Foresight

The future of play faces multiple inflection points, most often driven by technology. Factors from climate change and increasing emphasis on competition over fun and fairness could spawn new ways to play or kill traditional ones.

Companies have two big questions about the future of work: What will the implications be for their workforce and what will those effects mean for their customers? For the workforce, will new models — accelerated by the pandemic — emerge? Or will they revert to the old ways? Either way, the changes to how we live, shop, dine, and play could be profound.

Matt Carmichael, editor of What the Future, sees a key tension between the desire to transform the workplace and the urge to “return to normal.” The future of work, he thinks, could look much like the present.

The pandemic forced workers online, but it didn’t transform the way we work, says AWS’s Jon Izenstark. The real change will be what comes next.

Restaurants are competing with apps and websites for attention — but humanity and hospitality can give them an edge, says Darden Restaurants’ Ali Charri.

What will the changing workday mean for our homes, neighborhoods and cities? Gensler’s Andre Brumfield looks to the built environments of the future.

Rohit Bhargava, co-author of “Beyond Diversity,” explains why a diverse workforce can be an advantage for employees and businesses — if they get it right.

Join us to hear more about how work and life will blend in a more flexible future.

The future of spending will be driven by how resilient people are to forces largely beyond their control. In this What the Future: Spending issue, we explore how will people respond to these forces with their values and their wallets, and how companies can support a resilient economy.