The Future of Work: Reclaiming the Table in a Digital Age
| Note to Readers: This essay begins a four-part series on work and public affairs in the digital era. Over the coming weeks, I’ll explore how ambition, security, technology, and trust are being reshaped in our field and what it means to build careers and communities when the old playbooks no longer fit.
Over the past year, I’ve been thinking a lot about what the future of work looks like, especially for people like me in public affairs, advocacy, and external-facing roles. Work isn’t just a job anymore; it’s a complex blend of identity, strategy, and relationships that play out on an often public stage.
I came up professionally during the Lean In era, a time when the dominant advice for ambitious women was to “take up space,” speak boldly, and push harder. It was a manifesto of empowerment, a call to break ceilings and seize opportunities. That message had power, no doubt.
But in public affairs, where perception is reality, the optics of what you do are everything. How you show up, your voice, your mannerisms, your relationships, shapes not just your career but your credibility. Sometimes, ambition here means leaning in quietly, strategically choosing which battles to fight and which to let pass. It means balancing boldness with nuance, not just pushing harder but reading the room better.
So I leaned in… carefully.
And now, as the future of work shifts under our feet, I’m asking: what does success look like when you’re not just trying to win someone else’s game? When the old scripts don’t quite fit the lives and values we hold? When the traditional corporate ladder feels more like a maze?
It’s about reclaiming that early mantle, that spark of ambition and possibility, and building a table that feels authentic and real. A table that reflects our diverse voices, our different ways of working, and our evolving goals. It means more than pivoting; it means reshaping the narrative of work itself.
In this digital age, our work lives are often on display — every email, Zoom call, social post, and LinkedIn update a piece of a larger public performance. That transparency can be daunting, but it’s also an opportunity: to own our stories, to build networks with intention, and to create spaces where collaboration and innovation thrive on our terms.
Reclaiming the future of work, at least as I see it, means embracing flexibility without losing focus, seeking connection without sacrificing boundaries, and defining success by our own metrics, not by outdated expectations.
For me, it’s about blending ambition with adaptability, vision with self-compassion, and courage with patience. It’s about learning when to lean in, when to step back, and when to build something entirely new.
The future of work won’t look the same for everyone and that’s exactly the point. It’s messy, imperfect, and personal.
But if we can build tables that truly include us, that reflect who we are and what we value, then maybe this future is one worth leaning into.
Looking Ahead
This piece is just the start of a conversation I want to have about work, ambition, and what’s next for those of us in public affairs and beyond.
Next up, I’ll be diving into a question that’s on a lot of minds: Whose future is secure anymore? We’ll explore the changing nature of job stability and what it means in today’s world.
And later, I want to tackle how digital innovation and AI are reshaping our field: what opportunities and challenges they bring, and how we can harness them without losing the human connection at the heart of our work.
If you’re navigating these questions too, I hope you’ll join me for the journey.