Top 10 observations on the future of work

Top 10 observations on the future of work?

At Aon, we have been talking about workforce resilience as an area of client need since 2020. It evolved as we acknowledged that buzzword topics such as "future of work" are often very nebulous, while the actual concepts are hard to define. ?

While resilience still requires is own explanation, we know that resilient workforces are not only able to survive disruption – they can also pivot and contribute towards growth. This goes a long way towards sustaining/minimizing the cycle of bouncing backwards and forward by building a sense of belonging with employees – beyond just increasing compensation. ?

While only 30% of the global workforce identifies as resilient, 93% of those resilient employees are more engaged and less likely to seek alternative employment. The onus on all business is therefore to increase the percentage of their workers who are in that camp.?

Regardless of the banner we use to describe the value of resilience or the meaning of future of work, there are some basic truths I observe with clients which I’d like to share:?

1. The future of work is a mindset and a journey with no endpoint. You cannot ‘solve’ it.
2. It’s about understanding and growing the potential of the workforce NOW, so you are prepared for future circumstance.
3. It’s NOT about predicting the future.
4. There is nothing new in the future of work and there is no silver bullet to solve it – it’s a change of approach leveraging existing and known work-streams (total rewards, L&D, DEI, mobility etc.), that are connected to solve bigger issues, rather than running as independent programs.
5. If we do not acknowledge the complexity of workforces and focus on the problem/solution, we will only ever plaster over issues (e.g. pay equity fixes an immediate problem but does not acknowledge that financial well-being among women is a longer term issue, and women often work in roles that are more likely to be augmented or automated in the longer term).
6. You cannot fire the old and hire the new without it costing a fortune both tangibly and intangibly, (through the loss of employee brand).
7. Data and collaboration should be the two foundations of the future of work: data to focus, monitor and tailor intervention; collaboration to fix beyond the immediate need and solve on a more holistic basis.
8. Data-driven workforce planning is not a program but an underlying and ongoing enabler of systematic transformation - driving focus and monitoring impact.
9. Wellbeing is not just a ‘thing’ or a program – it should be a mindset and part of a more holistic journey to build engagement and drive transformation.
10. EVP has fundamentally shifted from a communication exercise to a show-and-tell activity encompassing everything – that is the way to communicate how companies engage their employees on the journey

#WorkforceResilience #FutureOfWork ?