Is the “future of work” happening in your office? Just look around.

Illustration by Hoi Chan

May 18, 2023

Innovation

The Future of Work Issue

Think of something new you’ve done lately at work. Something that felt easier. Was it an A.I. suggestion, helpfully predictive text, or an app integration that just worked?

Maybe a blocker vanished just as an automated workflow emerged. That’s the future of work in action.

For nearly a decade, the term has been growing in interest (look at Google searches). It’s no surprise either: Artificial intelligence, automation, video conferencing tech, better work apps, and the proliferation of and access to data have made connection and productivity easier.

At The Workback, where we’re exploring the future of leadership, we believe that the future of work is happening now. If you look around, you can see it in your own office. You may be the agent of change or part of an org-wide adoption of a new way of thinking.

This is the 2023 Future of Work Issue from The Workback, the magazine for leaders published by Asana.

In our reporting for this special issue, we reveal how that future means less busy work. The future means investing in A.I. and leveraging its predictive power. The future also means there might be an “avocado problem.” It means inspiration needs to connect to productivity. The future means exercising good decision hygiene. It’s about turning obstacles into innovation. Science also shows that distributed workforces can thrive in this new era—if we use the right tools. The future is one where empathy has a measurable impact on productivity. The future means, we hope, fewer meetings. The future means remembering essential truths.