Digital strategy planner Alexandra Rees is assessing her MBA options.

A Typical Day In The Office In 2050

I turned 64 this year. Early in my career, I envisioned retirement at 40. Given just how atypical my days in the “office” have become, I now hope I will work in some capacity for as long as possible.

The focus is not on the platinum shade of my hair, but the platinum quality of my teams' outputs. I would once have said “my outputs”, but the hierarchical structures of the 2020s have disappeared. Today’s workforce is largely portfolio-based: I work with an eco-system of twelve global organisations, across related roles. The businesses benefit through cost-saving, expertise and dynamic teams. I’ve been able to work with small groups on exciting projects. I work remotely, allowing me to focus on solutions, but rewards are based on the success of my team and we connect daily, virtually or in person.

The space for solitary thinking has been key to generating the creative solutions that organisational behemoths so desperately needed. I’m motivated by great work. Large companies that did not recognise their employees’ need of purpose have vanished or have been acquired. New working structures and transparency give me a sense of agency I didn’t feel in my early twenties.

Technology underpins everything. The role of HR is highly strategic, requiring intelligent application of data. Jobs lost due to robotics are balanced by the jobs created by optimising the workforce. “C-suite” is a byword for someone being overly self-involved and “time sheeting” is a verb for not giving important projects one’s full attention. Money is realigning with value: how much I earn is directly correlated to the value people gain from our products (and, to an extent, how much related value they are able to add to society). We have the data to back up this kind of altruism.