Starting those 2025 predictions now
My early 2025 trend prediction: AI + remote work = more jobs going offshore
If you wind the clock back to 2020, you’ll remember that initial couple of weeks of covid where everyone was forced to go remote. “OMG how are we going to operate?” was the initial panic.
As it turned out: remote work was pretty easy. If you had a team of experienced, self-motivated people who didn’t need a ton of hand-holding.
But critical issues still arose.
👉First, the productivity debate. Were people more or less productive in all remote environments? Either side could manipulate data to make whatever point they wanted. But we all know as humans: you get more done when you aren’t distracted.
The question is less about where people were more productive, and more about whether people are actually working a full day to get the results. Which of course started a debate about whether time spent actually matters, if anyone actually has a full time job, or if we should all be looking at results-based work anyway.
👉Second, the whole pesky “training” thing. Especially with more junior people still in the development phases. Most people actually do need some level of hand holding, focus correction, direction, etc. But it’s very hard to spot those things when you can’t actually see and hear what people are doing.
Except you can.
Believe it or not, AI didn’t start with ChatGPT. Companies like Gong (for sales) and Brighthire (for recruiting) have been doing the whole “record calls, transcribe notes, scan for sentiment, suggest improvement, give managers insights into what people are actually doing” thing for some time. You who’s working, what they’re working on, what results they’re getting, and how to help them improve in all remote environments.
As more money gets pumped into AI, tools like this will get better and better, with applications in every skill set (not just sales and recruiting.)
Which raises the question: Why do any of those jobs need to be done here anyway?
👉Answer (and I hate to say this): They don’t.
Now, this isn’t a new concept at all. Google “global labor arbitrage” and do a deep dive.
But with the dual rise in both the worker demand for remote and an increasing ability to use AI software to manage those teams effectively?
It will be way cheaper for companies to move more and more jobs offshore. (And that’s not even getting into how many jobs AI will replace, partially or entirely.)
Sorry for being a downer. But my takeaways:
👉Local jobs are the most offshoring-proof.
👉Relationship based jobs are the most AI-proof.
Partner at Hirewell. #3 Ranked Sarcastic Commenter on LinkedIn.
