Mexico. Fujitsu conducted a study with the consulting firm PAC where 1,278 senior decision-makers from organizations and the public sector in Europe, Oceania and North America were interviewed. Important information has been extracted from this study on how CxOs (Chief Experiencie Officers) plan to close the digital divide in their current work environment and how they design their support strategy in the face of business demands in 2025.
Thus, the report defines what the job will be like in 2025. Millennials will represent more than 50% of the workforce and redefine the corporate culture around flexible and open models, collaboration and data. Remote work and freelancers will be established as the norm, and companies will drastically modify the size and appearance of the office where a new approach to health and wellness must prevail. Hence, technology will play a vital role in helping companies enable this change, supporting new models of collaboration and co-creation while offering a secure, intelligent and highly personalized user experience.
What do the heads of companies think of all this?
It could be specified in 5 fundamental points. First, a transformation of the workplace adapted to the current lifestyle. Today's jobs are not configured to support flexible working. Hence, 66% admit that they have less than 10% of their workforce on a temporary or freelance basis.
But what is clear is that in the face of this 2025, many companies will experience this important change because what is sought is a balance between work and personal life. In fact, 70% say they will implement corporate policies to improve the work-life balance of their employees.
Second, the smart workplace. The study shows how about 63% of participants stated that interoperability with outdated technology is a "major" challenge to productivity, especially due to the lack of access to productivity tools.
Therefore, artificial intelligence will completely reshape the business, intelligent virtual assistants will become a key point and biometric authentication will provide a more effective and less intrusive approach to security.
Third, a workplace with low environmental impact. One of the key success factors in supporting remote work is enabling effective collaboration. According to the study, 59% of companies have implemented the latest generation of collaboration-based tools. But for the remaining 41%, who have not yet done so, it is because security concerns are a big sticking point. 46% cite it as the main barrier, above cost, with 32%. In addition, 52% of companies incorporate cloud models in their strategy and in Spain up to 55%. Hence, in 2025 virtual meetings will replace commuting, office buildings will become truly smart and environmentally friendly, supporting remote work and collaboration.
Fourth, a job without limits. One of the increasingly common characteristics of business innovation strategies is that organizations look for sources of inspiration abroad. Traditional barriers between sectors are broken, companies work in partnership with start-ups or with companies from other sectors and regions. Co-creation is an essential part of digital ecosystems. And global crowdsourcing will drive a new era of scale. But, the reality is that 74% say that, today, their current workplace infrastructure does not have a highly positive impact on their ability to innovate with businesses outside their organization.
Fifth, a generational workplace cross. For many companies, attracting new talent poses a new set of challenges. Digital native workers are looking for different career paths, incentives, work practices and environments than those built over the past 50 years. Only 10% of respondents say they have a knowledge management system for all employees, who are incentivized to use it. 52% use it in some business areas and 29% are still considering putting the strategy in place, compared to 9% who have none.
Changes in demographic patterns will have a major impact on the future of the workplace. Millennials will have become the dominant presence in the workforce by 2025, by which time many major economies are expected to have raised current retirement ages to ease pressure on pensions and reduce skills shortages created by demographic change. About 77% of study participants believe that generational diversity will be one of the top three trends shaping their workplace strategy.
