On the 7th of November, Guy Moreton, participated in the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) conference at the EPIC Centre, Lincolnshire Showground. With a theme centred around the 'Workforce of the Future,' the event attracted an audience of over 500 attendees.
During the conference, Guy, the Executive Chairman and Founder of MorePeople contributed to a panel discussion alongside three other experts. The panel's focus was on envisioning 'What the workplace and workforce will look like in 2035 in Greater Lincolnshire.'
Reflecting on the experience, he comments;
'I thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the panel, we spoke about the impact of AI and Robots and also about the challenge of managing a multi-generational workforce... The conference was superb and immaculately organised!'
The panel concluded that the workforce in 2035 will need to pay particular attention to;
Workforce Characteristics
As human life expectancy increases, so does the amount of time we work. This leads to businesses having multi-generational workforces, which come with their own unique needs and wants. Businesses will need to come up with strategies to keep all employees no matter what their age, engaged in the workplace. The panel concluded that because of this, managerial roles are likely to always be done by humans.
Automation and AI
Over the past decade, the business space has been introduced to new technologies often replacing humans. As the business space develops and job choice increases, there will be a need for machines to do laborious jobs, an example for the food industry would be fruit and vegetable pickers. It was discussed that people are likely to demand higher pay and therefore higher costs for clients and consumers alike. Having automation do the job would keep the prices at the rate they currently are.
Technology
'Futurologist' Paul Redmond discussed an interesting theory about attention span. He concluded that millennials have a 12-second attention span compared to Gen Z who have a mere 8-second span. He goes on to explain that this is due to the environment they grew up in, many were given technology from a young age and are now 'addicted' to device usage. This ultimately leaves them unable to focus for long periods, which may cause issues as they progress through their careers.
Beyond the insightful discussions, the event provided ample networking opportunities. The demonstration area showcased a variety of emerging technologies with the potential to reshape the future of businesses. Overall, the conference served as a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and exploration of innovative technologies.
