20/20 Vision: The Top Workforce Trends in 2020

As I write this, I’m sitting at the desk in my office on a cold, sunny day at the dawn of a new year (and a new decade!). I’ve been thinking about the changes that 2019 brought. It seems as if the year came and went in a flash of light, bringing with it many learning experiences I relished and many exceptional wins that my team accomplished. Looking back is helpful to assess where we have come from and where we’re heading.

As a leader of a total talent solutions firm, I look at the hiring trends that are occurring and how the changing world of work may affect the contingent workforce. As I’ve written in prior blogs, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and all the technological changes it’s bringing to the world of work will be the driving force that shapes the next decade. By the end of the 2020s, the business world will be remarkably different from the way it appears today.

It’s crucial for businesses, whether Fortune 500 corporations or family-owned small businesses, to be aware of the trends that may shape the next decade. I’ve made some predictions below, based on my research and conversations I’ve had with other leaders. These trends will continue to build momentum in 2020 and beyond.

To stay ahead of the changes taking place, businesses should make plans to address these issues or they will become relics of a previous era. A strong business needs to have 20/20 vision: a clear, focused, highly perceptive view of both the present and the future that is on its way.

As we head toward the next decade, here are my predictions for the top ten workforce trends in 2020:

• Artificial Intelligence: An increasing amount of responsibilities will become automated across many roles in numerous industries. While you might not necessarily have robots for co-workers, you’ll find companies employing AI to solve workflow issues, streamlining work tasks and solving time management issues. Workers will become more productive and companies will be able to scale up easier than ever before. Many jobs will become obsolete so workers need to begin preparing for these shifts in the workplace by upskilling and/or reskilling.
• Expansive Learning: Because of automation, workers will be required to become more adaptable and flexible to change through self-learning. Gone are the days when job responsibilities did not rapidly change. Workers will need to be responsible for their self-learning to advance in the workplace. They will be required to learn skills and continue to build upon them or learn new ones to thrive in the workforce. While technical skills will still be important, soft skills such as creativity, empathy, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence will become increasingly prized the more AI is integrated into the workplace.
• A Focus on Wellbeing: As we leave the 2010s, we have noticed an increasing frequency in workplace stress and burnout, as well as anxiety and depression. Businesses will emphasize health and wellness such as mindfulness to prevent or lower the chances of burnout. In addition to this, the behavioral health industry and related occupations are set to boom. This will lead to the destigmatizing of mental health issues and a more integrated understanding of the self.  
• Sustainability and the Environment: Climate change, one of the biggest social causes right now, will affect business in the next decade. Businesses that embrace environmental sustainability in practice will become the norm throughout the 2020s. There will be pressure on companies to become eco-friendly, both from their teams as well as from consumers. This will impact certain industries that are already viewed as environmentally harmful and may give rise to a proliferation of sustainable technology jobs
• Rise of Secondary Cities: Speaking of sustainability, the economy will also become a focus on sustainable growth. In the past decade, the major metropolitan areas have continued to see unprecedented economic growth. With that growth has also come rising costs of living, gentrification, and displacement of communities, and the hollowing out of Middle America. This will shift as businesses embrace remote workers. Cities such as Tulsa and states such as Vermont are already ahead of the curve in enticing remote workers to move and work there. Secondary cities such as St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Las Vegas, etc. are examples of cities where companies will be able to entice skilled talent from Silicon Valley and New York City. Affordability and sustainability will become a major perk.
• Remote Work: As mentioned above, remote work will continue to gain acceptance. With many project management and communication tools available now, remote work will allow companies the ability to seek talent from a much larger pool than just sourcing locally.
• Contingent Work vs. Freelancers: Both contingent work and freelancing provide a certain amount of flexibility that is becoming increasingly desired by workers. The big difference is that contingent workers receive W2 forms while their freelance counterparts receive 1099 forms. Several other benefits may come with contingent work that freelance gig workers do not receive. These benefits may include medical/dental/vision and retirement option plans. Contingent workers are also highly skilled and work in positions that require high-level knowledge. Both types of jobs are set to grow and attract more workers. We are moving towards the mainstreaming of both the contingent and freelance workforce.
• Diversity and Inclusion: According to Pew Research Center, by the year 2050, there will be no majority demographic group in the U.S. Because of this, diversity and inclusion efforts will continue to make major inroads throughout the world of work, making our workplaces open and tolerant to different backgrounds, identities, and perspectives. With this expansion, new jobs will open up that focus on efforts to support the changing faces of business.
• Finding Purpose: As part of the focus on wellbeing in the workplace, companies will need to help people actively find their purpose. Workers that feel aligned and passionate about their jobs are much happier and far more productive than those who feel that they’ve fallen into a job that provides little meaning to them.

The next decade is set to bring immense change. Growth in new industries such as AI, robotics, machine learning, and data science will bring many new opportunities to the business world. It’s an exciting time to be alive. I predict the 2020s will make work more productive, more enjoyable, and bring with it a better sense of focus and clarity. Here’s to a Happy New Year and a prosperous decade ahead!

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Sue Bhatia founded Rose International in the early 1990s from the basement of her home after realizing early-on in her career that if she stayed on her professional path as a systems analyst, it would take her 30 years to achieve her goals. Rose grew to become one of the nation’s largest minority- and women-owned Total Talent Solutions companies, and now services clients in all 50 US states with offices and development centers in 20+ U.S. cities and New Delhi, India. Recently, Glassdoor named Rose a Best Place to Work for the second year in a row, and the San Francisco Business Times recognized Rose as a top company for supplier diversity in the Bay Area.