The future of work: What digitization means for talent transformation

Globalization, technological transformation and higher social expectations are shaking up organizations at all levels and redrawing the world of work. This 4th Industrial Revolution carries with it existing socio-economic models: beyond financial and technological issues, questions about human impact are also at the heart of the debate. Driven by digitalisation and robotisation, Deloitte - in partnership with Cadremploi - takes stock of the understanding of these changes and their impact in organizations that are driven more and more by data. 

"In the era of the 4th industrial revolution, the world of work will be renewed, reinvented, renovated," says Philippe Burder, Human Capital Partner at Deloitte. "Faced with these profound changes, the French remain vigilant, divided between hope, curiosity and concern. It will be up to each actor of this transformation to rethink the organizations of tomorrow by creating value in this new world, so that everyone can find their place."

The Future of Work, a reality already in motion

In the midst of technological change, organizations are evolving rapidly. In this transformed ecosystem, the first trend that emerges from the study highlights a savvy French population, aware of the profound changes that today disrupt their environments. For a large majority of respondents (76%), the current transformation concerns all organizations. For 47% it has already begun, when nearly a third considers it in the short term. This dynamic is reflected by 52% of executives and 41% of non-managers by a profound change in work and organization, but also by an increasingly connected world. 

Faced with the magnitude of these upheavals, Deloitte paints the portrait of French people who, as a whole, share a feeling of curiosity (22%).

A contrasted vision on the future of the trades

The study reveals that the future of the world of work does not necessarily pose a threat to the job market by creating work that could be performed by machines - in fact, robotisation is perceived as a driver of new opportunities. But the study also highlights that most respondents think that it is mostly others that will be impacted, of which 66% were non-managers. Indeed the French consider their professional future from a rather optimistic angle: only 28% think that their job will disappear, compared to 90% who consider that it will change. 

However, a majority of French respondents believe that robots and other AI will replace humans in difficult work, supporting repetitive and monotonous actions. As a result, production and logistics are seen as the two areas particularly subject to these transformations due to their automation (26% and 23% respectively). On the other hand, with regard to finance, the result is rather marginal with only 14% of respondents who believe that a significant change is to be expected. The study also points out that, for 23% of respondents, robots could replace the human and 22% believe that they could help invent new trades.

The study reveals that the two main and pivotal human skills are social skills and the ability to solve complex problems. Technical skills take 3rd place, with a considerable gap in numbers. 

"Robotization, digitalization and social relations are shaking up organizations today as we know them and outlines a new world of work," comments Elodie Franco Da Cruz, Studies Officer at Cadremploi. "Although this metamorphosis, of the world of work, does not worry managers about the evolution of their profession, it raises some fears about labor relations. If these changes create a new working environment where executives perceive a degradation of human interactions and social dialogue, the fact remains that this transformation will above all be accompanied and directed by the human."

Human relations are at half-mast in a more flexible world 

Beyond these structural upheavals, the study highlights that French people worried about the future of human relations in these transformed organizations: 67% of respondents think that human relationships are likely to deteriorate. For 76% of them, social dialogue is bound to deteriorate, as are human interactions (67%). Concurrently, 69% of respondents believe that the daily pressure will also increase. 

However, the study raises a paradox that tends to draw attention to a more agile and flexible world - despite the French fearing dehumanization, more than half (52%) think that digitization will create work improvements. The current era is changing perceptions of work methods, such as with coworking and the widespread use of teleworking, and these appear as the two main vectors of evolution - 86% and 80% respectively.

This look at these changing organizational systems also sheds light on the legislative framework of work in a new light. For 32% of respondents typical contract work is destined to disappear in favor of self-employment (24%). 

The greatest difference factor in the study, in the end, turned out to be age: a third of those under 40 think that the transformation will have no impact on the future of work; the most realistic turn out to be their elders. 

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