2019 TRENDS
Welcome, generation Z
Millennials no longer represent the youngest population of the workforce, now the centennials (generation Z), born since 2000, have arrived and bring with them the advantage of having been born in the internet age.
While the generation Y (millennials) lives its adulthood in the midst of two generations with broad ambitions, being a hinge between two different forms of work, going from manual labor to automation in many jobs and having had to learn to handle the different instruments that today are indispensable to us, centennials have this technological world as a natural habitat.
Technology evolves by leaps and bounds and we have the challenge of being up to the challenge.
Artificial intelligence
Above all, the rise of artificial intelligence stands out (referring to a machine that can apply cognitive functions similar to those of a human).
With regard to Uruguay, the platforms available in the market allow local companies to advance in different areas: machine learning, deep learning (natural language thinking that allows machines to understand what human beings live), computer vision ( that makes machines able to understand what appears in images or videos), speech recognition (which allows a machine to listen and respond), etc.
All this means that some activities carried out by humans today will be carried out by machines in the near future, which will lead to the disappearance of jobs. Any work that is automatic and methodical is at risk.
On the other hand, creative activities or those that imply the existence of values are still far from being solved by machines. This translates into a probable increase in jobs in creative areas, in the invention of things that can not be done by artificial intelligence, because that's where your limit lies: emotionally and creatively, which is, at last and finally what differentiates humans from the rest of living beings.
Inclusion
This tendency to automation represents a challenge mainly for women, since women tend to have more methodical and automatic jobs than men in all sectors and occupations.
What then to do to pave the future of women in the labor field?
Education and training will be key, with emphasis on continuous training and especially in the technical sector.
It is also essential to close the gender gap in leadership positions in all sectors, while at the same time raising awareness of the need for men to take on household chores in the same way as women, as well as to give women the same access to family finances.
The age of the internet
In the year 2019 for the first time in history there will be more internet consumers than television, which means a change in the paradigm of communication as our parents knew it. As we had in our latest publication , an average Uruguayan spends around 6 hours a day using an electronic device. Some see this as a problem, but we see it as an opportunity: it is becoming easier to reach consumers. However, this also means an increase in competitiveness, and having all the same technological tools that allow us to access to communicate, it is important to stand out in the creative area, it is no longer a question of choosing the right channel of communication, but how we communicate what we want to communicate.
Welcome to my homeoffice
For some time now, the office concept works less and less. The spaces of coworking have gained prominence (where people from the area of technology, art or communication share a work space even though each one has their own projects and clients), but every day there are more people working from their homes. This provides flexibility in work times, eliminates the cost of renting a space, and also gives workers the ability to carry out their tasks from anywhere in the world where they have electricity and Wi-Fi connectivity.
They are still on time
There are still those who are reluctant to technological advances, small and medium-sized companies that still do not accept or do not understand the importance of technology to achieve success. Many remember with nostalgia the times when their businesses triumphed thanks to advertising in newspapers, television, word of mouth, and do not understand that the way to sell and the way to buy, be it a product or a service, changed in a way radical in recent years. The good news for them is that the implementation of new forms of communication and work are at hand, only a matter of opening up to the changes and contacting anyone who can help take the first steps towards the future, for others it is already the present
Conclusion
There is no need to fear the technological wave, while certain jobs will be eliminated, others will be born, which will involve the exercise of the brain and ideas, which will seek creative people, with high levels of emotional intelligence, with talent for communication oral, think outside the box and always be at the forefront of the latest technologies to take advantage of the tools we have.
So luck in pile, robots, the world is still ours.