AMCHAM’s Eastern Region organized a breakfast session on ‘Reimagining the Future of Work: Embrace the Post-Pandemic Transformation’ on July 21^st in Kolkata. The speakers were Mr. Atanu Mukherjee, Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM and Chief Executive Officer, M.N. Dastur & Co. (P) Ltd., Mr. Joydeep Datta Gupta, Vice Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM and Partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, Mr. Sabyasachi Biswas, Partner – Global Automation, IBM Ltd., Mr. Bikram Kumar Das, State Engagement Officer, National Skill Development Corporation and Mr. Surajit Banerjee, Managing Director, Fi-Tek Pvt Ltd. The panel had an in-depth discussion on the evolving work landscape, challenges of collaboration in a hybrid structure, productivity impact and the critical roles of employee maturity and leadership in a hybrid work culture. The discussion touched upon AI and the apprehension that AI is going to replace human resources. IBM shared its best practices and how they overcame challenges during and post the pandemic, the measures IBM took for employee well-being. Mr. Biswas spoke about the necessity of having a strong foundation and culture ideally human-centric and adaptive to change. Accessibility of the global talent pool has been considered one of the major benefits of a hybrid work culture by almost all speakers. 

Mr. Bikram Kumar Das spoke about various government intervention which facilitates honing the skills of youth. He asked industry representatives to share information on the present skill requirement so that the government can plan its interventions accordingly. He also sought support from industry to enhance skill application through participation in various government schemes like National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS). The session concluded with the acknowledgement that there would be continual rapid technological advancement which will automate and obliviate. It would probably be augmented rather than replaced because technology sometimes has a hard time with unpredictability, hence the human value add would be of a higher order going forward than what was in the past as technology replaces repetitive matters. The panel suggested that the world has become much more flexible and much more conscious of the need to take care of people. The session was sponsored by Hyland Software Solutions India LLP.