THE NEW WORLD OF WORK

from American Demographics July/August 2020

Powerful trends are driving changes in the workplace

By David Orgel

With millions unemployed and working-at-home the new normal, it is not surprising that economists, businessmen, academicians, and government officials say that work, as we knew it, will never be the same. However, it would be a huge mistake to conclude that whatever comes next will be the result of the coronavirus crisis. The fact is that the forces of change were already underway before the pandemic hit.

The world of work was starting to be transformed by a range of powerful trends, from generational shifts and growing employee diversity, to increased automation and new career progressions. These developments will continue and likely accelerate in the post-coronavirus era. They will be top of mind for strategic planners.

The global coronavirus crisis, of course, will put its own imprint on the future of work. It’s already driven discussions about changes in office space design, telecommuting, business travel, health benefits, and many other topics. The pandemic has created great uncertainty about the economy and businesses will need time to identify all the implications.

The future of work will be a crucial topic for a wide range of stakeholders. Employees who are adaptable and comfortable with nontraditional corporate ladders will be most successful. Companies that support improved worker experiences and growing diversity and are open to considering job candidates with non-traditional educational backgrounds, will be best positioned for success.

Here are five essential forces impacting this future:

Emerging Technology

McKinsey Global Institute research has found that “in about 60% of occupations, at least one-third of the constituent activities could be automated,” with artificial intelligence and robotics among the biggest drivers. The McKinsey research found that “automation could displace a significant share of work globally to 2030,” with 15 percent as the midpoint of its scenario range.

It’s hard to imagine a career or type of role that won’t be disrupted by technology in some way. AI, for example, is already transforming a wide variety of activities, from manufacturing plants to offices. Virtual reality is starting to upend traditional training approaches. Advanced data analytics is accelerating the ability to predict business outcomes.

Businesses need to prepare for humans and bots as the new blended workforce, according to a Forbes article by Jeanne Meister, a partner in the HR advisory and research firm Future Workplace. The piece said research among 8,370 global HR leaders, hiring managers and employees— conducted by Oracle and Future Workplace—found 50% of workers already use some form of AI. “Knowing how to orient, develop, engage, and work side by side with a bot will be the newest skill set for 2020,” she said.

It’s understandable if older folks sense they’ve heard all this before. For a long time, experts have predicted technology will replace humans in workplaces. Many past forecasts were so dramatic they strained credibility. More recently, some predictions present a more nuanced view of how the march of automation will proceed.

“At first, technologists issued dystopian alarms about the power of automation and artificial intelligence to destroy jobs,” according to a piece on this topic by Brookings Institution. “Then came a correction, with a wave of reassurances. Now, the discourse appears to be arriving at a more complicated understanding, suggesting that automation will bring neither apocalypse nor utopia, but instead both benefits and stress alike.”

Generational Shifts

Today’s workplace “mix of baby boomers, Gen X, millennials and now, Gen Z, creates a complicated dynamic of working styles and productivity drivers that are hard to ignore,” according to a blog post by Cile Montgomery, who focuses on customer experience for Dell Technologies Unified Workspace. The dynamics are so complex that some companies are tapping generational consultants to help sort it out and guide managers.

Younger employees have the longest careers ahead of them, which means they have the biggest stakes in what the longer-term future will bring. This especially holds true for members of Gen Z, the digital natives whose oldest members are first entering the workforce. “Gen Z employees want to focus their skills at companies that provide the flexibility and freedom to be entrepreneurial through personalized roles,” Montgomery said in the blog. “What’s more, they see the tech industry as the sweet spot to pursue these career goals.”

Meanwhile, millennials, the largest generation in the US labor force, are pushing even more than before for work-life balance, especially as many are now in the parenting life stage, according to career expert Ashley Stahl, writing in Forbes. “Companies need to put an emphasis on flexible work hours, remote positions and becoming more progressive with how they structure a typical workday,” she said. It’s not hard to imagine that millennials will be among the loudest voices pushing for a continuation of the remote working patterns of the pandemic period.

Older generations—Gen X and baby boomers—are reaching the pinnacles of their careers, with many older boomers moving towards retirement. However, experts caution that older employees still have crucial roles to play in the future workforce, and companies will lose out if they don’t take advantage of it. “In addition to having more experience and institutional knowledge, older employees retain an incredible work ethic, often toiling longer and harder than younger employees,” according to a Fast Company article by Stephanie McCleskey, vice president of operations at Think Why. Her conclusion is that organizations need to “assess the current status of age diversity in their workforces” and “consider taking concrete steps to implement age-diversifying policies.”

Growing Diversity

The drumbeat is getting louder for improved diversity and inclusion efforts in the workplace. Much of this is driven by basic demographics, with younger generations more likely to be members of minority groups. “The US population, and therefore the nation’s workforce, is becoming increasingly diverse,” according to a content piece from the workplace platform Bonusly. “In the 40 years between 1980 and 2020, the white working-age population will have declined from 83% of the nation’s total to 63% while the number of minority workers will have doubled.”

The media recently has been filled with stories about diversity-related inequities in workplaces.

“Revelations from the #MeToo movement, gender pay gap disclosure policies and repeated reports of entrenched diversity shortcomings at the top levels of business have highlighted the continued work to be done,” reported a piece from CNBC.com. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the business cases for why they need to take action to support employees across gender, ethnic, religious, and other lines. The benefits cited range from improved hiring and retention to gains in financial results.

A comprehensive study by Boston Consulting Group found “companies that have more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenue due to innovation,” according to Forbes.

More companies are putting in place tools to foster the success of diversity and inclusion efforts. One example is Mid-Atlantic supermarket retailer The Giant Co., whose president, Nicholas Bertram, outlined the organization’s strategies in a recent article in Drug Store News.

Some of the recent initiatives include:

• Business Resource Groups: The retailer runs affinity groups for staffers ranging from veterans to black and Latino associates.

• President’s Inclusion Council: This council is a forum for employees to relay ideas.

• Inclusion Index: Giant’s parent company Ahold Delhaize launched an index based on an annual engagement survey, which provides important feedback.

• Reverse Mentoring: Parts of the company’s global team participate in a reverse mentoring program that enables employees to help teach leaders.

Degrees vs. Skills

The longtime conventional wisdom has been that college and higher-level degrees are essential for careers. However, this doesn’t necessarily line up with the realities, as many employers now seek new skill sets and face challenges in finding appropriate candidates. Meister, writing in Forbes, advised businesses to “recruit for skills rather than college pedigree.” She explained, “Many companies realize they need to tap into new sources and relax some of the requirements they held in the past to find candidates for open positions.”

Glassdoor, the online job and recruiting site, posted a blog piece that identified a range of companies no longer requiring a college degree for many positions. The list included Google, Penguin Random House, Costco, Hilton, Apple, IBM, and Bank of America, and EY in the UK. Quoted in the blog, Maggie Stilwell, Ernst and Young’s managing partner for talent, said, “Academic qualifications will still be taken into account and indeed remain an important consideration when assessing candidates as a whole, but will no longer act as a barrier to getting a foot in the door.”

New Career Progressions

Decades ago, it wasn’t unusual for people to spend their entire careers with a single employer, often gradually climbing the corporate ladder. That norm changed years ago, but today the confusion about what it takes to advance careers has only increased. “Career progression is no longer well-defined within companies, and career change is the new normal,” said business and life coach Caroline Castrillon, in another Forbes piece.

Given the lack of clear lines for career progression, some experts are advising employees to become more proactive, including by taking risks, seeking out new opportunities, and building new types of skills. Meister points to newly important employee power skills for 2020 and beyond: “These include a combination of soft skills, thinking skills, and digital skills.” Soft skills cited include communication, collaboration, and cultural IQ, while thinking skills take in strategic thinking, systems thinking, and analytical thinking. “Taken together, these skills are the new expectation for employability in 2020 and beyond,” she said.

2020 and Beyond

The future of work will require new behaviors and perspectives from everyone who has a stake in these developments. This was true before the pandemic hit, and it remains true now. Employers, including HR departments, will need to become more proactive in communicating expectations, policies, and guidance. Employees will need continually to build and adapt skills and professional networks to propel their careers.

Ultimately, forces such as shifting demographics and the advance of technology will further upend work and produce lasting changes. It won’t happen all at once, but the transformation is already well underway.

In the midst of all these changes, employers will have a responsibility to clarify the rules for progress, according to some experts. “The challenge for organizations will be to provide employees—especially newer Generation Z who have grown up as highly-connected and social-media-savvy—with career paths that provide exciting opportunities for advancement,” said Allen Bernard, an expert on business and technology, writing in TechRepublic.