Tag: FutureOfWork

Somewhere between the third Wi-Fi troubleshooting call of the week and an unnecessary standoff over the cleaning rota, South Africa’s most capable leaders are quietly becoming something they never applied for: facilities managers. A new trend has emerged in 2026. It goes by the name of conscious unbossing. I think it is about time we embraced it locally.

During my time working at South African Breweries (SAB), I watched young graduates arrive on the factory floor holding hard-earned chemistry degrees. They possessed brilliant theoretical minds. They understood molecular bonds and complex reactions on paper. Yet, when a critical machine on the production line broke down, those degrees often could not get the line moving again.

The world of work is changing faster than our education systems can track, which means preparing for a single career or a fixed set of skills is, paradoxically, one of the least effective strategies a young person can adopt today. The most important shift is to think about careers as journeys rather than destinations.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the professional world. It is transforming how businesses operate and how employees remain competitive. AI is no longer a futuristic concept discussed in boardrooms, universities and science fiction movies. It has quietly moved into our offices, our workflows and increasingly, our decision-making processes. Whether we realise it or not, AI is transforming the modern workplace.

Much of the current conversation around Artificial Intelligence (AI) focuses on technology choices. Organisations ask which platform to use. They also ask which model works best. In addition, they debate which tools will replace existing systems. Across boardrooms and IT departments, leaders race to decide on AI platforms, copilots, automation layers and infrastructure upgrades.

As Stats SA's latest labour market data shows graduate unemployment climbing, we argue that the ability to keep learning has become South Africa's most valuable workplace skill. South Africa's latest labour data raises an uncomfortable question. If even graduates are struggling to find work, is a qualification on its own still enough to build a career on?

There is a narrative building around artificial intelligence (AI) that deeply concerns me. It is a narrative rooted in fear. People fear being replaced. They fear being left behind. They fear not understanding the technology. They also fear experimenting and getting it wrong. Yet, from where I sit, AI is not something we can afford to fear from the sidelines. Instead, we need to engage with it. We need to learn from it, play with it, challenge it, shape it and adopt it.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, one of the most revolutionary ideas in human history emerged - the corporation. Today, the concept seems entirely ordinary. Companies own assets, enter into contracts, raise capital, employ people, and continue operating long after their founders have passed away.

The world has undergone enormous and fundamental changes. These changes affect the workplace and employee expectations. At the same time, salaries fail to keep pace with the rising cost of living. However, employee benefits still fail to address these pressures adequately. As a result, South Africans continue carrying a 'hidden tax' linked to cognitive overload, financial stress and disengagement.

The World Economic Forum predicts that nearly 40% of on-the-job skills will change by 2030. The capabilities gaining ground are not just technical. Creative thinking, resilience and analytical thinking are also rising alongside Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data. In addition, the tasks least likely to be automated require human judgment, the ability to sit with complexity and the capacity to understand people well enough to solve the right problem.