Home : Strategy : News

Report reveals the workplace of 2030

Research released today has predicted the future of the workplace as a remote working environment but also examines other possibilities.

By Jennifer Scott, 1 Jul 2009 at 16:20

gallery

Technology will increasingly change our workplaces with more remote options being adopted in the future, according to a report released today, questioning what the workplace will be like in 2030.

Research from Johnson Controls has led to predictions that over the next twenty years conventional office spaces as we know them will change to include more social interaction spaces as well as renewable energy sources. Companies will also allow more mobile working.

One of the report’s authors, chairman of the Futures Academy of the Dublin Institute of Technology Professor John Ratcliffe, said: “In the uncertain world of today and tomorrow, one major risk to business is being caught out by inevitable surprises.”

The report identified three scenarios that could fit our workplaces of the future. The first has been named “Jazz” and describes a competitive environment that depends on global networks. The second is called “Wise Counsels” which pictures a more responsible workplace focusing on the idea of a good work/life balance.

The final scenario is called “Dantesque.” The least positive of the three, it puts profit above employees with the office being viewed as a “fortress.”

The report was compiled from research, questionnaires and a forum group. It is the first of three that will be published by Johnson Controls with The Futures Academy, examining the future of the workplace and technology.

Email to a friend

Print this page

< Previous Strategy : News Next >

1 comments

You need to Login or Register to comment.

Working in a secure environment

As the latest Johnson Report highlights, the move towards home working seems unstoppable, as commercial, environmental, regulatory and social pressures combine to drive more flexible working practices in the future. Latest statistics show for example that, by as early as 2010, it will be the norm for some 27 million Europeans to be working remotely. For this to become a reality, such a move has to be underpinned by technologies which enable this sea-change in working practices to be managed both efficiently and cost-effectively. However, this on its own is not enough. No business is going to agree to an increase in home working unless it can successfully tackle the increased exposure to risk associated with remote working. And here, a major limiting factor until now has been the lack of secure network access. Previously, the delivery of a highly secure remote access network using SSL/VPNs and two-factor authentication has been costly, time-consuming and difficult to support. Yet proven, affordable and easy-to-deploy solutions are now becoming available which avoid the risks of hacking and data loss, giving businesses full confidence that access to their network is secure. And, with the choice of managed authentication options, low-cost outsourced authentication brings this level of security within realistic reach of SMEs and not just large corporates. As a result, in terms of data security there really are no longer any boundaries to the effectiveness of tomorrow’s employee - in time or geography. Another hurdle overcome. Jason Hart, senior VP Europe, CRYPTOCard

By Jason_Hart on Tuesday Jul 7