BY: A WORKAHOLIC
Upon leaving school, in a bid to search for employment, I participated in a seminar organised for people who wanted to build a career by selling insurance, and since my late father worked in this industry, I decided to see if I could step into his vacant shoes.
Bear in mind this was about four decades ago, but I vividly remember and recall what the keynote speaker said: “If you give a man a fish, he will have a meal for a day. But if you teach a man to fish, he can have a meal anytime.”
No, I didn’t pursue a career in the insurance industry, but what this particular person spoke that day still rankles in my mind and often I relate the tale to those who for some reason or other find difficulty in joining and staying in the workforce.
And anyone who is in his sixties like me, and been working for more than 40 years, will quickly attest to the fact that the working environment has evolved so much, particularly after the worldwide Covid 19 pandemic, which completely transformed the nature of working.
Is work going out of style and fashion?
Fads and fashion come and go, but to say that work is no longer considered a necessity is to make a big statement that right thinking people will want to challenge and dispute or counter since humankind has been working since time immemorial.
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, declared that in another twenty years there will no longer be work available for people. If his prediction is to be believed what are people going to do with their lives besides twiddling their thumbs.
The prophecy of Musk is that workers of all levels and professions are now being displaced by Artificial Intelligence, automation and technology and robots which has become a concern to people who have all along been accustomed to working.
Therefore, if this is the direction in which the world is heading, humankind, wherever they are, need to brace and prepare for it by looking at the alternatives for working which certainly means our lifestyles and the way life is lived is set to change radically.
Is the future already here?
While most of us are not prepared, it looks like the future is already here as a significant number of the workforce worldwide are already working from home, engaged in the gig economy and doing whatever they can to earn a living.
This has been the changing trend of work in the New Normal which was the end result and outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic which shook the world and has caused a transformation in how people live, work and play ever since the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.
Needless to say, in the process of these changes taking place steadily and stealthily, traditional jobs are fast disappearing, which is why worldwide unemployment is at an all-time high as nation’s provide financial aid and assistance to their people.
This has caused the welfare state to become prominent all over the world and people who have no work are unemployed or not earning sufficient incomes to survive are give handouts to enable them to survive and get by living day-to-day.
People must prepare for the future
As this future shock begins to sink in, it is therefore only right and proper that people be able to make the transition and learn to adapt to the lifestyle of the coming decades, leaving the old way of life and adapting to new circumstances.
Since the old way of life has been obviously deemed no longer sustainable by leaders of the world who are shaping the direction in which everyone is going, it is necessary to agree to move forward towards the future as a singular human race.
While globalization was the prelude to shaping future trends, policies and ways of living, the borderless world or global village is now set to form into a one world system and it is expected that the United Nations will be governing the world.
Under these conditions and circumstances, there will emerge open societies, free trade and the movement of people around the world mixing and mingling forming the blurring of lines between race, religions, and nationalities.
-THE MALAYSIA VOICE
(The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher)
