Digital Disconnect: The gap between how business leaders and employees perceive the future of work

By Ravindra Kelkar, Area Vice President, Indian Subcontinent, Citrix

During this past year, the pandemic and its ripple effects have been well documented. From closure of small brick and mortar shops to multinational companies shifting work operations online, the pandemic has unquestionably caused a stir, if not revolutionized, the entire business ecosystem. In order to adapt to the new normal, new technologies and newer ways to apply existing technologies were introduced.Within a short span of time, entire workforces across the world had no option but to accelerate their digital transformation programs. Right from employees adjusting to remote working, to IT departments introducing solutions to make work easier, organizations had to unite towards trying to make this sudden transposition as seamless as possible. And the changes in the workplace will even accelerate in the future. However, leaders and employees have very different perceptions of what will change and how. These differing views have the potential to derail digital progress and organizations must ensure the whole business, leadership and employees are on-board with digital transformation, in order to realize the whole business benefit into the future.

The correct term for this is ‘digital disconnect’ and it describes the gap between how business leaders and employees perceive the future of work. Citrix’s Work 2035 report observed a sharp disconnect between how business leaders and employees view their roles in the future and the safety of those roles as technology progresses. Whether it’s the question of their productivity, job security or leadership, there is a deep divide between the futures envisioned by these groups – across all industries.

If this digital disconnect remains unchecked, we risk failing to realize the value and benefits of a technology-enabled future.So, no matter the sector or industry, one of today’s essential projects should be to address this digital disconnect. But how? Before creating strategies, it helps to understand where the visions of business leaders and employees diverge the most and develop strategies to bring the views of leadership and employees closer together—and help ensure that everyone is working toward a future all can believe in.

Will AI boost productivity? 

Business leaders believe that technology and AI will give a major boost to productivity and will make workers at least twice as productive by 2035.However, most employees do not echo the same sentiment. To be precise, 73% of business leaders believe so but only 39% of employees agree.

What new roles will emerge? 

As technology advances, most business leaders (70%)believe that new roles like AI trainers, advanced data scientists, and privacy managers will be created for people by 2035, but only a minority of employees (33%)agree. Differences are also reflected in the way leaders and employees picture the organizational structure. To give an example, while over three-quarters of leaders believe that organizations will create functions like AI management departments and cybercrime response units, only less than half of employees see this coming through by 2035.

Will leadership teams be replaced? 

Furthermore, only 7% of leaders and 33% of employees foresee the leadership team being replaced by tech in 2035, whereas most business leaders (74%) predict only a partially augmented C-suite.

How do we address the digital disconnect?

To bridge these kinds of digital disconnects, everyone will need to do a better job of understanding and communicating the benefits of new technologies. While employees and leadership teams like to believe that their current roles will evolve over time, there is also an increasing fear of being replaced by technology. To understand that technology would only enhance their work, organizations should invest in re-skilling and upskilling to efficiently face these challenges.

These stark numbers clearly indicate that confusion related to the future of work and changing roles and responsibilities need to be addressed. In addition to clear communication, organizations must redesign their workplaces to enhance productivity and empower the workforce to adapt and innovate. Digital skilling should become an integral part of talent strategies and these should be formulated keeping in mind long-term goals and the means to achieve the same.