Page 50 - FDI Alliance International Magazine. Spring 2021 Digital Interactive Issue

THE FUTURE OF WORK, AI & CQ

The future of global work has arrived. Technology has advanced immensely • A healthier lifestyle will be easier to attain due to removal of the time,
and connecting with coworkers all over the globe has never been easier. stress and energy involved in commuting
Messenger programs/applications and video conferencing software only • The environment will be in better shape because there will be less cars
require access to a device and an internet connection. on the road, especially during rush hour, leading to reduced levels of
carbon emissions
The only thing we can be certain about is that the future is uncertain.
There are also some challenges to full-time remote work that must
We have seen a massive rise in remote working and work-from-home be considered:
situations. But is this sustainable, and will it last? Some people believe this is • The possibility of a decline in employee productivity due to the presence
the future and it’s here to stay. Others think that we’ll all be headed back to of more distractions at home than in the office
our offices (for those who work in offices) in due time. It is likely that moving • More, and potentially more severe misunderstandings amongst co-
forward, we will see a hybrid of these two scenarios. workers, due to less face-to-face interactions
• A potential decrease in morale due to less in-person socialization with
It seems inevitable that some jobs will need to continue to be done in person. coworkers
Working at a restaurant for example, is the type of job that at present, simply • More disorganization due to many employees not having a designated
cannot be done remotely. This is because an exchange of goods must take home office space
place, and whether that exchange takes place at the restaurant, a venue, a
customer’s home or elsewhere, that exchange must take place in person. In regard to employers, more trust in their employees will be required. With
However, in the future as machines take on more and more tasks, we may less in-person supervision possible, employees will need to be given the
stop seeing a need for the role of delivery people (i.e. food, packages, etc.). freedom to get their work done when and how they see fit. Tax implications
could get complicated for corporations with more employees potentially
Having seen that less office space, and in some instances, no office space at living and working, at least for part of the year, in locations that they
all is required, it is plausible that some corporations will decide to allow their traditionally hadn’t worked from prior to the pandemic.
employees to work virtually full-time. Permanently. But what will the effect of
doing that be? Well, let’s take a look. For employees, the tax implications of working from multiple locations could
get complicated as well. So, we may see a rise in the need for accountants.
Here are some of the benefits: The addition of these potentially complex cross-border residence scenarios
• companies won’t pay to rent a physical office space, saving them may simply be too much to handle for some accountants, especially during
immense amounts of money their busy season, which could lead them to rely on their network to support
• employees will have a better work-life balance due to having more clients -- either outsourcing or referring out some of their work.
flexibility with their schedules

50. FDI ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL