Helen Monument – Interim Chair WA-Alliance writes,
According to a study by McKinsey, in the pandemic, women are 1.8 times more likely than men to lose their jobs. As the majority of Administrative Professionals are women, this is having a huge impact on many of us. So what will the future world look like for our profession?
One prediction by the World Economic Forum in their Future of Jobs Report lists Administrative and Executive Secretaries at the number two spot of the top ten jobs that will be displaced by a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines by 2025.
The media also is full of stories about how we have already adapted and changed our ways of working. All the experts agree that work will definitely never be the same again. Research by Slack’s Future Forum of over 4000 knowledge workers found that only 12% want to return to full time office work and 72% prefer a hybrid remote-office model. According to John Trougakos, Associate Professor, Organizational Behaviour and HR Management at the University of Toronto “The key is to focus on keeping workers productive and healthy by giving them the freedom to work in ways that suit their needs while also meeting corporate objectives. Proactive and progressive companies will take this opportunity to embrace this new normal and turn it into a competitive advantage while simultaneously improving the lives of their workers.”
There is a huge role for the World Administrators Alliance to play in building a strong community to support our member Associations and Networks and help them to collaborate with other so that they can prepare their own members for the post-Covid future, whatever it may look like.