Our working lives have long been open to disruption from tech and other external forces, but the arrival of COVID-19 has shifted the world of work at a rate of change that few could have predicted – and has raised urgent questions about how employment will adapt.

Cognizant’s recent ‘From Eyes to Ears: Getting Your Brand Heard in the New Age of Voice’ report says that brands not paying attention to voice could already be losing out on millions yearly. And while the vast majority of companies agree that voice will become essential to their success, only 20 percent have a formal voice strategy in place.

Technology has become central to keeping people connected during extended periods of forced social isolation. Whenever people get back to their routines in the physical world, it will merely be an effort to catch up, not be free from the virtual world.

When we look back at the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the unsung victims of the devastating virus is the touchscreen. While the virus made us wary of unhygienic surfaces, the lockdown and social isolation revived our interest in interacting with a human-sounding voice, catalysing the large-scale shift towards the voice interface.

Businesses are bullish on the future of voice technology like Amazon, Apple and Google's digital assistants, with consumers relying on the contactless tools more than ever during the pandemic, according to a study by professional services company Cognizant. Exclusive local data shared with Which-50 from Cognizant’s Centre for the Future of Work shows Australian brands lead the region in voice strategy but still face privacy and skills challenges.