Viewpoints: The future of work is more than working from home

Editor's note: This viewpoint article was co-written by Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation and Carolyn Lee, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute. Barrels of e-ink have been spilled in recent months on the radical realignment of the workplace during COVID-19. The commentators' usually narrow focus on the work-from-home revolution, however, ignores the equally rapid shifts in onsite employment, work practices and technologies that will continue to transform how Americans do their jobs every day. The pandemic necessitated immediate, iterative adjustments to business operations, demanding agility and resilience from companies and workers. But change is intensifying across the U.S. economy, especially in modern manufacturing.