Publications

Rasa Baltė Balčiūnienė / Photo by R. Verseckaitė

15min.

Rasa Baltė Balčiūnienė, business psychologist

Looking ahead to 2023, Andrei Baumeister, the renowned Ukrainian philosopher, notes that 2023 will inevitably mark the beginning of a new era. It is symbolic that last year we saw off the people who have shaped our era - Queen Elizabeth II of England, Pope Benedict XVI, Mikhail Gorbachev. So what will this new era look like and what will it mean for the economy, for businesses, for people?

Baumeister himself and other thinkers, politicians, sociologists and economists use similar terms when talking about the future. These include the new economy, artificial intelligence, polycrisis (permanent crisis), the end of capitalism, neoliberalism and the rise of consumerism. They stress that it is not worth talking about individual crises today - all the crises we are experiencing are long-term (ecological crisis, economic crisis, etc.), and that this is a characteristic of our times.

Why is there so much talk about the end of capitalism, neoliberalism and the growth of consumption? First of all, capitalism is becoming dysfunctional, and the constant promotion of consumption is leading to ecological, psychological and individual economic problems. The former notion that free markets "know" more is losing its meaning, and the concept of the welfare state is gradually changing. It is stressed that it is not worth talking about individual crises today, but that all the crises we are experiencing are long-term crises (ecological crisis, economic crisis, etc.), and that this is a characteristic of our times. The world is increasingly moving towards new benchmarks and ethical, ecological values. Post-growth or new economics is already being taught in universities. As Mr Baumeister argues, this is the beginning of a new era.

The new economy is described as a stress-free economy. Today's younger generations no longer want to work in offices with fixed hours, and have a different view of their personal lives, leisure time and recreation. The role of the state in the economy is becoming stronger and the interests of society are becoming more important than those of business. Mr Baumeister identifies the emergence of a new way of life, where people are becoming more restrictive, more conscious of their needs and more green.

According to entrepreneur and investor Ilya Laws, next year will see an "explosion" of artificial intelligence: every profession, company and field will employ or use artificial intelligence in one way or another. World leaders are now talking about how to turn a tool like AI into an instrument of good instead of evil. The new economy is described as a stress-free economy. I believe that the new era, from whichever angle we look at it, will be a transformation of which none of us are fully aware. However, we can already reflect on our place and role as individuals, as human beings. If, for example, artificial intelligence takes over from me in terms of data search, collection, analysis, technical work, in other words, if it takes over human rationality, what will my role be? Will I use and manage AI services seamlessly? Or will I not cross that functional barrier and fall victim to the rise of the AI? It seems to me that in the coming years we will make it clear that the human being who has intuitive intelligence is more important than the system, and that humanity is the most important foundation for inner strength, in business and elsewhere.

In my previous commentary on lively systems, I wrote that organisations operating on their principles have long emphasised this - it is through people, not technology, that new quality and evolution are found. In 2023, the importance of lively organisations is only likely to increase, and businesses will increasingly become schools of personal maturity, of adulthood. As businesses become more human and less technical, less instrumental, we will feel that we are human beings in the making, and that life does not begin only AFTER therapy. This is also very much needed because last year we talked a lot about psychological fatigue and burnout. And this is not only a personal problem, but also a systemic, cultural problem - it is a common condition when working in an industry in which people are just tools that perform a function. We deal with it by going to different therapies, by correcting and healing ourselves, when the real cause is in the system and its attitude. When it changes, when humanity is at the heart of the business, there will no longer be such a great need for a therapeutic culture. I don't want to belittle therapy - there is no human growth without it - but when businesses become more human and less technical, less instrumental, we will feel that we are human beings in the making and that life does not begin only AFTER therapy. We will probably also feel that the system does not need to be fought - it is an expression of our collective thinking. Struggles are pointless. Rather, it is about understanding how to be autonomous within the system, understanding how it works and discovering ways to implement creative solutions that enhance people's integral well-being (both mental and material).

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