This report uncovers major themes, key trends and opportunities to help you grow your business and progress your career into the future. Available in different formats to buy or just preview, the themes of PSFK's Future of Work report cover the Ideal Workforce, Empowered Culture, Intuitive Connection and Agile Workplaces. PSFK extends its 'Future of' reports with the 140 page document that covers the new ways we are working and the implications for business and for workers. Within each theme we describe 4 trends and each trend is supported by 4 examples, supporting statistics and implications defined by our PSFK Labs team. During this process we spoke to a number of experts to understand the trends better. Their feedback can be found in quotes and interviews throughout the report. As a bonus, we also turned to a number of creative agencies to bring the trends to life. We asked them to imagine the future of work and you will find their concepts within this document. At the end of the report, you will also discover the submission of examples of progressive work environments. These were submitted by the readers of PSFK.com after we asked for their input into the report in 2012. We hope that you find inspiration in every section of PSFK's Future of Work report. For copies, downloads or an in-person presentation please visit: http://bit.ly/VghG9z

2. For your full copy of the report, visit:
www.psfk.com/publishing/future-of-work
ABOUT THIS REPORT
• 150 Page Report
• 16 Trends described within 4 Macro Themes
• 64 Best In Class Manifestations of Change At Work
• 12 Future Work illustrated concepts
• Reactions by executives from leading organizations
• Supporting stats and research references
• 80 Recommended ‘Next Steps’

3. KEY TAKEAWAYS
The company of the future will be constantly changing form to efficiently take advantage of the opportunities presented in an
ever-shifting marketplace. As a result, the place, tools and systems of work will change and five larger themes will emerge:
ON DEMAND STAFFING Skills Marketplace
The skills and availability of employees and freelancers will be matched by an Contextual Rolodex
algorithm against the company’s changing needs. Quantified Employee
Visual Collaboration
COLLISION COLLUSION
Tele-presence
Physical, mobile and web workspace will be designed to ensure critical interaction
Co-Creation Spaces
between colleagues, vendors, partners and customers.
Work(out) place
IMPROVISED WORKPLACE
Fluid Technology
With the flick of a switch, furniture and software will adapt to the changing needs of
Pop-Up Workplaces
an organization
LIVING KNOWLEDGE Networked Knowledge
Information will flow across and up-and-down the organization constantly; Social Workflow
instantly accessible by anyone who needs it. Feedback Culture
CONSTANT LEARNING Digital Knowledge Update
Learning By Doing
Employee empowered education will help staff own the direction
Employee Stakeholders
of the company.
Career Matchmaking

4. FUTURE OF WORK SUMMARY
The following summary presentation of the Future of Work report outlines the four major areas
of change taking place, showcasing examples from each of the four trends within the
overarching major themes listed below.
IDEAL WORKFORCE INTUITIVE CONNECTION
Skills Marketplace Social Workflow
Career Matchmaking Contextual Rolodex
Digital Knowledge Updates Tele-Presence
Learning By Doing Visual Collaboration
EMPOWERED CULTURE AGILE WORKPLACES
Employee Stakeholders Co-Creation Spaces
Feedback Culture Fluid Technology
Networked Knowledge Pop-Up Workplace
Quantified Employee Work(out)places

5. IDEAL WORKFORCE

6. LEARNING BY DOING
A collaborative, startup mentality is being adopted by workers
and organizations that allows for new ways to learn.
Multidisciplinary teams made up of people with diverse
experiences are allowing participants to teach each other and
learn at the same time.

7. Startup School Merges Mentorship, On The Job Learning
And Classroom Instruction
E[nstitute]

8. Interactive Facebook Application Connects Budding
Entrepreneurs Directly With Successful Startup Founders
#StartupLab

9. SKILLS MARKETPLACE
Badges and visual cues are helping to call out proven talent
and skills to help distinguish capable individuals.

10. Online Badges Depict Informal And Soft Skills
Mozilla Open Badges

11. Infographic Tool Transforms Media Profiles Into Visual,
Web-based Graphical Biographies
Vizify

12. CAREER MATCHMAKING
Systems are leveraging social and contextual information to
help better match companies and talent for deeper
connections that create lasting value.

13. Team-Building Matchmaker Helps Entrepreneurs
Find Suitable Business Partners
CoFoundersLab

14. Internal Social Network To Match Employers Needs
With Worker Mobility
Upmo

15. DIGITAL
KNOWLEDGE
UPDATES
Services borne out of the e-learning revolution are
enabling workers to stay up to date with the cutting edge
skills necessary to operate the latest, most sophisticated
technology on the market.

16. Company-Wide Learning Program Connects
Co-Workers To Keep Them Updated
Learn27

17. Software Plug-In Updates Users on Complicated Programs
And Sharpens Skills
Adobe Levelup

18. EMPOWERED CULTURE

19. FEEDBACK CULTURE
Micro-communication tools and open feedback channels are
helping to foster more constructive communication and reveal
workplace sentiment.

20. Service Lets Workers Send Anonymous Feedback To
Their Superiors
Happiily

21. Real-Time Suggestion Box Connects Managers With
Employee Ideas
Vetter

22. NETWORKED KNOWLEDGE
Collaboration initiatives are providing a collective expertise of
a diverse workforce creating an on-demand resource and
information library.

23. Layered Into Training Programs, Social Learning Improves
Learning Retention And Progress
SuccessFactors

24. Social Knowledge Platform Facilitates Knowledge Transfer,
Builds Expertise-Based Reputations
Crowdbase

25. THE QUANTIFIED EMPLOYEE
Talent management tools that leverage big data are revealing
hidden metrics tied to employee value.

26. Workers Rank Their Peers To Reveal Value To The Company
Valve

27. Hidden Talent Revealed Within Companies By Social
Metric Score
SilkRoad

28. EMPLOYEE STAKEHOLDER
Flat management organizations are empowering workers to
manage their work with greater autonomy and choose how
their time may best be spent.

29. Management Reframed As Mentors,
Encouraging Workers To Deliver Great Work
Grey

30. Team Members Self-Select How They Will Fit Into Each Project
Microsoft Lync

31. INTUITIVE CONNECTION

32. SOCIAL WORKFLOW
Cloud services are enabling team members to
simultaneously edit, comment upon and review an
ever-growing variety of assets.

33. Cross-Organizational Social Tool Enhances Collaboration
In The Project-By-Project Economy
Shift

34. Social Network For Doctors Improves
Cross-Specialty Collaboration
Doximity

35. CONTEXTUAL ROLODEX
New address book applications are helping to create deeper
connection by providing contextual reminders and prompting
worthwhile connections between co-workers.

36. Address Book Supplemented With Social Data
For More Informed Interactions
Brewster

37. Proximity Based Service Alerts Users Of Potential Clients
And Contacts Who Are Nearby
Intro

38. VISUAL COLLABORATION
Cloud services are enabling team members to simultaneously edit,
comment upon and review an ever-growing variety of assets.

39. Company Creates Google Docs For Engineering,
Design and Architectural Programs
Sunglass

40. Public Noticeboard Lets Everyone Share And
Discuss Ideas Virtually
Wallwisher

41. TELEPRESENCE
Technologies are helping employees interact remotely with
co-workers and objects stationed anywhere in the world.

42. Projector Lamp-Camera Configuration Shares Remote Desks
IllumiShare

43. Haptic Remote Robots Will Let People ‘Physically’
Be Anywhere In The World
Beaming

44. AGILE WORKPLACES

45. CO-CREATION SPACES
Collaborative spaces have spawned labs for initial ideas to be
tested and further inform innovation.

46. Crowdsourced Product Developers
Open An Advanced Lab For All
Quirky

47. Co-working Space Fuels Foodies And Collaborators With
Menu Of Cooking Tools
ForageSF

48. FLUID TECHNOLOGY
Compact technology continues to proliferate, further aiding
workers with the completion of tasks while on-the-go.

49. Modular Smartphone Could Replace Computer And Tablet
NexPhone

50. Keyboard Projects Key Onto Any Surface And
Fits On Your Keychain
CTX Virtual Keyboard

51. POP-UP WORKPLACE
Furniture and office designs are becoming increasingly
flexible to meet the ever changing demands of the workplace.

52. Colorful, Sound Absorbing Booths Give Users
Privacy In Public Spaces
BuzziBooth

53. Mobile Workstations Roll Around To Find The Best Place To Work
Hive Workstations

54. WORK(OUT) PLACE
Health-conscious designs are promoting physical activity to
overcome the sedentary nature of desk work and increase
focus and productivity.

55. Upright Furniture Line Positions Workers Between
Sitting And Standing
Focal Upright Desk

56. Treadmill Workstations Mix Walking With Working
TrekDesk Tredmill Desk

57. ENVISIONING THE FUTURE
In order to bring to life the Future of Work, PSFK Labs challenged creative
agencies from around the world to generate product and service concepts
that leverage the trends identified within this report. Creative innovators
from advertising agencies, interior design companies, digital design
companies and innovation groups have put forth a vision of the future that
will hopefully inspire your thinking.
Live With Design

70. PSFK LABS
PSFK Labs is the consulting arm of daily
ideas site PSFK.com. We are a a trends-led
business innovation company that provides
its clients with ideas and inspiration. Our
trends research helps companies evolve their
products, services and marketing
communications to meet the changing
behaviors and expectations of their clientele.
We employ a unique methodology to deliver
trends research, together with future-forward
business concepts and user-case scenarios
to a client list that includes American
Express, BMW, Microsoft, Target and Pepsi.
labs.psfk.com

71. For your full copy of the report, visit:
www.psfk.com/publishing/future-of-work
WANT MORE?
To request an in-person presentation,
please contact Hedyeh Parsia:
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PROJECT DIRECTOR
Piers Fawkes
President. PSFK
piers@psfk.com
646.520.4672
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