Ericsson Predicts Workplace of the Future

The workplace of the future will be less focused on a corporate office environment, according to a newly released report from Ericsson about the Future of Enterprises. By 2030, almost 60% of white-collar work will happen outside the company premises, the researchers predict.

The worldwide economy will see increased use of cloud and mobile technology to support decentralized enterprises in the next 10 years, the Ericsson report said. Those technologies will enable companies to become increasingly adaptable, profitable and sustainable as they are able to contract new personnel, set up new locations and operate much of the business through cloud solutions.

The more that companies shift to decentralized, remote operations, the closer companies will come to meeting net zero carbon emissions enterprise, the report added.

Among the report’s other findings:

• Seventy percent of surveyed enterprises have reached at least the halfway point in their decentralization journeys.
• Six in 10 white collar decision makers think that the gig economy will come into the office, resulting in a shift from gig work mainly being a blue-collar phenomenon.
• Enterprise usage of extended reality (XR) and 5G is expected to grow by more than 50% in the next 10 years.

“Digitalization represents an enormous opportunity to increase enterprise productivity and sustainability,” said Anders Erlandsson, head of Industry Lab, Ericsson Consumer & Industry Lab, in a prepared statement. “Indeed, digital technology is a key enabler for tackling big challenges such as CO2 emissions and material usage.”