I’m obsessed with all things future of work, mostly because it effects, well, everything.  With so much converging digital technology rapidly changing products, services and social mores faster than most of us, never mind government policy can keep up.  Life is changing fast; and slowly at the same time.

Humans find change unsettling or exciting, often both at the same time.  Context is important and it’s often hard to remember how young so many of the companies that consume our lives are.  Facebook is fourteen, that’s 14 years young.  Google is  19 and pulling up the rear, Amazon is  23 years old.  They are young and yet, deeply embedded in our lives.   It’s important to note, the tech that making them possible, including computational power has been decades in the making.  That would be the fast, yet slow change that tech brings.   Bottom line is these companies have changed they way we communicate, connect, work and live.  In a word: everything.

The entire world’s workforce is trending toward many, most workers by 2020 or 2025, depending on the report,  will be working on a project basis as a freelancer or contract worker.   That means all kind of change and these exciting startups below are applying all sorts of technology from #AR to #AI to this changing marketplace today.   I’ve linked to company videos that explain more.

• PowerToFly  is says Wikipedia, “a recruiting platform that connects companies to women in tech”.  They are building a robust community of talent and a direct pipeline into companies from Dow Jones to GitLab.  They are creating a new model in human capital and solving a relentless diversity in tech problem.
• JustWorks  the company says “is a platform that automates payroll, benefits, and compliance so entrepreneurs can focus on what matters: growing their business and their team.”  I would add, entrepreneurs and anyone working for themselves in any capacity.
• BEAM is “a full-service, interactive marketing and experience design agency.”  They developed a mind-blowingly interesting an HR onboarding augmented reality (#AR) prototype”. It’s worth the time, check out the video.