Professional careers have always had a tinge of uncertainty; however, the Digital Age has amplified it significantly with efficiency no longer being the mainstay of ‘human’ excellence as advanced automation and seamless autonomous functioning have steadily taken out the ‘committing of errors’ from the corporate equation. Consequently, ‘excellence’ is being ‘commoditized’ with respect to job performance and the notion of being ‘relevant’ in the Digital world is gaining more traction. More and more of the repetitive/physically demanding/minimally diverse jobs/roles/functions are being relegated to ‘smart’ machines while cerebrally-intensive skills, e.g., innovative thinking, astute strategizing, creative application, cohesive peer-to-peer engagement, etc., are being heralded as the ‘last bastion of ‘human relevance’ in the workplace. Most of the respective impact is being felt by the mid-career professionals who are haunted by the notion of ’45 is the new 65’ as they brace for the groundbreaking technologies nullifying the need for large workforces.
Article by Murad S. Mirza 5 March 2019