation is undoubtedly changing the business landscape so in order to survive it's imperative companies shift the way they operate," Bradd said.
"Companies that were able to prosper by moving at a deliberate and slow pace will be extinct within as little as five years if they don't innovate. Those companies that stay on the cutting edge of innovation will direct where we are going."