Each week I’m going to provide a round up of what I consider to be important and interesting articles on the future of work (not authored by me). These will include a variety of sources and topics ranging from workplace practices to robots and automation to leadership and everything in between. There’s a lot of information out there so I’m hoping that these weekly round ups will help make life a bit easier for you by giving you just the good stuff. Let’s get into it!
Why the Reception Area is the Most Important Part of your Office
In this article Jeff Pochepan discusses the importance of your office design, specifically the reception area or waiting room. He says there are three main reasons why this area is so important.
Number one “it instantly communicates your company’s aesthetic culture”. How you design your reception area shapes the opinions of visitors to your office. People coming into your office may be spending long periods of time waiting in the reception area so if the room doesn’t give off a good impression it could hurt your company’s reputation.
Secondly, “it improves your employee’s mindset”. The setup of your reception area can also affect your employees in that it can motivate and encourage, or depress and stress them out. Pochepan suggests that the reception area be organized, open, bright and unique to your company’s culture in order to bring out the best in employees.
Lastly, Pochepan says “you can enjoy a longer lifecycle from your design budget”. If you have a small budget it is important to invest your money in what matters the most. The reception area is the most visited area and therefore it is important that it looks good. He suggests that you use classic pieces that will withstand the test of time and stay relevant no matter what the new trends are. He also goes on to list out some suggestions of ways to spruce the reception area up. A few examples are investing in pieces that will dampen sound, using plants to create atmosphere, and using warm, natural lighting.
This is What an A.I. Powered Future Looks Like
The subject of Artificial Intelligence seems to be everywhere nowadays. This article looks at what our future looks like assuming AI will be prevalent by 2030. It talks about how children who are born into this society will not know a world without AI and therefore they will consider cars, houses, computers, etc…run by AI to be normal.
The article also goes into detail about how cars and houses will become accustomed to our wants and needs. For example, a smart house run by AI could learn an occupant’s desired temperature settings or music preferences so that the occupant can come home to their preferred settings at the end of the day.
An example is also given to show how autonomous vehicles could improve experience by being aware of things such as the passenger’s schedule. It is suggested that an autonomous car could pick up on changes to the passenger’s calendar and could suggest restaurants that match up with the passenger’s taste.
The article suggest that this future is coming faster than we think which raises the question, are you ready for it?
What is the Future of Human Labor in the Digital Age?
Daniel Huizinga praises the book “The Wealth of Humans” by Ryan Avent. The book discusses technology and how will effect our future economy. Avent believes that technology will change the future of work in three ways. The three major developments that will affect the future of work are automation, globalization and technology that makes work easier.
In the book Avent also talks about challenges that will arise for governments, economies, and employees and he gives possible solutions for these issues. Avent believes that work is not just a means for making money and providing for our families, but he really believes that what we do for a living shapes who we are as people.
Just as the industrial revolution was a huge change for the 18th and 19th centuries, so too will this next change in economy hugely affect us. The next movement, aka the digital revolution, will affect every aspect of our lives–economics, politics, and daily life and Avent discusses these changes in detail.
Why IoT, Big Data & Smart Farming is the Future of Agriculture
This article touches on the growing need for farming as our world population quickly escalates in size. In order to keep up with this growing need, farmers are going to have to turn to technology to help them keep up with the demand. In this article Andrew Meola talks about some of the technological advances that farmers are using.
Some of the topics that are examined in this article are precision farming, farming drones, and agricultural sensors. Farmers are already using the latest technology to help them keep track of their crops, soil temperature, and climate forecasts.
When we think about the internet of things we don’t typically picture it affecting agriculture and farming, but according to Meola, “The IoT is set to push the future of farming to the next level. Smart agriculture is already becoming more commonplace among farmers, and high tech farming is quickly becoming the standard thanks to agricultural drones and sensors”.
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