The Next Labour Revolution

The future of work rests on using technology to understand and improve employees’ experience at work

- Rohan Murty

Driven by metrics like daily active users, companies strive to engage all of us in online commerce, media, entertainment and social connections, among others. But these are all activities that we do in addition to work. We arguably spend more time at work than on most other activities every day. Work is an important part of our intellectual and emotional lives. It gives us financial security and a sense of purpose, meaning and identity. Hence, what we do at work and how we do it matters.

Today, office work has become digital work and the pandemic has accelerated this shift. Communication and productivity tools have helped streamline digital work to make it more efficient and less cumbersome. However, what is not well-understood is how we work—do we all work the same way, where do we differ, what we enjoy, what we find boring, frustrating or painful, among others. Understanding how we work is a precursor to what we can do to change our experience at work.

But, when compared to the billions invested in building social media platforms to help us connect with people, to find jobs, share cat photos, etc., there has been a much lower investment in technology to understand the human experience at work and to make it better. Case in point—when was the last time you heard of tech innovations to help teams discover opportunities for mentorship at work, mitigate frustrations, find help, or share pain?