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Exploring Workplace Futures in the Tech Industry in 2035

Market Trend Research, Strategic Foresight, Scenario Forecasting, 
Workshop Planning

October - December 2022

Introduction

Inspired by the ever-evolving changes in the tech industry, I created a 90-minute workshop to explore possible workplace futures in the tech industry in 2035 CE to ideate a future in which we can all thrive in employment.

 

The goal of this workshop was to provide a templated structure for organizations to explore possible 10-year future scenarios, based on emerging STEEP trends of today, prompt discourse on desired and undesired futures for their workplace, and shape potential industry paths forward to improve the employee experience.

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Duration

Eight Weeks

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Role

Researcher and Strategist

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Stakeholder

Parsons The New School

“The workplace needs a new purpose—and companies that clearly define it can unlock competitive advantage.”

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McKinsey, "The Future of the Workplace" research 2022

Workshop Overview

This workshop is intended to be a brief, casual, and collaborative exploration of possible futures for the Tech and SaaS industries in the year 2035, through the prompted evaluation of four prewritten speculative futures. (See below for more details)

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Intended Audience: US-based industry stakeholders in a collaborative workshop setting

 

Structure

  • Overview and Instructions (10min)

  • Future Scenario and Asset Exploration (Participant groups)​ (60min)

    • Unpacking the Scenario​

    • Evaluating the Future

    • Finding Common Ground

    • Reimagining the Scenario

  • Revealing Desirable Futures (All participants)​ (15min)

  • Closing Thoughts and Next Steps (5min)

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Workshop Scenarios

The provided scenarios were crafted using the four alternative future archetypes, as imagined by futurist, Jim Dator, all of which are based on current trends and emerging signals to imagine possible futures in which there is either continued social or industrial growth, discipline approaches within the industry (where growth is not persistent), social collapse, or a transformational existence.

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Methodologies Used to Create Provided Scenarios

  • Secondary Research and Signal Scanning

  • STEEP Trend Analysis

  • 2x2 matrixes to evaluate two signals or critical uncertainties against one another

  • Futures Wheel to consider implications

  • Narrative storytelling

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Again, the four scenarios act as catalysts of discussion for workshop participants to individually and collaboratively envision possible futures in general, and preliminarily ideate desirable futures relative to their industry, mindful of impacts led by decision-making of today.

Questions to Prompt Exploration

After reading the scenario archetypes, workshop participants are asked in groups to consider a few of the following questions, in effort to evaluate and reimagine the provided scenarios for provocation and ongoing exploration:

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  • What are your immediate reactions to this scenario? 

  • In what ways has the industry or work environment changed in next 10 years based on this scenario?

  • What impacts to the overall employee experience or wellbeing do you see within this scenario? 

  • Which elements from this scenario, if any, resonate with your current organization, its initiatives, or values? Which elements do not? Why is that?

  • If your group could rewrite this scenario to be more desirable, what would you change? Why is that? 

  • What needs to happen now to manifest the desirable scenario your group has written? What needs to stay the same?

  • What support do you need to manifest the desirable scenario your group has written?

Click here to view all of the Future of the Workplace workshop scenarios, PDF prompts, and the instructional and supporting tool-kit.

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