| INTEGRATIVE INSIGHTS ON EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES |
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cgreendale@firstanalysis.com
- The world of work has been turned upside-down by COVID-19. While uncertainty rules, we believe it’s possible to extrapolate from trends that were beginning to emerge prior to the pandemic to a number of high-probability prognostications that portray a future of work that is more multi-modal, more flexible, and potentially more productive than work of the past.
- We discuss several early indicators of how worker productivity is being affected by the new ways of working. We also highlight how demographic differences among segments of the workforce may influence the future optimal mix of new and traditional work arrangements.
- These discussions point to promising areas of opportunity for technologies that address and capitalize on these changes, and we briefly highlight a number of companies providing these technologies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Includes discussion of eight public companies and six private companies
Remote work changes near-term priorities
Near-term productivity may increase. Is it sustainable?
Does the present state of work foretell the future?
Employers mandating a one-size-fits-all approach will be at a disadvantage
M&A in 2Q20 to date emphasizes remote work
Remote learning a key theme in 2Q20 private investment
Introduction
As we publish our first Future of Work quarterly report, the world of work has been turned upside-down by COVID-19, with entire sectors of the economy all but shuttered, employers transitioning from traditional offices to 100% remote work almost overnight, and unemployment in the United States jumping from historically low levels below 4% to mid-teens reaches not seen since the Great Depression and its aftermath. Cast headlong into these murky waters, business leaders are beginning to move past the triage of quarantines and asking longer-term questions about how the pandemic and resulting economic dislocation will change the fundamental nature of the workplace, the workforce, and the relationship between workers and employers.
Under the circumstances, anyone claiming to know with precision what the world of work will look like in five to 10 years is either overconfident or a visitor from the future. However, we believe it's possible to extrapolate from trends that were beginning to emerge prior to the pandemic and that are likely to accelerate to varying degrees, to a number of high-probability prognostications that portray a future of work that is significantly more multi-modal, more flexible, and potentially more productive than work of the past.