Jonathan Tian of Mobitrix on Persistence, Workplace Automation, and Cultivating Healthy Company Cultures

When it comes to designing the future of work, one size fits none. Discovering success isn’t about a hybrid model or offering remote work options. Individuals and organizations are looking for more freedom. The freedom to choose the work model that makes the most sense. The freedom to choose their own values. And the freedom to pursue what matters most. We reached out to successful leaders and thought leaders across all industries to glean their insights and predictions about how to create a future that works.

As a part of our interview series called “How Employers and Employees are Reworking Work Together,” we had the pleasure to interview Jonathan Tian.

Jonathan Tian, Co-Founder of Mobitrix, a US-based smartphone solution provider for data transfer and iOS system errors, etc.

Thank you for making time to visit with us about the topic of our time. Our readers would like to get to know you a bit better. Can you please tell us about one or two life experiences that most shaped who you are today.

I am so grateful for you for inviting me to this auspicious occasion where I get to share my opinions, insights and experiences that I have gained. Almost all of the incidents in my life have shaped me to the person that I am today but to be specific I would point out a single occasion. During the initial days of my career, I used to have confidence issues and I had to find some ways to overcome the issues. One day I was walking down the road when I was in my hometown and I came to notice an old woman single handedly lifting massive weights to feed her grandchildren. When asked, she said that she’s been doing it for more than two decades. That’s when I found out that persistence in work is greater than working hard 24/7.

Let’s zoom out. What do you predict will be the same about work, the workforce and the workplace 10–15 years from now? What do you predict will be different?

There would be lots of changes introduced during the next 10 to 15 years in the workforce and the workplace. More techniques of automation, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics would be introduced and it would directly help boost the sales count, productivity rate and the quality of the product. Moreover, more products could be produced at the desired time and the targets could be achieved earlier than expected. Other than that, there would be more one-on-one meetings conducted via Zoom or other apps than in-office meets because it would save time for the remote workers. And, speaking about the remote workforces and the hybrid workforce, these would shape the future of businesses as employees could work with little to minimum pressure here when compared to in-office work mode.

What advice would you offer to employers who want to future-proof their organizations?

If the employers wish to future-proof their organizations, there are lots of methods that should be taught and practiced by them. They should prioritize their customer experience over anything because that is the first step to achieve the goal. They should motivate their employees and would ask them to speak out in case of any struggles. See tomorrow as today and predict the future well in advance so that you can draft plans accordingly. This would help you recover from any crisis at the earliest. It is okay to be imperfect sometimes, and you should embrace yourself for being imperfect. Nobody is perfect all the time.

What do you predict will be the biggest gaps between what employers are willing to offer and what employees expect as we move forward? And what strategies would you offer about how to reconcile those gaps?

To me, some company cultures could get along the way and would confuse both the employees and the employers. That is why building a healthy culture for your company is very essential and mandatory. Even if there is a gap created between what employees seek and the employers provide, there would be immediate actions taken in order to seal the gap. Quick actions must be taken before they decide to launch a huge employee retention movement, which could be devastating for the companies to handle.

We simultaneously joined a global experiment together last year called “Working From Home.” How will this experience influence the future of work?

Working from home has emerged as one of the biggest workforces, thanks to the pandemic for making this a huge hit. WFH will define the future of the businesses if the shortcomings listed out here are solved at the earliest. This would mainly include establishing good communication between the workforce and the team. This mode of work reduces the expenses for the businesses and at the same time, the workers can do their jobs with little to no pressure from their peers and leaders. This is because, when working from home, all they would look for is the time taken to reach the goal, rather than how you work.

We’ve all read the headlines about how the pandemic reshaped the workforce. What societal changes do you foresee as necessary to support a future of work that works for everyone?

Responsibility is the major societal change that I would insist my workers and everyone else to keep up with. To support a future workforce that suits everyone, people should step out of their comfort zones and should be ready to take risks whenever needed.

What is your greatest source of optimism about the future of work?

I rely on methods of work like working from home and hybrid workforces to shape the future of work as they are much more time efficient and effective than the normal modes of working. Moreover, these methods tend to grow over time and are reaching new peaks every day.

Our collective mental health and wellbeing are now considered collateral as we consider the future of work. What innovative strategies do you see employers offering to help improve and optimize their employee’s mental health and wellbeing?

I am so happy to live in a time where mental health of the employees are being taken care by their team. Now-a-days, the times have changed and employers employ various skills and strategies to ensure the mental well-being of their workers. They ask them to take a break and go on a vacation when needed, add green ecosystem to their surroundings of the workplace, ask them to be social, and are even taking the complaints from the employee’s side seriously and early measures are taken as well.

It seems like there’s a new headline every day. ‘The Great Resignation’. ‘The Great Reconfiguration’. And now the ‘Great Reevaluation’. What are the most important messages leaders need to hear from these headlines? How do company cultures need to evolve?

Great resignations could be nightmares for the employers. But, it all happens because of the poor response from them to the requests from their employees. So, prioritize taking care of your employees rather than just rushing them to complete the job at the earliest. This would help them assist more and would reduce the turnover rates.

Let’s get more specific. What are your “Top 5 Trends To Track In the Future of Work?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

Driving employee experience would be the first trend to track the future of my work. The user interface does not stop with the technical interfaces alone, but every interaction the employees have with the team.

Leadership is the thing that guides the workforce within an organization and if someone lacks leadership, that would end up in terrible endings. Proper leadership not just helps increase the value of the company, but to lead it in a healthy manner.

HR technologies must be simple and easy to understand as it enables better functioning of the system. The HR network must be engaging, smart and efficient.

Collaboration and communication would be the absolute factors that decide the future of work. To enhance these fields, organizations must start investing to promote the factors.

I keep quotes on my desk and on scraps of paper to stay inspired. What’s your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? And how has this quote shaped your perspective?

I am a youth and I know that it is the time that I have to be more active than ever. But, sometimes things could get along the way of happiness and it would end up in troubles for me. I would feel so down during these times that I can’t continue my regular works with ordinary pace. Whenever I feel so, I would listen to “Only the Young” by Taylor Swift, where she has written a lyric that goes by: ‘Only the young can run’. This lyric is so deep for me and I would get motivated the second I listen to it.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He, she, or they might just see this if we tag them.

Yes, apart from entrepreneurship I was more into establishing myself as a musician during my teenage years. I never stopped loving Katy Perry from then. I have gone to many of her concerts but if I could ever dine with her, that would be my dream come true moment for sure. I adore her for her charisma, talent, knowledge and kindness, which are some of the fine attributes of humankind.

Our readers often like to continue the conversation with our featured interviewees. How can they best connect with you and stay current on what you’re discovering?

There are a number of ways that they can connect with me and be in touch with the team’s work. They can subscribe to the official website of our company or just keep track of our data and events by following us on social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tumblr, where we will be posting some exciting announcements to our users.

Thank you for sharing your insights and predictions. We appreciate the gift of your time and wish you continued success and good health.

I must thank the team for inviting me here. I wish nothing but auspicious growth of career and fame to your team.