Exploring the Future of Work

It’s the subject on everyone’s minds: how our world of work is changing.

COVID-19 has upended the workplace as we all know it, bringing about newfound flexibility for workers able to participate in remote and hybrid models, but also devastating losses?and health impacts?for?vulnerable?workers in less-adaptable jobs. Even before the pandemic, the landscape of work was rocked by the emergence of robotics and artificial intelligence, the gig economy, globalization, offshoring and persistent inequities.

A typical career trajectory is no longer, “I learn, I do, I retire.” For many workers, there is an unending cycle of “I learn, I do, I learn, I do, and I learn some more.”?The experience has prompted many employers to embrace technology and nonhuman labor, accelerating the pace of automation.

Before COVID hit, a team of filmmakers at GBH had begun exploring the experiences of American workers across industries, generations, geographies and pay levels.?They asked, “How do we protect and preserve employment opportunities that sustain families, communities and the nation?”—all fundamental aspects of the American Dream.

The new three-part GBH documentary series Future of Work explores this and other questions, featuring a diverse selection of workers from across the nation and showing how people are rising to meet these challenges.

The entire series can be streamed at any time on the PBS Video App or here. There is also a digital series on the PBS Voices YouTube channels. I hope you find the series helpful as you grapple with today’s challenges.

There seems to be consensus among experts that continual learning is paramount for today’s workers, whether it be at the high school and college level or through vocational and professional development. In particular, it will be key for students to learn critical skills such as persuasion, problem-solving and teamwork in order to excel in today’s workplace.

Lifelong learning is at the core of GBH’s mission and our educational programs are free for all to access on broadcast television and radio and online. We also manage thousands of free classroom curricula on PBS LearningMedia. ?

We are all responsible for looking at how our institutions and our educational systems can offer opportunities for professional growth. This is a unique moment for change--to refresh and reimagine our workplaces and our work together. I hope you will join me on the journey.

How has work transformed for you? Please post comments about your experience.