Humanizing the future of work

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This article was published 30/04/2022 (1611 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As everyone is aware, the short-term workplace consequences of COVID-19 included the loss of jobs, rapid deployment to working at home and the selection of “essential” workers needed to keep our communities working while at the same time, striving to reduce the spread of disease. While many researchers are studying productivity and innovation, a recent report talks about how COVID has also changed the mix of occupations and the skills needed in the new economy.

The authors suggest that the concept of the “physical dimension” of work is what now defines the differences between jobs. In reviewing over 800 different jobs, they identified 10 different work arenas defined by three factors. These include the proximity to co-workers or customers, the number of personal interactions and the physical work location. The 10 categories of jobs range from medical care to classroom training to outdoor production and/or maintenance.

For instance, doctors’ and nurses’ work requires them to have close interaction with patients, likewise frontline staff’s close contact with customers in retail, banks, hotels, restaurants and post offices. Meanwhile, administrative staff are among those who can often arrange to work remotely.

Laboratory workers engage in indoor production work with specialized onsite equipment and so have little exposure to other people. The same applies to outdoor production and construction employees. Computer-based office jobs were most able to shift to a remote work situation, thus reducing interaction with people. All in all, it appears that individuals working in jobs with the highest levels of physical proximity were the ones most likely to encounter the COVID-19 virus.

The researchers go on to suggest that the trend to remote work as a means to reduce close contact and the spread of disease will continue. Other observed trends include:

• Organizations will reduce their office space by 30 per cent, which will also create a reduced demand for downtown restaurants and public transportation;

• Business travel will be reduced by 20 per cent while videoconferencing will continue to grow;

• E-commerce as a share of consumerism grew by two to five times and will continue after the pandemic;

• Virtual transactions such as telemedicine, online banking, streaming entertainment and online physician consultations grew tenfold during the pandemic and will continue to grow;

• Two-thirds of corporations are stepping up their investment in automation and AI, especially those organizations with typical high-density levels of human interaction so social distancing can be maintained;

• The typical mix of occupations will shift with little growth in low-wage jobs;

• More than half of low-wage workers without a college degree will have to change occupations and look for higher wage jobs; this will take longer, cause more disruption and will require significant re-training;

• Employees will need new skills in order to move to a higher wage bracket including increased cognitive as well as social and emotional skills;

• Jobs requiring physical work will decline while jobs requiring technical skills will increase;

• The scale of workforce transitions will demand more urgent training and education programs for workers, and;

• Flexibility was the name of the game during the pandemic and this will need to continue as the workforce shifts occur.

Overall, the most dramatic change in workforce dynamics is the move to continue with remote work. In fact, 72 per cent of executives who participated in this research survey indicated they have started adopting permanent remote-work models. In addition, 70 per cent of surveyed employees indicated they wanted to work from home at least part of the week. Participants also suggested this factor would be the top criteria for staying with their current employer or in selecting a new organization.

As already mentioned, automation will also continue to be a big part of the new economy and workforce dynamics. It will be focused on automating less engaging and repetitive work, and creating jobs that require a higher level of thinking. Thus, the skills that workers need in the next 10 years will be vastly different than they are today.

On the other hand, the post COVID-19 period is providing an opportunity for leaders to reimagine work, their workforce and their workplace. At the same time, leaders need to envision the workplace culture of the future and ensure they create connections between individuals as they go forward. They also need to engage in long-term change management planning to minimize potential disruptions. Vulnerable groups of employees need time to make their own career plans and be offered corporate assistance to make the changes required.

At the same time, another study has identified some very different changes that will continue to occur in our corporations and organizations. These include:

• Companies and organizations are and will continue to turn to contingent workers as part of a non-standard work model as this provides more flexibility;

• Employers will continue to pay attention to employee well-being and will review and increase their employee social net including enhanced sick leave, mental health services, financial assistance, adjusted hours of operation and child-care provisions;

• Leaders will continue to focus on both organizational and employee resilience as changes continue to unfold;

• Work design, roles, systems and structures will focus on agility and flexibility through restructuring and employee cross training;

• Increased demand for employer transparency will continue as individuals want to be able to trust their leadership, and;

• Corporate mergers and acquisitions will once again accelerate, which will see the creation of larger organizations, changes in leadership, culture, goals and objectives.

The overall message from these and other research studies is to focus on “humanizing” the future of work. This means everyone must be aligned with the corporate mission and that work is structured so it inspires and energizes people and unlocks the real value of existing employee talent. It also means leaders need to examine just where work can be done and what physical environment would make the work the most conducive to effective and efficient productivity. Finally, the message is that leaders must also figure out a way to create and enhance collaboration, co-operation and social bonding while at the same time supporting a remote work model.

Source: The Future of Work after COVID-19, McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey & Company February 18, 2021; 9 Future of Work Trends Post Covid19, Inights, Mary Baker, April 29, 2021, From Survive to Thrive, the future of work in a post-pandemic world, Deloitte Consulting, LLP