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Reimagining the world of work
Reimagining the world of work
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We’re in an era of dramatic and constant change in the world of work. Technology is threatening jobs and creating them at the same time. Demographic shifts, such as rising labour migration and a wave of retirement, are changing the available workforce. Individuals are reconsidering the role of work in their lives, and flexibility, autonomy and freedom are at the top of their lists.
As a result, organisations are struggling to predict what skills they will need in 12 months’ time — let alone three years from now. And they’re creating new business models at breakneck speed as digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) disrupt the old ones.
This transformation of work and workforce gives us an opportunity to build a future that works for all of us. Let’s start with a simple, but critical, question:
What work do we want?
Let’s talk about work
To try to answer that question, we spoke to 715 senior executives and nine experts around the world. What do they think about artificial intelligence? Are they finding talent in new places? How do they expect our working lives to evolve within the next five or 10 years?
Within the HR services industry, we’re convinced that work remains an essential part of people’s lives. And, in this era of enormous change there is an opportunity — and an imperative — to redefine what that means. It’s time to create the work we want.
Let’s talk about work
To try to answer that question, we spoke to 715 senior executives and nine experts around the world. What do they think about artificial intelligence? Are they finding talent in new places? How do they expect our working lives to evolve within the next five or 10 years?
Within the HR services industry, we’re convinced that work remains an essential part of people’s lives. And, in this era of enormous change there is an opportunity — and an imperative — to redefine what that means. It’s time to create the work we want.
Three major trends are reshaping the world of work
Our survey sheds light on the scale of the challenge presented by today’s fast-changing environment for how we work and how organisations manage talent. Not only do businesses face a turbulent market, but employee expectations about work are changing hugely as well.
of senior executives
say talent planning has never been more difficult than it is today
say that the approaches used to find and retain talent in the past are no longer fit for purpose
say that employees now value flexibility around where and when they work as much as other factors such as compensation
of senior executives
We examine the drivers of change – and how employers can respond – across three chapters.
Agile talent in the age of AI
Tech disruption has been a rollercoaster for businesses in recent years, bringing both opportunities and challenges as they’ve struggled to keep up. In this section we find out:
- Why technology is completely changing how companies think about their talent needs and strategies
- How economies won’t progress unless we find a way to address the shortage of workers that’s getting worse across many industries
- How flexible talent models are helping companies to fill their skills gaps
of senior executives
say they’ll need a more flexible workforce in the next two years
plan to increase their use of agency workers in response to market dynamics
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“
A whole new set of workers will be needed to do a lot of the data work around AI.
Stijn Broecke
Senior economist, OECD
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There’s an opportunity to use contingent talent or independent workers to make your workforce more diverse.
Dr Anna Gurun
Director of future of work at HSM Advisory
The missing workforce
The number of people missing or excluded from employment is growing — just when we need more skills than ever. Japan, for instance, is expected to be short of 11mn workers by 2040, and the American Hospital Association estimates that the US will face a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2033. There can be no economic growth without addressing the challenge of the missing workforce.
In this section we explore:
- Why traditional recruitment strategies are no longer fit for purpose
- How employers are investing heavily in recruiting and upskilling under-employed parts of society
- The challenges and opportunities of labour migration
of senior executives
say their organizations are committed to challenging discrimination wherever it occurs
say their organisation is working to extend protection of worker wellbeing to agency and contract workers
The missing workforce
The number of people missing or excluded from employment is growing — just when we need more skills than ever. Japan, for instance, is expected to be short of 11mn workers by 2040, and the American Hospital Association estimates that the US will face a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2033. There can be no economic growth without addressing the challenge of the missing workforce.
In this section we explore:
- Why traditional recruitment strategies are no longer fit for purpose
- How employers are investing heavily in recruiting and upskilling under-employed parts of society
- The challenges and opportunities of labour migration
of senior executives
say their organizations are committed to challenging discrimination wherever it occurs
say their organisation is working to extend protection of worker wellbeing to agency and contract workers
“
“
There’s an opportunity to use contingent talent or independent workers to make your workforce more diverse.
Dr Anna Gurun
Associate director, HSM Advisory
The work life we want
Our final section looks into the reality of managing the new flexible workforce, as well as the policy reforms needed to protect businesses and workers in the new world of work. We find out:
- How flexibility in working hours, location and patterns has gone from being a nice-to-have to a non-negotiable
- How employers are trying to make short-term work more rewarding, but are coming up against legal restrictions
- Why labour market reforms are essential to make it easier for everyone to work the way they want to
of senior executives
say the idea of a person following one career path through their lifetime has gone
say their organisation offers training opportunities to agency workers,
compared with
for permanent employees
“
CEOs are increasingly comfortable with a bigger percentage of their workforce being on flexible contracts. It’s good for the employees who want that flexibility for themselves and who don't need the stability of a permanent role — and good for the companies because it allows them to ramp up and ramp down quickly.
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.
President and CEO of SHRM
The work we want: Join the conversation
The work we want: Join the conversation
The World Employment Confederation is the voice of the private employment services industry at the global level, representing national federations as well as workforce solutions companies from across the world. Members of the World Employment Confederation represent a wide range of HR services, including agency work, direct recruitment, career management, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP).
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World Employment Confederation – Avenue du Port 86c/302 – B-1000 Brussels – T. + 32 2 203 38 03