Is this the end of work as we know it?

The future of work, identity, and opportunity — a message for my kids

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”– Peter Drucker

It is that time of life when my 17-year-old son is going through the process of applying to university, as so many young people in Canada do at this stage. Yet, as a parent, I find myself wondering if it might be more beneficial for him to take some time to explore what he truly wants to do before committing to a particular path, especially now where the nature of work is fundamentally changing. But it is his life, and all I can do is to give him the advice that he needs to have to equip himself with the future — specifically how to survive and thrive.

I remember when I was a little girl, it wasn’t uncommon for the adults in my life to ask: What do you want to do when you grow up? Back then, the answer felt somewhat straightforward — there was a limited menu of choices for a Caribbean child. Even after moving to Canada, the options remained much the same: Lawyer, Doctor, Teacher, Nurse, or, if you were feeling particularly rebellious, maybe a Policeman. Howver, today, many of us from the older Millennial and Gen-X generations can’t help but notice how dramatically the concept of work has shifted — or perhaps, even deteriorated. Much of what we…