2020 has a new name! A new order! And a new number! It’s 2025 – a date that has arrived before its time. Not by choice, but thanks to a tiny, invisible micro-organism, a virus which has spread across the world. Futurologists had predicted significant changes to the future of work due to the impact of AI, automation and robotics, all of which were to happen by 2025. But suddenly, the rug has been pulled from under our feet and we have been catapulted, almost like a five-year fast forward.
The new order defines that we “work from home”. Will this permanently change the way we work? Will the model of a centralized office where people came to work, to clock in the required number of hours and get paid at the end of the month disappear? Will work be distributed across regions and geographies? Will people continue to work from home on a regular basis even after the threat of the COVID-19 virus dissipates? In a scenario like this, is it the beginning of the end of the culture of the “Head Office”? If these old offices remain empty, will they get converted into museums which will be showcased as the legacy of a company to an awestruck visitor? “The HO is dead, long live the HO” – more than ever, it is likely that the first para of the obituary to the HO culture will be written in 2020.
Should the demand for office space reduce, it is likely that office rentals of prime locations may decline. Large spaces could be replaced by a few meeting rooms, where the staff may meet once a quarter. In fact, this could also be done with a “rent-as-you-go” model of co-working. The rare physical meeting will be marked with social distancing and an alacritous approach to completing the meeting as soon as possible. Greetings at such meetings are likely to change. Handshakes, hugs and air kisses will get replaced by the safe “Namaste”. Kings, Presidents, Heads of State and even the common man will embrace this new method of greeting. Namaste will get global ubiquity and become the next big soft export from India.
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