Modern organisations are undergoing continuous change, with expectations from consumers as well as employees increasing dramatically as our economy becomes more innovative, fast-paced, and demanding.
We’ve already begun the technological revolution, and just like the Industrial Revolution, we’re creating machines which are becoming more and more intelligent, to the point that they’re able to replace many of our physical and cognitive functions. We’re becoming even more reliant on technology to minimise inconveniences, reduce human error, and maximise our production and processing potential. While this is an incredible feat of human innovation which should be celebrated and revered, it’s becoming necessary to redefine the role of humanity in this technological future.
As computers become even more intelligent, we need to be asking what humans can bring to the table to ensure that we don’t become redundant in the face of our own inventions. While you’re reading this, there are computers which are self-learning and able to adjust, analyse, and improve their functionality without human intervention. While this is happening, we have to ask ourselves what role we want to be playing in this future we’re creating. Douglas Rushkoff, the author of Team Human, is bringing awareness to this topic. In his TED talk he says, “It’s not about rejecting the digital or rejecting the technological. It’s a matter of retrieving the values that we’re in danger of leaving behind and then embedding them into the future”.
There’s a growing body of research that shows that while technology is providing us with more convenience, greater global connections, and more efficiency, the impact of social media, for example, is detrimental to our self-esteem, which in turn boosts our depression and anxiety levels. Navigation apps reduce our brain’s ability to solve problems, orientate, and memorise.
So, what values do you think make us inherently human? Ethics, morality, scenario- planning, intuition, empathy, collaboration? And how can we harness our human capacities, so we’re able to not only cope with but engage and positively influence a world filled with technological shortcuts?
The answer is in psychological upskilling. We need to develop psychological resources to not only cope with our current conditions but to grow our innate human potential, so we’re able to stay on track with our technological advancements.
As the leaders of today’s organisations, we need to be aware of this gap and focus on the humanity behind our work. We need to be anchoring our values, discussing and devising ethical protocols and how to manage diversity and inclusion, collaborating and co- operating, as well as helping our organisations to keep connected to the meaning, purpose, and humanity of its existence, now more than ever.
At 4Seeds we are acutely aware of the importance of humanity in the modern workplace. We have made it our mission to support organisations to bridge the gap between the dehumanising digital world, and the meaningful and positive roles we play at work, which keep us motivated, productive and committed. We know that through empowering leaders, managers and employees with the psychological skills of resilience, strengths- based job crafting, value-driven team goal setting, and self-awareness, we can help you and your organisation play a vital role in the progress of humanity in the digital future.
About the Author: Kerstin Jatho
Kerstin is the senior transformational coach and team development facilitator for 4Seeds Consulting. She is also the author of Growing Butterfly Wings, a book on applying positive psychology principles during a lengthy recovery. Her passion is to develop people-centred organisations where people thrive and achieve their potential in the workplace. You can find Kerstin on LinkedIn, Soundcloud, YouTube and Facebook.
