On July 13th, 2021, a list of companies offering remote work to their employees was released by Build Remote. The list consisted of three options: remote-first, optional and partial. The way I look at this list, I don't necessarily see the options themselves but the time it will take each company to adapt to the inevitable "now normal." (Note that I wrote "now" and not "new," as you cannot simultaneously be new and normal.)

According to a survey done by OECD, first in 2000 and then again in 2019, youngsters dream about the exact same careers as their parents.

Career aspirations haven’t changed in 20 years. In the same period, our world has completely advanced humanity to new territories, so where is the bug?

The saying goes that we don’t change a winning team; that can be true with one condition: The game’s rules shouldn’t change, either. But what happens when the rules are being rewritten almost every year? Would the same strategy keep the winning team on top of their game? Probably not!

The promise with a machine world has typically been to spare humanity from heavy work while we concentrate on self-development and well-being activities. So far it has not quite worked as intended. On the contrary, we have been competing with machines to either prove that we are not yet obsolete or that the human touch could never be replaced. However, this might change soon with the global arrival of artificial intelligence (AI).

Artificial intelligence could well become a "species" someday if it becomes self-aware. Infiltrated in our workplace and in our daily life, it could quickly learn to adapt and deal with our abusive nature toward machines and might react accordingly.

Many talented people among millennials and Generation Z, including some of my close friends, have lost their motivation. They feel like they can't find a workplace that matches up with their goals and lifestyle. Searching desperately for an answer or a vision by scanning the internet for clues, they focus on personal development while the world of finance continues to play Monopoly with people’s money.

They can’t seem to find something they really believe in, while the business world is desperately calling for new players because, without them, board games cannot be played.

Nowadays almost every dangerous or toxic product wears a warning sign advising consumers against drinking paint thinner or attaching their pet to the top of their roof rack.

However, there is no warning sign affixed to our technological devices or social media applications. There's certainly no real warning sign affixed outside the door of a company with a toxic culture either. And the reality is that while we don't buy paint thinner every day — we do spend an average of nine hours at work and another 2.5 hours on social media daily.

Every winter in Vancouver, BC, a terrifying chill runs down the drivers' backs when they discover it has snowed during the night. They watch snowflakes fall from the sky with questioning looks on their faces as if they have encountered a new species from outer space and wonder where it could come from.

What amazes me most is that the story seems to run on an infinite loop after Vancouverites endure the memory-erasing comfort of the season we call summer.

It is said that alcohol amplifies what you feel inside. If you are a joyful person, you won't stop laughing and giggling after a few drinks. But if you're already sad inside, a few drinks will only make you more depressed. I like to think in these terms when it comes to how the workforce feels about our "new normal" post-pandemic.

What we are witnessing here is the acceleration of a trend that was underlying for quite some time. Propelled by the millennia, most people dreamed of a flexible workplace, an a la carte education or an exotic relocation by project — the sort that would require travel and discovering foreign cultures while exploring personal development all at once.

My grandpa was born in 1926. By the time he reached 20, he was a fine young man with a world to rebuild. He used to share his concern for future generations to come. "For sure, we got our share of hard times, but at least everyone could find work and resources were cheap and non-speculated, providing access to millions with what was needed not only to live but also to grow. It made every life matter."

Today, our youngest generation is fearing for their future. Access to property, resources, getting an education that won't be replaced by AI within five years, and securing a good income feel like a race at best — a tough competition that is disqualifying more people every year.

Before the digitalization of our world, a photographer needed to learn all there was to know about lights, lenses, cameras, effects, and film development. It was a full-time job and without that technical knowledge, one simply couldn't take professional pictures. Then came the age of digital cameras and smartphones, and millions of people discovered the joy of taking five thousand shots to maybe find one worthy of their time. Similarly, the last few decades have seen a rise in entrepreneurship. Nowadays it seems everyone can be a photographer/DJ/coder/influencer/realtor/entrepreneur.

When I was a kid, I imagined the day Mother Earth would "throw up" humanity in the form of a worldwide war or societal crisis, like the one we have just entered. I liked to flirt with the idea of extreme survival and imagined what I would do in such a situation, how prepared (or unprepared) I would be and what I would have to learn in order to survive such a drastic time.

Recruitment techniques, as smart and technical as they have become, have made it harder for talented people to actually find work. Corporations are creating smarter tools to help the human resources department in their hunt for the perfect match, but shouldn't it be more about the recruiter's ability to recognize unusual skills and competencies — acquired at all ages, through eclectic career paths — instead of some "lucky guess" keywords and smart filters designed to eliminate rather than evaluate candidates? No expensive gadgets can replace that ability for you!

As an organizational psychologist, my role is always to ask the question: Is it really the best we can do?

My ultimate wish for 2021 is to gather all leaders, forward thinkers, or late sleepers (still dreaming about infinite exponential growth) around the idea of redesigning today the world of tomorrow.

I sincerely believe another workplace and, alternatively, another society is possible, where the concepts of burnout, absenteeism, and psychologically unhealthy workplaces are things of the past. My first wish is for a psychologically healthy workplace