Translator: David DeRuwe Reviewer: Vanessa Soneghet
Hello, when I did a quick search
on the latest findings about the future of work,
I found information like this:
"Today's ten most employable jobs didn't exist ten years ago."
"65% of the children in school today
will work in a job that hasn't been invented yet."
"50% of the human labor force
will lose their jobs to robots and software over the next 20 years."
What crap!
(Laughter)
Then I kept thinking, "How do they come up with this stuff?
Do they meet in a room?
How do they write these things and leave us completely disturbed?"
And then I got to go to a meeting of scientists
who plan for the future of work.
And I brought you a picture.
(Laughter)
It's more or less like this: we do a little study
and see how to send out a striking message with enough terror
to scare a few more people regarding the future of work.
Very well, I'm not afraid of work,
I love work; I think work is the way
we have to express our purpose in the world,
our individuality.
But work is changing,
especially the work we know as employment.
When I heard these findings, I said, "I have two problems here, right?"
First was about the meeting. I found it!
Second was, "I'm screwed!"
because I really think some robot,
some software will steal my work.
Then I discovered that there is a website that you can search, look!
"Will a robot take YOUR job?"
And you go there and type in your type of work.
(Laughter)
I'm a graduate in accounting,
I typed my work there: "Accountant."
And out comes the probability of a robot taking my job.
94%!
(Laughter)
And then comes this comforting phrase:
"You are doomed!"
Which, in English, translates to "It's over for you, buddy!"
(Laughter)
Then I said, "No, I only graduated in accounting!"
I understood early on that I can be whatever I want in the world of work.
I've been turning into a Frankenstein,
looking at a lot of ways that I could contribute.
There's something else I can do!
I work with development of people.
So I'll look for "Training and human development."
I put it in the program and calmed down
because it came out only 1.4% chance of a robot taking my job, yeah!
(Applause)
We're safe!
But of course, the answers are not on this site.
The form of work that we know today as employment will really change.
Please don't access this website.
Even if it says there's a 1.4% chance, the site is lying - it's 100%.
Robots and software will steal what we know as employment,
but they won't steal our work and our productive capacity.
Most research focuses on what work people will do in the future,
what jobs will exist, where the openings will be,
and what type of knowledge will be needed.
I'm a researcher in the world of work,
looking at how people relate with organizations,
so I'm much more interested in how we'll work in the future,
and even more importantly,
I want to know why we're going to work in the future.
Up until now, our principal relationship with work
has been guided by money.
We work because we need the money.
And, if I ask you three times, "Why do you work?"
you may try to fool me twice, but on the third try, we'll get to money.
And since money is the reason,
we've gotten used to this predefined formula - the job -
where you try to pretend
that it's possible to predict what a person's workday will be,
and that it will fit in the description of responsibility, which is a big lie.
We've lived it for years.
In this model, we accept that there is a hierarchy,
that there are jobs, and that there is routine.
You put everything into a certain box.
You lose your creativity, your brilliance, your passion, your fire -
and you end up becoming your badge.
(Laughter)
Only your badge reflects someone else's expectation for you,
and it's not the expectation you want put out to the world.
So the job's drowning out the way we interact,
and we've never learned what to do with all our desire
to contribute and make a difference in the world.
So the job will change, it will end;
the work, the effort of putting your purpose into the world
and impacting people around you will never end.
No robot will take the spark from your eyes.
You have human interaction and your productive force
to change someone's life.
This is our responsibility,
and we need to wear this shirt.
And we still don't know how to do this.
Today, we're experiencing a phenomenon which I call "organizational exodus."
People want to leave organizations,
as if companies were the great problem in the world of work.
And why do they do this?
There is now a separation between organizations and individuals.
This separation happens because we are, more and more, seeking autonomy.
That means that some of us leave organizations,
really trying to find a new form of productive relationship,
but there are people who stay in organizations,
and have more autonomy because the companies are changing.
There is a maxim in HR and in the world of work
that people don't quit their businesses -
they quit their bosses.
Another maxim says that companies don't fire their employees
because of their knowledge.
They fire their employees because of their attitudes.
The companies realize that the model of work is all messed up,
and for this reason,
we'll see a future with no more bosses.
There will be nobody left to order someone around,
which could potentially end marriages.
(Laughter)
The world of work is really changing, but what about the people?
And how is the attitude of people affecting productive capacity?
The vast majority of us here knows at least one person
who has left the traditional organizational structure
to start a business of their own, or to join a new type of organization
to change this traditional employment model.
Possibly, each of us also knows a person who produces less in this model.
They were more productive when working within an organization.
Maybe they're happier,
but maybe not working to their full potential.
And when you talk with these people and ask,
"Tell me how this move happened?
Why did you leave that really good job where you were so valued?"
And the answer will be,
"Because I wanted to have purpose; I wanted to have meaning ."
And purpose and meaning are beautiful things
that we have to have because, for a long time, we stayed,
anesthetized, in the office, doing something that someone demanded,
without understanding why, and not benefiting from that.
But when you start digging
with those people who left the traditional world and say,
"Okay then, tell me a little. about purpose and meaning.
Detail a little what it is."
They say, "I do something I love,
that I like a lot.
I choose who I help, and I do it when I want to."
I get it! This is called pleasure.
It is not called purpose
because purpose and meaning demand the genuine intent and effort
of you stitching together thoughts in your head
that allow you to see the value in what you deliver.
It's not being on autopilot saying the same overused words,
"I'm going to find my calling."
because your calling might not be enough.
Maybe your calling won't be better for the world.
Maybe your calling will put you into a coma
bigger then when you were in organizations.
Don't use your "calling" as an excuse to not deliver your best.
Work has three fundamental roles related to people:
The first is financial.
For a long time, we've walked this treadmill of working for money.
Okay, we're together, I'm tired, I don't want to!
But don't tell me you're leaving organizations
because you want to have social and psychological impact,
if you don't do your best,
if you don't plan, if you don't deliver quality work.
You're being lazy, you're being selfish,
and you're giving less to the world
than to that wretched organization and the cursed boss you spoke of so badly.
You need to wear this shirt and take the responsibility
to change your behavior regarding work.
Now that you've left that cruel organization,
why are you waiting to have more impact?
This demands a lot of self-knowledge.
(Laughter)
It's very difficult to confront reality and to look at all angles of yourself,
some of which you might not like so much.
But you have to face this because part of what you say is a lie.
You want world peace, but if that cow in HR dies, the better.
(Laughter)
You look with compassion at the beggar on the street,
but won't answer the sponsor's email because he's so annoying.
We can't see that, within our work,
there is a social circle extremely impacted by us.
You can't save the world if you don't save your main social group:
your family and the people you work with.
They are together with you on a road to nowhere, and boring or not,
we need to be able to act together.
Work is the manifestation of your loving essence through the means of production.
What are you putting into the world? by means of your production?
Are you the best? More or less?
Let's wait a little bit longer? Are you late with that customer?
There is a list of things which are common to everyone
when we talk about happiness.
Autonomy cannot be the counterpart of losing quality.
This achievement we have, of being autonomous
can't be in exchange for quality.
In this list of what we are searching for as accomplishment at work, we have:
well-being, freedom, purpose,
intention,
and love.
But be careful!
Your authenticity can't be so deep as to become arrogance
and affect your impact.
Your well-being can't be so strong and require so much comfort
that it impedes your growth.
Your freedom can't impair your achieving discipline
and delivering what you said you would deliver.
Your purpose doesn't exempt you from responsibility to the group.
Your intention doesn't keep you from following through.
Your love...
Oh, your love.
has to come with full force
in the work force.
But this is difficult.
We're learning,
and it's complicated to leave a place where we always received
external rewards for good production and happiness.
Now the conversation is with ourselves.
Tell me about the conversation you will have with yourselves
about your capacity to change the whole cursed thing?
You're not going to have a manual about how to solve the world of work.
Nobody, off this stage or on this stage,
will tell you how to build the future,
of yourselves and the future of work,
because we're not discovering the future of work.
We're designing the future of work.
And if you think the future of work
is going to be a relationship, all light, creative, colorful,
where everything fits perfectly,
buy Legos!
(Laughter)
It won't be like that, old man!
You'll have to work hard because effort is not synonymous with suffering.
You can do better,
and what the world truly needs today ...
is your best work.
Do it!
Thank you!
(Applause)