The Future of Work: Ready for ‘Anywhere Jobs’?

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This SuperSalon is part of a ten-part series called The Future Of, launched in partnership with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

What does “WFH” mean for mothers? How can a new graduate make connections at the office while working on Zoom? Do you have to retrain yourself for a new economy? How will cities change now that we no longer commute to work every day…? Three incredible guests are joining us to discuss all this: Samit Chopra, President and Chief Operating Officer, International (EMEA and Pacific) for WeWork; Parag Khanna, a leading global strategy advisor, best-selling author, and Founder and Managing Partner of FutureMap; and Lauren Razavi, author and Executive Director of Plumia, the non-profit mission to build an internet country for digital nomads. Bring your questions, experiences, opinions! 

In a post-Covid world, we’re looking into a future where work can possibly be done anywhere, anytime. Technology and platforms like Zoom and the Metaverse are breaking down old barriers to remote work and promising better ways to work and communicate than ever before. For many, the experience of working from home has also been beneficial and is likely to remain their preference. Much has been said about the sea change in the way we work, but we have to ask the question – is it all as good as it seems?

Research has suggested that men have generally reported a much more positive experience working from home compared to women. Is remote work beneficial for everyone in the long term, or do we risk what Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann, has called a “she-cession”? And while productivity may have risen, many have reported feeling more anxious and burned out working remotely. Does the ability to work anywhere, anytime mean work becomes a global commodity, available 24 hours a day? As more people move out of expensive cities in favour of cheaper rents and more affordable costs of living, how will the shift in work change our cities and their appeal to the young, ambitious career person? And will a wider pool of talent sourced globally democratize access to good jobs, or simply entrench inequality deeper?

Join us for a discussion on the future of work.

Suggested reading:

• Anywhere Jobs: Reshaping the Geography of Work
• The Great Migration: Remote Work, Digital Nomads, and the Future of Citizenship

This Super Salon is part of a ten-part series called The Future Of where we’re bringing together a broad and diverse community of people with an interest in shaping an optimistic future enabled by technology. In each salon, we take a deep dive into what is possible and propose that we get together to visualise the Future of the Internet, Cities, Food, Education, and many more.

Join the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn with #TheFutureOf.

About our guest speakers:

Samit Chopra is the President and Chief Operating Officer, International (EMEA & Pacific) for WeWork. Samit is responsible for executing International’s operational and market strategy across EMEA and Pacific, leading the business to achieve greater agility in evolving with enterprise needs. He joined WeWork in June 2020 as the Managing Director, Pacific, before expanding his scope to become Managing Director, International (EMEA & Pacific) Strategy & Operations. As a veteran in the real estate industry with over 24 years of experience, Samit has a proven track record of driving strategic expansion and meaningful growth to capture and create value. Prior to this, Samit has held senior roles as the Executive Vice President for Enterprise and Sales at IWG, International Director, Head of Integrated Portfolio Services at JLL; and in Colliers India. These roles see him extending his leadership and expertise across Americas, Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Middle East regions.

Parag Khanna is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveler, and best-selling author. He is Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario based strategic advisory firm. Parag’s newest book is MOVE: The Forces Uprooting Us (2021), which was preceded by The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21st Century (2019). He is author of a trilogy of books on the future of world order beginning with The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (2008), followed by How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance (2011), and concluding with Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (2016). He is also the author of Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017) and co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012). Parag was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” He holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has traveled to nearly 150 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Lauren Razavi is a writer, speaker and strategist working at the intersection of technology, business, policy, and human behaviour. She is author of the book Global Natives and writes the Counterflows newsletter about borderless living. Lauren was an early adopter of remote work and has lived as a digital nomad since 2013. Currently, she is Executive Director of Plumia, the mission to build an internet country for digital nomads, at the Y Combinator alumni company  SafetyWing.