What will the professional world look like in 2050? In January, students at NEOMA attended the “Future of Work” seminar. To help them expand their thinking on the subject, the school organised a series of conferences. Among them was the conference “Work and Technology Changes,” led by the economist and NEOMA professor Gilbert Cette. We asked him to summarise the future in three words.

In 2050, the working world will be …

• Very delocalised. The use of telecommuting, which exploded at the time of the COVID-19 crisis, will continue to develop and will, on a national average, involve at least a third to half of all job positions. Workers will find a greater balance between their professional and personal lives through telecommuting, and companies will experience increased productivity. Depending on the activities, companies and the profiles of the workers, the latter will work from home between one and four hours per week, maintaining a certain amount of time for interactions with co-workers and collective workplace life at the company. But a large proportion of meetings will be held through videoconferences and not in person.
• Very self-regulated. In branches, affiliates and companies, organisational standards will essentially be based on social dialogue and put into effect by collective agreements between union representatives and company management, within the limit of the relevant principles. Labour law will by default provide the working standards for companies who are unable to engage in productive social dialogue. The standards resulting from social dialogue will thus be specifically adapted to the diversity of activities and collective agreements.
• Very quiet. Combustion engines in all transport vehicles will completely disappear and be replaced by electric motors. This major change will come about due to climate concerns, the cost of fossil fuels, which will increase with carbon taxes that will continue to expand, creating a strong deterrent against fossil fuel use.

Learn more about Gilbert Cette : Economist Gilbert Cette becomes professor at NEOMA – NEOMA (neoma-bs.fr)

Learn about the professions of the future : Link to the white paper