Changing work presents a wealth of research topics Is there anything stable left in work life? At least constant change, say Future of Work researches, and advocate joining forces in work related research. Text: Joanna Sinclair Photo: Venla Helenius WORK LIFE is changing at a tremendous
pace. Many jobs no longer depend on time, place, or work contracts. Robotics and AI are altering or obsoleting old professions, while societal changes are creating entirely new ways of organising work. It is no wonder that Aalto University researchers are fascinated by the intensifying transformation of work and technology. The four-year Future of Work research project has ambitious goals. Funded by the Academy of Finland and Aalto University, this research project aims to bring together all Aalto University researchers interested in the transformation of work and create a worldclass hub for studying the future of work. “Future of Work helps work-life researchers find each other and work together,” says researcher Hertta Vuorenmaa. “We also bring together leaders, policy makers and think tanks. We are organising various kinds of events and lecture series to create a forum for discussions – and we have exciting research collaboration with both public and private sector organisations. Ilmarinen is a good example of an organisation that we have versatile research collaboration with,” Professor Eero Vaara adds. “Our aspiration is to have Aalto University and Future of Work be the first things that come to people’s minds when they ponder where to find the most relevant research on the transformation of work.”
Practical answers that benefit everyone Vaara and Vuorenmaa emphasise that the world is full of research that no one can find, or which has no practical ben34 / AALTO UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE 24
efits outside academia. Future of Work strives to change this. It challenges researchers to create answers about the changing nature of work that are relevant and useful for society, businesses and individuals. There is no shortage of things to study: leadership is transforming, as is strategy work, organising, business models—in continuously accelerating change, hardly anything about work remains intact. “Leaders and researchers alike have more questions than answers right now. This makes the entire Future of Work research programme so interesting and relevant: no answers are self-evident. An answer that is fitting for a certain area of industry in Finland, for example, may be completely irrelevant in India,” Vaara points out.
Empathy and sensitivity are increasingly important More questions than answers may prevail, but researchers can nonetheless describe many interesting Hertta Vuorenmaa and Eero Vaara list five central research areas: leadership, industries and business models, servitisation, organising and strategy work.
manifestations of changing times. For example, progressively versatile skills are now valued at work. In addition to digital dexterity, communication and other interaction skills are also highlighted —not to mention media literacy. “There is nothing new about constant change, but the pace of change is a new phenomenon. Above all, employees now need passion and aptitude for learning new things; as well as change resilience, which means the ability to adjust and
