trend

Conscious Growth & Careers

RETHINKING HOW WE LEARN, WORK & LIVE

In recent years there has been a steady increase of people that work remotely (digital nomads) in exotic places, in rural areas (us) in co-livings or less far from home in co-working spaces. We Work tapped into this movement in recent years and grew to one of the biggest office space providers in the world, until it nearly collapsed in 2019.

This movement was mainly driven by freelancers & other self employed that created the flexibility for themselves. They choose to work like this, because they wanted a different work-life balance. Not to spend their lives in a cubical office.

Suddenly when Covid-19 hit early 2020, the whole world was working remote. Not in co-working spaces but from home.

ZOOM was worth more then some of the airlines. Companies are realizing that their employees don’t need to fly all over the world to have business meetings. Employees realise that it is actually nice to work from home, be close to your loved ones and avoid being stuck in traffic or cramped in a bus, metro or train.

There are also downsides. For many working moms, remote work has caused stress, balancing work life and homeschooling all at the same time has affected their jobs. Female unemployment is on the rise. People want face-to-face contact with colleagues to feel part of a team. This applies too students, they didn’t chose an online course; they choose to go to university (school).

We see a lot of people getting fired, and at the same time some of the big tech companies getting even bigger. Housing in the big cities becomes almost unaffordable. This makes more and more people and companies realise there is more than just economic growth. Growing as a person, as a community, learning and mental health are priority. Creating inclusion and equity has never been more important, that is what makes the current Black Lives Matter movement clear! 

In The Pandemic Is a Portal, Indian author Arundhati Roy writes, 

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.”

What is happening?

4g and 5g makes working remote anywhere feasible.

Companies need to rethink and re-design their human resource policies.

Companies & employees are finding a new balance between working from home and being in the office.

Universities have to re-invent how to give quality education.

Suddenly people are searching for more than a career to pay the mortgage. They demand possibilities to grow personally from their employers.

Companies discover that their employees still do they job even when they are not in the controlled office environment.

Employees demand a sustainable & flexible work environment. Clean spaces, sustainable food in canteens, fair trade coffee etc.

New economic models are on the rise which value sustainable and social growth more then economic growth.

People are re-discovering the value of being closer and more often with there loved ones (partners, children…)

Mental health, and personal growths programs are on the rise. 

Working from home has it’s benefits but maintaining work-life balance is a challenge.

Unbeaten Studio’s design challenges for Conscious Growth & Careers

“How could you use this pandemic to create truly engaging education and learning experiences for students?”

“How can companies create working
experiences for their employees, that both fit the personal needs of the employees and enables them to get their work done?”

“What can we learn from the effects of this COVID-19 pandemic and how can we use those learning’s to create conscious careers for people?”

“How can we avoid employees from ZOOMing out, getting over stimulated by all the ZOOM, TEAMs and WHEREBY meetings?”

The End

Knowledge based activism, Life centered design and Conscious growth & careers, are just a few of the emerging trends this disruptive year is revealing. With all of the uncertainty, these three trends bring some hope; they are positive and pointing towards a more inclusive society. Changes are happening and will continue to come. We have to adapt ourselves to the new, learn and act. If you want to go deeper in a challenge, want to work with us in your challenge, feel free to connect. 

Let’s redesign the way we live together, take care of our planet and work today!

If you resonate with our 2020 trend report or one of the design challenges, let us know!

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