IDC FutureScape: Top 10 Predictions for the Future of Work

The reality of our current global economic, climate, and business challenges requires workers to be a part of dynamic and reconfigurable teams that can quickly adapt to business demands and new market requirements — anytime, anywhere, and from any physical location.

The promise of such hybrid work models is clear. Rapid adoption of more automated, cloud-based, and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled work practices drives increased work productivity and introduces new, more agile ways of working. Insights from more digital-first ways of working are enabling organizations to be responsive to the needs of customers and employees alike, driving improvements in talent acquisition, employee retention, and customer satisfaction.

“The next five years will mark a period of distinct change in both the mechanics and social attitudes surrounding normalized work practices,” said Amy Loomis, research vice president, Future of Work at IDC. “As organizations wrestle with different elements of work transformation from technology adoption to new policies and practices, hybrid work will drive new technology solutions across functions and industries alike.”

IDC’s 2023 Future of Work predictions outline the framework for technology-related initiatives in the years ahead that can be leveraged by IT, human resources (HR), and other line-of-business (LOB) decision makers and influencers. The predictions are:

Prediction 1: To address health, sustainability, travel, and other disruptions, 30% of G2000 organizations will adopt immersive third-party metaverse conferencing tech services to enable client engagement by 2027.

Prediction 2: By 2024, the business developer role will be ubiquitous, with more than 60% of enterprises training and supporting business users to build their own applications and automated processes using low-code tools.

Prediction 3: Driven by skills shortages, CIOs that invest in digital adoption platforms and automated learning technologies will see a 40% increase in productivity by 2025, delivering greater speed to expertise.

Prediction 4: By 2024, organizations deploying employee micro-monitoring measures (camera/keystroke) will see a 20% decrease in actual employee productivity.

Prediction 5: G2000 companies that deploy reactive and tactical hybrid work models will see a 20% revenue loss in 2024 due to job attrition and underperforming teams.

Prediction 6: By 2025, organizations that have created dedicated hybrid security policies and developed a culture of trust will be 3x less likely to suffer a security breach.

Prediction 7: By 2024, companies offering frontline workers democratized access to digital collaboration, process automation, and similar tools will see a 20% increase in revenue due to improved productivity.

Prediction 8: Holistic and integrated analytics within an intelligent digital workspace (IDW) ecosystem will drive a 70% increase in differentiated business outcomes for adopters by 2026.

Prediction 9: Effectively blurring space and place, by 2025, 65% of G2000 companies will consider online presence to be at parity to “in real life” across their engaged workforce.

Prediction 10: By 2024, 55% of C-suite teams at global enterprises will use intelligent space and capacity planning technology to reinvent office locations for gathering, collaborating, and learning.