The 15 Best TED Talks on the Future of Work

TED talks are great. Whenever I’m looking for a bit of inspiration I turn to one of these 10-20 minute videos and feel instantly refreshed and ready to take on the work day.

They come in a variety of subjects from tornadoes to inside the minds of psychopaths. I’ve noticed lately that there are quite a few TED talks that are based around work and what we can do to better ourselves in the workplace.

Here's a list of some of the best TED talks about the future of work. After watching these, I’m sure you’ll feel just as inspired as I did to incorporate some of these themes into your everyday life. Enjoy!

1. Jason Fried: Why Work Doesn't Happen At Work

Summary:
Working in an office environment might not be the best place for work to get done. In this talk, Jason describes the main distractions that come with an office and how to overcome them.

Money Quote:
“Where do you go when you really need to get something done? People will come up with a variety of answers but, you will almost never hear someone say ‘the office.’” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• Work shouldn’t be about the mandatory 8-hour a day pattern. It’s about getting things done and creating a flexible company environment for employees to do so.
• Work life is similar to sleep phases. You need to go through the preliminary, lighter phases of work before you get to the deep meaningful work (like REM sleep.) If you get interrupted in the middle of “REM work” you need to start the process all over again in order to get back to that meaningful, productive zone.
• Cancel your next meeting. Does everything fall apart from not having it or does everything go along swimmingly? Test it out and the answer will surprise you.
  
  

2. Nigel Marsh: How To Make Work-Life Balance Work

Summary:
Nigel Marsh goes through four observations that he gathered over taking a year off of work to find work-life balance. The biggest takeaway? You need both work and life to create a balance :p All kidding aside, he gives sound advice to find the happy medium in your life.

Money Quote:
“Being more balanced doesn't mean dramatic upheaval in your life. With the smallest investment in the right places, you can radically transform the quality of your relationships and the quality of your life.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• The perfect balance requires understanding. Sometimes you need to be at home with your family and sometimes you need to stay late at work to finish a project. As long as both of these balance out over time, then you can keep a healthy balance in your life.
  
  

3. Andrew McAfee: What Will Future Jobs Look Like

Summary:
We are living in an era that will be revolutionized by computers and technology. What was once a job for a human is now easily done by an android. This talk describes the future of the technologically advanced workplace. We're creating a world where there is going to be more and more technology and fewer and fewer jobs, but Andrew McAfee insists that might be a good thing.

Money Quote:
“In the world that we are creating very quickly, we're going to see more and more things that look like science fiction, and fewer and fewer things that look like jobs.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• Technological unemployment is a bad way to look at the rise of the ‘machine age.’ Machines might take over the meaningless work and give us more time to contribute to the meaningful work.
  
  

4. Dan Ariely: What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work

Summary:
People want to feel connected to their work in order to accomplish great work. A salary isn’t the only thing you need to provide in order for your employees to be happy. In this TED talk, Dan Ariely describes a variety of situations which reveal that finding meaning in our work is essential to our happiness.

Money Quote:
“People understand that meaning is important, they just don’t understand the magnitude of importance, the extent to which it’s important.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• Giving your employees work that is cyclical is particularly demotivating. If they do the same things over and over again and get the same results, they’re probably going to care less and less resulting in poor quality of work.
• We need to throw away the notion that salary is the one key motivator of great work. It is much more than that, work needs “meaning, creation, challenges, ownership, identity, pride, etc.”
  
  

5. Yves Morieux: As Work Gets More Complex, 6 Rules To Simplify

Summary:
We as a society are over-complicating work to a point where your job is unrecognizable. In a sea of metrics, KPI’s and rules employees can easily lose sight of what they are accomplishing. As a business leader you need to uncomplicate the complicated because that is the real obstacle in business, not the competitor.

Money Quote:
“Simple rule number one: Understand what others do. What is their real work? We need to go beyond the boxes, the job descriptions, beyond the surface of the container, to understand the real content.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• We need to understand the reality of what we are doing at work and what direct effect it has on our company. The further your employees are from understanding the bottom line of the organization, the closer they are to becoming disengaged in their work.
• Morieux has a great perspective on failure and blame. Blame isn’t meant for the failure aspect of anything because in failing at least you are trying. Blame is more meant for situations which you failed because you didn't ask for help or you failed in helping out. It’s an entirely different situation.
  
  

6. Steve Jobs: How To Live Before You Die

Summary:
This is one of the most iconic speeches ever given and if you haven’t watched it, do so ASAP. Is it a traditional TED talk? No. Is it worth every second of your time? Definitely. This speech is inspiring and insists that even if things aren’t lining up right now trust that they will in the future.

Money Quote:
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• Work is going to take up a great amount of your life, so find something that you love to do. If you don’t love what you do, keep looking because great work comes from people who love what they do.
• Follow your heart when the majority pulls you the opposite way. Don’t conform to what society feels is ‘normal’ and instead pursue what you want. Nobody has all the answers.
  
  

7. Simons Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Summary:
Simon Sinek uses past and present examples of what separates great leaders from mediocre leaders.These great leaders go beyond the what and how of an organization and are able to communicate clearly why they do what they do.

Money Quote:
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• You want to work among people who believe what you believe. If someone is hired just because they can do a job then they will do it for money. But if you hire someone who truly believes in that job, then they will give it their all-- because there is true meaning behind their work.
• There is a big difference between leaders and those who lead. Leaders are in positions of authority and hold power. Those who lead inspire us. We’re more likely to follow the ones who inspire us not because we have to but because we want to.
  
  

8. Stefan Sagmeister: The Power Of Time Off

Summary:
Burnout is a real thing that can make us resent our jobs if we’re not careful. Stefan Sagmeister takes us through his work plan of taking a year off every seven years to become re-inspired and love what you do all over again.

Money Quote:
“Sameness is so incredibly overrated. The whole idea that everything needs to be exactly the same works for a very, very few strand of companies, and not for everybody else.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• There are three different levels of work. First, you have a job that pays the bills. Second, you have a career where you are definitely engaged but there will be periods where you question if the work is worthwhile. Last, you have your calling. This is where you love your work so much that you wouldn’t need to be financially compensated for it.
  
  

9. Elizabeth Gilbert: Your Elusive Creative Genius

Summary:
The pressure to continuously perform can get to some people. Elizabeth Gilbert gives great tips on how to relieve this pressure and let your creativity come out naturally.

Money Quote:
“Don't be afraid. Don't be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• Don’t let others stifle your creativity. If you are in a creative profession you may get fear-based reactions from people who think you won’t be successful. Continue to give your job your all because its yours, and you love what you do.
• Some people work well under pressure, most people don’t. Once you take the insane amount of pressure to succeed away, you will be amazed at how much more work you can get done.

10. Susan Cain: The Power Of Introverts

Summary:
Introverts are often taught to break out of their shell and “just be more outgoing already.” But Susan Cain argues for just letting introverts do what they do best. Introverts don’t need to conform to extroverted standards. Instead, they can spend time exploring their own ideas and interests.

Money Quote:
“It turns out that we can't even be in a group of people without instinctively mirroring, mimicking their opinions. Even about seemingly personal and visceral things like who you're attracted to, you will start aping the beliefs of the people around you without even realizing that that's what you're doing.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• One-third to one-half of all people are introverts. So there are many people who are closeted introverts or have conditioned themselves to be more outgoing.
• Studies show that introverts make better leaders because they let their employees run with their own ideas and don’t make unnecessary risks. However, many introverts are passed over for leadership opportunities in favor of their outgoing colleagues.
  
  

11. Shawn Achor: The Happy Secret To Better Work

Summary:
People think that they need to change their situation in order to be happy while most of the time just changing how you look at your situation can make all the difference. How your brain chooses to process the world is the primary driver of your long-term happiness.

Money Quote:
“See what we're finding is it's not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness, we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• 90% of your long-term happiness isn’t predicted by your external world but by the way your brain processes this world. If you can change the way that you view things you can change your perceived happiness and success.
  
  

12. Nilofer Merchant: Got A Meeting? Take A Walk

Summary:
Meetings are boring and people rarely pay attention. So why not conduct it in a way that is good for your health as well as stimulates your thought process. This short and sweet talk says why you need to incorporate walking meetings in your work life.

Money Quote:
“I used to think about it as, you could take care of your health, or you could take care of obligations, and one always came at the cost of the other.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• In order to have ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking you need to get ‘out-of-the-box.’ Walking meetings are unconventional but that is a great way to get fresh ideas and inspire a new way of thinking.
  
  

13. Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are

Summary:
People detect the non verbal communication you put out more than what you are saying. Like the old expression says “it’s not what you say, its how you say it.” This talk helps you become more aware of your body language and the messages that it conveys.

Money Quote:
“Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• When you want to make yourself feel more powerful then you tend to make your body language larger. On the other hand, when you feel threatened or don’t want to be noticed, you shrink down and make yourself smaller.
• Don’t fake it until you make it, fake it until you become it. The more you try to be something the more likely you will become it without realizing.
  
  

14. Dan Pink: The Puzzle Of Motivation

Summary:
Managers are confused on what best motivates their employees. Instead of focusing on external motivators such as vacation days and a paychecks they should be establishing things that motivate people to the next level such as responsibility, contribution and recognition.

Money Quote:

“Management is like -- it's not a tree, it's a television set. Okay? Somebody invented it. And it doesn't mean it's going to work forever. Management is great. Traditional notions of management are great if you want compliance. But if you want engagement, self-direction works better.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• Intrinsic motivation, autonomy, mastery and purpose v.s. the carrot and stick model of motivation. Intrinsic motivation, autonomy, mastery and purpose almost always wins to motivate people more.
  
  

15. Margaret Heffernan: Dare To Disagree

Summary:
There is a power behind constructive conflicts. All around the world there are employees who have opinions on certain aspects of their company but they are too intimidated to voice these concerns. Margaret Heffernan says it is OK to disagree on issues that you are passionate about or may have a better alternative for.

Money Quote:

“So how do organizations think? Well, for the most part, they don't. And that isn't because they don't want to, it's really because they can't. And they can't because the people inside of them are too afraid of conflict.” Tweet this!

Key Takeaways:

• If you have concerns about something, raise them. You might be surprised how many people agree with you and were thinking the same thing.
• We also must be open to changing our views and considering other possibilities. It’s easy to get stuck in your own ways but that isn’t how great work happens.

What's your favorite TED talk? Let us know on Twitter: @_Vocoli