The Future of Work: My Top 10 Submission for the 2014 MBA Competition

A few months back, I entered a competition held by the BusinessBecause community and GMAC on MBA Jobs of the Future: What would the world of work be like in 2050?

So with a mentoring session with a senior partner at Bain and $1000 on the line for the winner – I went ahead with my piece of submission that won me a spot in the top 10. My published article can be found here (and below) with the crux of all submissions laid out at MBAs Predict The Future: Competition Winners Picture Office Innovation.

The Office: A Final Season

11AM. Michael Scott enters the workplace and almost immediately his virtual assistant pops up. A stream of updates follow suit and Michael responds with a variety of gestures. His schedule is set and now for the hard part. Dwight and Jim come up on the virtual reality booth and they greet each other almost as if in person; a handshake here, a pat to the shoulder. Five minutes later, the rest of the team shows up -each from different corners of the globe and within minutes the room is conversing in a multitude of languages.

The ROBOT (Reduced Office Burden Organizational Tool) system has failed and to cap it off the chief engineer is away on her honeymoon. Luckily the entire system is accessible off the cloud and a VR call later, all is back in motion. Clients needed a bit more calming down as the ten minute delay had caused a few millions of dollars on hold.

With the more pressing issues resolved, he turns to his bio-bacterium powered devices for a glance at the state of the world and stock market. No longer are the mammoths of the past listed here, with nearly 80% of the world’s population receiving higher education – fragmentation and competition is rife in the world. He knows the future of his business lies in true employee dedication and customer driven values now more than ever.

Michael leaves the room to enter his home lounge, where his 8 year old daughter is coding her cyber puppy to respond in Farsi and teach her vector calculus. Over population has caused the office to be limited to an extension of one’s own house. A small pill alongside this glass of water awaits him at the table. Lunch is served and all is well after another day of work at Dunder Mifflin.

Do let me know your thoughts and feedback on your opinion of the future of work below.