This technological shift, along with globalization, social values, demographics, and the changing personal expectations of today’s workforce has had a tremendous impact on the business landscape, disrupting models and radically changing where, when, and how work is done.² An ability to improve the effectiveness of the workforce, develop and move talent around the business, and manage human capital risks is crucial in the digital age. As a result, companies who want to grow and remain competitive need to focus on harnessing and adapting the talents of their workers, and their uniquely ‘human’ skills.

Navigating change: The Future of Work Is Here report

Much has been written about the future of work and the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on the workforce. The scenario is often played out as if we, the human race, have no control over the outcome. But this is simply not true. The changes that we’re currently experiencing, including the shifting landscape as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, are ultimately driven by humans.

In light of this, GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, has produced ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report with the aim to help professionals and organizations navigate this change. The research unpacks findings from over 106 countries and 8,000 respondents. With insights gathered from more than 100,000 students over the past 12 years, the report provides a deep understanding of how the workplace is changing as attitudes and values shift. It also explores the rise in remote work and what it means for the future.

The 21st-century employer meets the 4IR

Humanity continues to embark on a period of unparalleled technological advancement, offering significant challenges and opportunities in the coming five, 10, and 20 years. According to Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, ‘’We are at the early stages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Unlike the previous industrial revolutions­, the current one is not changing what we do, but rather, is changing us.’’³

In the 4IR, lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds are blurred. Owed to advances in AI, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other  intelligent technologies,⁴ the 4IR is paving the way for transformative changes in the way we live and work, radically disrupting almost every business sector. As AI and increased automation takes control of more repetitive tasks, the discovery of entirely new categories of jobs are emerging.⁵

From an employer’s perspective, retention of skilled employees becomes increasingly important as a strategic priority. Organizations need to recognize their current employees’ strengths and focus on upskilling to fill skills gaps and remain agile in an ever-changing workplace. As highlighted in the report, HR professionals and talent managers have both turned to reskilling and upskilling their teams to respond to the significant changes catalyzed by the 4IR.

A traditional approach to leadership is no longer sufficient in a world that is changing at an exponential rate. Examine how to mobilize individuals to move towards a vision and adapt to a changing context in the Leadership in an Exponentially Changing World online short course from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Anticipate the workplace of the future

Empowered by universal primary education, marked progress in adult literacy, improved healthcare, global access to social networks, and mobile money, the workplace is changing so fast that it’s hard for many organizations to keep up.

Digital technology has changed the way employees work with each other and their employer: teams are more matrixed, more remote, and more flexible than ever. This has upended the traditional worker-manager relationship, and has reshaped how employers and employees see one another. We are also living longer and navigating change at a more rapid rate, which means that we will need to master a variety of skills to keep up with the evolving workplace.

Despite emerging technologies being the most radical driver of change, other global trends are proving to be just as impactful.

Other important factors that will shape the future workplace include:

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion

In the age of intelligent technology, focusing on innate human needs is imperative to maintaining growth and remaining competitive. The demand for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is more than just another target to meet. Companies are called on to make meaningful cultural change in order to foster inclusivity.

There are many benefits to having multi-generational teams working together. Research shows that age diversity can improve cognitive performance,⁶ and can also lead to more creative thinking and innovation.⁷ By viewing age and generational differences as an opportunity, organizations can shift focus to the abilities, experiences, and knowledge of individuals, leading to innovation and productivity.

Over and above generational differences and gender and race parity, DEI also includes employees with diverse religious and political beliefs, education, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientation, cultures, and disabilities. Companies are discovering that, by supporting and promoting a DEI workplace, they’re gaining benefits such as innovation, creativity, and agility that homogeneous environments seldom do.⁸

Gain a clear understanding of your unique traits and attributes, which can be used as powerful leadership tools to help develop teams, drive innovation, and stimulate business growth in the Women’s Leadership Program from the Yale School of Management Executive Education.

• Freedom and flexibility

Previously, being able to work from home was rare and considered a ‘perk.’ As the population demographic and way of life changes, flexible and remote work is proliferating.⁹ Used to describe any role that breaks the traditional norm of a rigid 9-to-5, five-day week structure, flexibility offers more freedom over when, where, or how employees can fulfil their particular roles.¹⁰ Organizations are starting to recognize this and act on it – since 2016, there’s been a 78 percent increase in job posts that provide work flexibility.¹¹

Technology is partly responsible for this shift in work flexibility, not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic. Emails, conference calls, instant messaging, and video chats have enabled employees to stay in touch with their co-workers from anywhere. It might seem that this development is in favor of employees, and may not be attractive to employers who benefit from the controls of a conventional job environment. However, by offering flexible or remote working conditions, companies can also improve their competitive edge by attracting and retaining top talent.

• Work-life balance

The demands and desires of today’s employees have changed. GetSmarter found extensive evidence that people are choosing to move jobs in order to improve their work-life balance. Flexibility can be offered by the employer, but work-life balance can be created by the employee. No longer does a large salary bring satisfaction to employees with sought-after skills; rather, they recognize that time is as valuable an asset as money.

Essentially, people are looking for more than just a paycheck. They want purpose and meaning from their work, and want to be recognized for what makes them unique. Relationships also play an important role, particularly with a manager who can coach them to the next level.

• Lifelong learning culture

When it comes to workplace culture, there’s a large gap between what business leaders think is going on and what employees say is happening on the ground. Two thirds of leaders (68 percent) feel they create empowering environments – in which employees can be themselves, raise concerns, and innovate without fear of failure – but just one third (36 percent) of employees agree.¹³ In addition, employees care increasingly about workplace culture and believe it’s important to help them thrive (reported by 77 percent of women and 67 percent of men).¹⁴ They want purpose and meaning from their work, and want to be recognized for what makes them unique. Relationships also play an important role, particularly with a manager who can coach them to the next level.

Though technology and the workplace are changing, human nature isn’t. In GetSmarter’s studies of the world’s most successful organizations, we’ve learned that a culture of high employee development is the most productive environment for both businesses and employees. Gallup research shows that Millennials more than ever “want to be known for what makes them unique”, and demand that workplaces put their personal development first.¹⁵ GetSmarter predicts that companies will increasingly acknowledge the importance of culture as context for performance and employee engagement, with a focus on monitoring, managing, and curating a lifelong learning culture.

• Agility to change management

To grow a suitable candidate pool and foster a workforce that can adapt to change and innovate, it’s critical for human resources (HR) and learning and development (L&D) professionals to prioritize a culture of continued learning in their organizations. This will allow them to remain agile in the face of disruption and create a more engaged workforce that has the collaborative tools to drive innovation for the future. If employees are taught how to build a learning mindset, it will help prepare them for dealing with a constantly, even abruptly, changing environment.

In short:

• Over 70 percent of businesses believe their employees aren’t properly prepared for the future of work¹⁶
• There’s a shrinking availability of suitable skilled workers¹⁷
• It’s less expensive to reskill than to hire externally¹⁸
• The future of work is becoming very ‘human’ and harder to automate¹⁹

Earn the tools needed to create a company that is agile and competitive in a fast-changing marketplace in the Strategic Change Management online short course from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

• Whose responsibility is continuous learning?

Most respondents agree that continued learning should be a joint responsibility between the business and the individual. Our survey found that employees feel individually accountable for continuous learning whereas talent management and HR view it as being more of a business or joint responsibility. This misalignment may mean that employees are unaware that their employer is willing to support them to learn. On the other hand, HR and talent management may view continuous learning as too important for business to have no responsibility for. Refer to the graph below:

From an employee’s perspective, adopting an approach of ongoing learning is critical to adapt.

Discover the alternative workforce

According to research conducted by Upwork, nearly two-thirds of companies have remote workers, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic increasing this figure, with possible permanent effects.²¹ This has given rise to what can be known as the ‘alternative workforce’.

As defined in ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report, a remote worker is someone who is employed by a company, but works outside of a traditional office environment. Post-COVID-19, GetSmarter predicts that companies will expand the acceptability of remote work, and will provide more choice and flexibility to full-time contract employees to work wherever they can get their best work done, including away from the office.

A gig worker, defined in the report as someone who works part-time, on contract, and has no long-term employer-employee relationship, could work anywhere from a local co-working space, a coffee shop, or in a city across the world. While this is becoming an increasingly attractive option for those looking for more flexibility, GetSmarter predicts that the rate at which remote work is adopted will outpace the rate at which companies adopt the gig economy, with only nine percent of HR and people managers indicating that they hire ‘giggers’ to fill skills gaps that exist within their teams and organizations.

Overall, a recent Gartner survey of HR leaders found that 41 percent of employees are likely to work outside the office at least some of the time post-pandemic, up from 30 percent before the virus struck.²²

Study the frameworks and leadership skills needed to overcome modern workplace challenges and manage teams effectively. Sign up to the Oxford Executive Leadership Programme today.

What will the workplace look like in 2030?

Technology will play an even more important role in the workplace of 2030. Traditional work models will give way to more collaborative, horizontal structures as companies seek to tap into the power of technology to drive innovation and growth.

The participation rate of the workforce is projected to fall to 60% by 2030.²³ This increase, combined with the retirement of baby boomers, will result in a shortage of skilled workers in many industries. To address this issue, companies will need to focus on attracting and retaining top talent.

The future is now: Creating opportunity for sustainable business performance

In a time of rapid change and uncertainty, people have become the most valuable asset to companies. Being able to develop employees is viewed as a source of competitive advantage in the marketplace. Since this, in turn, is also a motivational element that keeps employees feeling engaged, it’s meaningful for organizations to implement a learning culture.

The ability to balance work and purpose, aided by technology, will be a key factor in shaping people’s lives over the next decade. If employers don’t keep up with this trend they’re likely to lose their best people, either to more agile organizations or to some form of self-employment. Companies can prepare for the future of work by aligning their purpose, culture, vision, and values to the needs of the changing workplace, and prepare for a new division of labor between humans, machines, and algorithms.

To navigate change and the future of the workforce, it’s vital to rethink learning and development in the workplace. Explore why learning and work is the new organizational ecosystem here.

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The post The Workplace of the Future Is Here. Are You Ready? appeared first on GetSmarter Blog.

Preparing to stay relevant as you age

For many years, human life expectancy has been increasing; 20 percent of girls, and 12.5 percent of boys born in 2020 are predicted to see their 100th birthday.¹ Those children, once they become adults, will have many decades ahead of them that they’ll need to work.

With improved longevity, delayed retirement is becoming a real consideration for those in the current workforce. Whether it’s through choice or financial need, new professionals are starting to leave the corporate world later than ever before. In fact, practically all Western countries are seeking to shift the age of retirement past 65 and place it more in line with our future life expectancies.²

As lives extend, and anticipated time working becomes longer, it’s important to focus on the sustainability of both careers and companies.

Tie this to how quickly the job market changes, and it re-emphasizes how critical it is to stay on the front foot with ongoing learning and re-skilling, especially when we look at the future of work. This is what you need to know as you prepare for a long and fulfilling career:

Overcome the struggle to stay relevant

As our careers could potentially reach a span of up to six decades and the nature of our work continues to change, the education we obtain in early adulthood will simply not be enough to keep us qualified and relevant over the many years that follow. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2025, half of all employees will need to be reskilled. They will need to learn technology, critical thinking, and problem-solving, among other skills.³

The GetSmarter Skills Hierarchy reveals where you should place your reskilling focus in the future. You can learn more in this article, and/or browse the full Future of Work is Here report.

This makes the concept of lifelong learning an absolute necessity if you want to not only stay relevant, but also grow in the face of disruption.

Embrace the changing nature of careers

Over the past 70 years or so, the typical employee has largely followed a traditional ‘three-stage life’ approach. You get your tertiary education. You find a job and climb the corporate ladder. You retire. This has built a comfortable and reliable path of progression and learning.

But this way of working is quickly changing. Organizations have become flatter and careers much more fluid. When you’re expecting to live for longer, the traditional life-model can transform into something far more complex, allowing you to pivot and reinvent yourself over and over again.

While in the past many professionals would choose to stick to one career path, COVID-19 has drastically changed how people view their careers. Of those in the U.S. under 40 years old, almost a third have given the idea of changing careers serious thought. And about 20 percent of workers have considered shifting professions.⁴ This leads to questions about future careers and preparing for change.

Prepare for the fourth industrial revolution

As technology evolves, advancement is only accelerating. Job descriptions are changing quickly as disruptive tech flips the script on what’s needed and what’s not. The rapid pace of innovation has the potential to make much current expertise outdated in only a few short years. According to IBM, the half-life of technical skills is now approximately just two and a half years.⁵ There’s now constant pressure to master new technologies or risk becoming obsolete.

“For many members of the world’s workforces, change can sometimes be seen as a threat, particularly when it comes to technology,” says Daphne Luchtenberg, director of reach and relevance in McKinsey’s London office. “This is often coupled with fears that automation will replace people. But a look beyond the headlines shows that the reverse is proving to be true, with Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies driving productivity and growth across manufacturing and production[…].

“What’s more, with 4IR technologies in the hands of a workforce empowered with the skills needed to use them, an organization’s digital transformation journey can move from aspiration to reality.” ⁶

The future of work has changed drastically through the four revolutions we’ve experienced.

Learn new skills to become essential

It’s estimated that 45 million Americans will lose their jobs to automation by 2030. That accounts for 25 percent of the workforce. But automation is expensive; a robot is less likely to be purchased to do a job that someone can be hired for $10 an hour.⁸ For the jobs that can be replaced by technology, in order to stay on top of your industry, you might find yourself needing to learn new skills in order to redesign your work for the future.

Excel in hybrid professions

While the technological revolution has brought about a lot of automation, it’s also brought about opportunities for growth in the form of hybrid professions. Over the last few years, programming and data analysis have become far more accessible to less technical workers. New tools have had a democratizing effect – with technical and analytical functions no longer the exclusive domain of ‘experts’, they can be harnessed to improve the effectiveness of professionals’ work across a number of business areas. This has resulted in hybrid roles that combine technical expertise and more traditional skills such as analysis, design, project management, and marketing.⁹

These new positions may hold titles like ‘Experience Architect’ or ‘User Experience Designer’ and will generally require workers to gain knowledge of a technical domain, industry expertise, as well as softer skills such as problem solving. In the future of work, demand will continue to grow for these professions as they perform increasingly important functions in the digital economy.¹⁰

Explore how learning is being redesigned for work

As the modern day professional is required to develop new skills to compensate for disruption, micro-learning is no longer sufficient to keep the workforce adequately skilled. Rather, a successful career requires a combination of both continued micro-learning and macro-learning at key points throughout your development.¹¹

As innovative technologies and teaching models have put learning at people’s fingertips, the global marketplace for education, professional skills development, and corporate training has grown by leaps and bounds. The global corporate training market is expected to generate more than $417 billion by 2027, up from nearly $333 billion in 2019. ¹²

This is just one indication that education and upskilling have a pivotal role in today’s fast-evolving economy. What does the future of work hold? While we can’t say for sure, in an age defined by disruption and a workforce soon to be made up of future centenarians, one thing is clear: change will be constant, and new skills and hybrid careers the norm.

No matter where you are in your journey, explore our career advice for practical steps towards building the future you want.

The post The 100 Year Life – How to Prepare for the Future of Work appeared first on GetSmarter Blog.

However, learning and talent development across industries has notoriously struggled to boost employee skills and adequately support their growth. In recent years, organizations have attempted to master this shortcoming through the notion of ‘learning in the flow of work’. This concept sees employees quickly and easily accessing short pieces of learning content on the job. GetSmarter’s 2020 ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report revealed that 28% of professionals (including talent and people managers, senior leadership, and C-suite executives) consider a looming skills gap to be the key trend shaping careers over the coming years.² And while workplaces have been able to harness a growing number of online resources to help fill this gap, simply learning in the flow of work alone isn’t enough to keep up with the rapid rate of change.³

This has been met with a groundswell of enthusiasm for more substantial skills advancement, with learning and development professionals worldwide reporting that they’re observing a stronger appetite for upskilling than ever before. ⁴

Respondents were also asked to complete the statement “My career path/vision is…”, where the majority (34%) selected the answer “is fluid, and changes frequently”.

This suggests a realization that employees’ career paths are no longer linear, but shift depending on their evolving needs and desires. With this in mind, organizations will need to strategically and purposefully invest in reskilling and upskilling their workforce to gain a competitive advantage and meet the needs of a rapidly changing world. To achieve this, a drastic shake-up of soft skills and, in particular, leadership skills will be needed.

In fact, according to GetSmarter’s 2020 report, critical thinking and leadership skills were viewed as being even more valuable for employees in the future than technical ability.⁵ Recruiters also agreed that the biggest skills gaps today lie in interpersonal skills (51%) and critical thinking (49%).⁶ The latest career outlook research suggests that the complexities brought on by COVID-19 have further magnified this viewpoint, with a third of respondents ranking leadership and soft skills as the most crucial focus areas for 2021.

Flexibility, fluidity, and embracing change

Businesses are moving towards fostering flexible, engaging spaces in which their employees can thrive. The disruptive impact of COVID-19 has arguably been felt most acutely in the workplace where, in a matter of months, preconceptions around the traditional nine-to-five desk job have been turned upside down. The pandemic has accelerated a new approach to careers, in which modern professionals question how, where, and when they work. Employees increasingly view the opportunity to work remotely as one of the positive outcomes of the ‘new normal’.

The advent of seamless, real-time communication has fostered a virtual, connected, and boundaryless workplace,⁷ where single companies increasingly rely on globally managed workpools,⁸ and millions appear ready to give up on the concept of fixed employers and employment altogether.⁹ For the business, the name of the game is flexibility and fluidity. 

Fostering a culture of engagement

In an era where reskilling has become a priority concern for 80% of executives,¹⁰ businesses must invest in continuous learning and foster a workplace where their employees feel motivated to pursue personal development. GetSmarter’s research reveals that 54% of professionals view upskilling as a joint responsibility between a business and an individual, with 69% of HR managers agreeing that online courses are an effective means of enhancing marketable interpersonal skills.¹¹ Fostering an organizational culture of learning and self-assessment not only helps close critical skills gaps, but can lower staff turnover and substantially enhance employee engagement and retention.¹² And with 57% of GetSmarter’s respondents indicating that they were either “likely” or “very likely” to change jobs (i.e. leave their current company for another role within their industry) in the next 12 months, the ability to develop and retain skilled staff is more critical than ever.

The power of trust

Trust has proven vital to a company’s future success. It enables organizations to design a culture that supports their workforce, enhances business operations, and aids the community. Organizations that implement measures to ensure their employees are safe, supported, and equal will stand out in the future marketplace.

Accenture’s future workforce research discovered that by meeting six key employee needs – emotional and mental, relational, physical, financial, purposeful, and employable – organizations can unlock individual’s full potential, a framework they’ve dubbed “Net Better Off”. They found that 64% of a person’s potential is affected by how they feel across these dimensions.¹³ By enhancing how your workforce feels across these dimensions and creating trusting relationships, you can not only improve your team’s ability to leverage skills and strengths, but boost business performance as well.

Their research also found that few companies are embracing best practices, such as enabling continuous learning, using technology to develop flexible work environments, and promoting employee well-being and equality, which could provide positive workforce behaviors and enhance revenue growth potential.¹⁴

Towards continuous learning

Ultimately, there is a heightened drive from both employees and employers to reassert some control over the future of careers through upskilling. For the working professional, the best response to uncertainty is lifelong learning, and the organizations that create a flexible environment in which this is encouraged are most likely to succeed.

How will you prioritize employee development in 2021? GetSmarter for business can help you take ownership and control of your organization’s future by assisting you in upskilling and reskilling your workforce. Explore which future-ready skills your employees should be developing and better understand their individual worth using the Career Navigator tool.

Prepare your employees for the future workplace.

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The post The Great Career Reset: Upskilling Your Employees for an Uncertain Future appeared first on GetSmarter Blog.

To investigate how to best serve professionals’ development, GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, conducted a survey of 648 people from around the globe. The responses show that the COVID-19 crisis – while the cause of immense distress – has also accelerated certain career trends, with an increasing number of professionals rethinking their approach to growth. Now, more than ever, people are prioritizing upskilling as a way to adapt for a post-pandemic future.

Transforming careers in the wake of COVID-19

For professionals around the world, retrenchment and furloughing have been very real and difficult parts of the COVID-19 crisis.² Many have been forced to re-enter the job market as their companies have struggled to survive or have closed completely. That said, even those who haven’t lost their jobs are reassessing how long they want to stay in their current roles. In fact, more than a third of GetSmarter’s millennial and Generation Z survey respondents say they’re “very likely” to change jobs in the next 12 months alone. Perhaps even more noteworthy, 63% of Generation Z and 54% of millennials say they’re either “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to change entire professions in the same time frame.

Whether career change has been voluntary or not, an increasingly active labor market has highlighted the need for upskilling as a way to adapt to an uncertain landscape. Professionals who are changing jobs need to bolster their CVs in order to compete. But more significantly, the growing trend towards career reinvention means that more professionals may need to reskill completely.

Rethinking career trajectory

Due to the changes brought on by the pandemic, more people have realized that there isn’t a single way of experiencing a career and, in turn, are reimagining what their professional lives could look like in the long term. This has amplified the trend towards a less linear career path. According to GetSmarter’s research, the majority of respondents have much shorter and more fluid career roadmaps post-COVID-19, with most people planning no more than three years into the future.

Sidestepping the traditional career path, professionals are being driven to look more broadly at the directions their careers could take given today’s increasingly complex and turbulent work environment. Exacerbated by the pandemic, there are higher chances of job loss and fewer opportunities for vertical mobility.³ As a result, the future career trajectory for many may likely be made up of a range of jobs, including working with employers, engaging in the collaborative economy, and self-employment. The emergence of hybrid jobs also means that the nature of specific careers could be upended.⁴ 

As career change expert Herminia Ibarra says:⁵ 

Developing a skills plan

As roles become more fluid, the concept of traditional career development plans also becomes increasingly outdated. Instead, professionals are focusing on creating a tool kit of transferable skills. These skills can be used as building blocks that can be reconfigured in various contexts throughout their professional lives – much like how LEGO pieces can fit together to create any number of constructions.

And while technical skills remain important, there’s growing acknowledgement that they require the support of a broader tool kit of leadership and soft skills,⁶  such as communication and critical thinking.⁷ This is reflected in GetSmarter’s past research, where respondents forecasted that critical thinking (31%) and leadership skills (26%) will hold greater importance than technical (17%) or digital (11%) capabilities in the long term.⁸ GetSmarter’s latest findings support this: a third of respondents expect leadership and soft skills to be by far the most important competencies in 2021.

This has created a new hierarchy of skills, where digital literacy is assumed, and leadership, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills act as signal boosters to employers looking for agile employees who can take on various roles.

As uncertainty opens up the doors for more permanent change, professionals have the power to reshape their careers by building up a portfolio of skills. Whether it’s prioritizing a work-life balance or pivoting to a role that offers more fulfillment, there’s been a profound shift in what’s seen as possible. One thing is certain: for those who want to succeed in the long term, regardless of external disruptions, lifelong learning is essential.

What’s your next career move? The GetSmarter Career Navigator tool provides upskilling guidance and insights to help you plan for the future you want. 

Plan your next steps using the Career Navigator tool.

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To better understand how to support professionals and their development needs, GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, surveyed 648 people across the globe, exploring their attitudes towards work now compared to 12 months ago. Participants were asked to rate their current feelings across a broad spectrum, and these were grouped into four main emotional states:

GetSmarter’s research found that the majority of respondents feel more distressed about their careers and less self-assured post-COVID-19. For many, the fear surrounding the virus has been overwhelming, with social distancing and career uncertainty leaving them feeling more isolated and anxious than before.²

On the other hand, the research also revealed that more people have been feeling energized in recent months. While the pandemic has been disruptive, it’s also given people the opportunity to reassess their careers and take a more active approach in preparing for change.

Women are facing the biggest challenges

Despite both men and women feeling an increased sense of uncertainty around their careers (7% and 9% respectively), many women have had to navigate bigger hurdles in the wake of COVID-19.

The pandemic has exacerbated challenges that many women already face in the workplace, leaving them feeling more distressed about their careers than their male colleagues. Women are more vulnerable to job losses due to the fact that many of the industries affected have had proportionally more female workers, there are pre-existing gender inequalities in the workplace, and women take on more of the family responsibilities.³ As a result, as many as two million women are considering furloughing or leaving work completely in the United States alone.⁴

For those women who remain employed, the number of mothers with young children who opted to cut their work hours is four times larger than fathers.⁵ This has more than doubled the gap between the number of hours worked by men and women,⁶ and could have a long-lasting impact on efforts towards building a more equal working landscape.

Generation X and Generation Z take strain while millennials feel energized

The added pressure of parenting and family responsibility in a time of COVID-19 can also be seen when looking at work attitudes on a generational level.

Over the past year, many Generation Xers have had to homeschool their children for the first time while simultaneously holding down a job.⁷ The stress of this, on top of potential health concerns for their family and elderly parents,⁸ have left them the most distressed out of all the generations.

In contrast, millennials, who have comparatively fewer responsibilities, are feeling the most energized (35%). They also appear to have more interest in their careers now than they did last year. Based on GetSmarter’s ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report findings, this may be due to younger generations being more adaptive and resilient as a result of growing up in an era of constant disruption.⁹ Overall, studies have found that professionals in this age group are the most optimistic about the opportunities surrounding the work shift, seeing it as a chance to drive the change they want to see in the way they perform their roles.¹⁰

That doesn’t mean the crisis hasn’t affected younger workers though. Pandemic-related closures have had a major impact on younger generations, with Generation Zs arguably experiencing the most disruption in a time in their lives that’s critical for professional and personal growth.¹¹ More than a quarter of Generation Zs and a quarter of younger millennials reported that they’d either lost their jobs or been placed on unpaid leave by May 2020.¹² This has seen more Generation Zs feeling like they’re simply ’surviving’ in their careers (29%), and has resulted in a significant decrease in their self-assuredness, from 25% to 13%.

To find out more about the effects of the pandemic on careers, read the next article in this series: The Great Career Reset: The Positive and Negative Impact of COVID-19

How people are reacting

The uncertainty that COVID-19 has placed on careers has shone a spotlight on the need for people to remain adaptive in the face of change. As a result, there’s been a surge in professionals prioritizing upskilling as a way to prepare. This was especially prevalent in the beginning of the pandemic, where there was a significant spike in interest for online courses.¹³

By investing in their skill sets, people are empowering themselves to become more resilient to unexpected challenges and are gaining the freedom to explore more options beyond their current nine-to-five jobs. When looking at the most important skills people want to learn in 2021 from GetSmarter’s survey, it’s clear that they’re focusing on gaining transferable skills that will equip them to work across a variety of sectors, rather than more industry-specific ones. Most notably, the majority of people rank leadership and soft skills at the top of the list.

Learn more about how people are adapting their growth and development paths in the article: The Great Career Reset: Pivoting From a Career Plan to a Skills Plan

While the pandemic has closed doors, it has also opened new windows of opportunity, leaving workers more engaged and energized about their careers than in years gone by. The future may be unknown, but it holds the chance for people to grow, rethink their priorities, and reflect on what they want their professional lives to look like in the long term.

Whether you’re changing jobs or simply looking to keep up with a changing world, GetSmarter’s new Career Navigator tool is designed to help you plan your skills development and find opportunities for growth in your professional sphere.

Discover which skills to focus on for your future with the Career Navigator tool.

The post The Great Career Reset: Why Some Thrive While Others Barely Survive appeared first on GetSmarter Blog.

And yet, it would be inaccurate to say that the global response to the pandemic has been altogether detrimental to the working professional. As part of our career outlook research, GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, asked 648 past students around the globe how COVID-19 has negatively or positively impacted their careers. Surprisingly, less than a third of respondents believe that the pandemic has negatively affected their careers, with 42% feeling neutral and 27% citing a positive or very positive impact. A deeper dive into the varying emotions that surround work in a time of a pandemic can be found in the first post of this series: The Great Career Reset: Why Some Thrive While Others Barely Survive.

To better unpack this sentiment, GetSmarter analyzed respondents’ open-ended replies to the question of COVID’s negative and positive impact, applying a framework of:

• Control: a situation that personally affects me, and I can control my reaction to it
• Influence: a situation that personally affects me, but I can’t influence it
• Concern: I’m aware of the situation but it may not affect me personally and I can’t influence it

The negative impact of COVID-19 on careers

For many, COVID-19 has had a clearly negative impact on both the aspects of work within their control (for instance, the decline in meaningful day-to-day interactions) and those beyond (such as market instability or a potential double-dip recession). However, according to GetSmarter’s research, the biggest detrimental impact by far has been felt in the sphere of “Influence” – where 75% of respondents have been personally affected by the pandemic but still feel powerless to change things. This hints at a newfound sense of global uncertainty, as professionals are placed under increasing pressure to adapt and foster resilience in order to thrive.

A lack of balance and loss of influence

Many respondents express anxiety over working more and for longer hours during the pandemic, suggesting that they have struggled to staunch the bleed of work responsibilities into personal time. Other studies support this, showing that locked-down employees work for 48.5 minutes longer every day, and participate in more meetings.² GetSmarter’s research found that time is a more valuable commodity than ever, especially among millennials (who worry that their increased workload obstructs their capacity to take on new projects), and Generation X – particularly parents – who feel that they must work longer hours to maintain some level of job security. Across generations, burnout is also an abiding theme, as is a sense that plans have been postponed and career growth stalled.

The pandemic has also landed a substantial body blow to many of the methods traditionally used to exert influence in business. Those respondents who remain employed express anxiety over how a loss of mobility and valuable networking opportunities has slowed their cash flow and delayed important plans. Further studies suggest that more than two-thirds of executives have experienced moderate to considerable challenges in customer acquisition during the lockdown.³ And with nine in 10 people living in countries that have had some form of travel restriction,⁴ many have found their business opportunities curtailed and spheres of influence shrunk.

A number of industries had a particularly difficult year in 2020, with shareholder returns markedly declining in sectors such as oil and gas (by 16.9%), commercial aerospace and travel (9.7% and 2.4% respectively), banks and insurance (7.5% and 4%), telecoms (8.8%), and real estate (9.4%).⁵ Unsurprisingly, GetSmarter’s research revealed substantial increases in distress levels from respondents in these sectors, with those in energy, oil, or transport 23% more distressed than they were 12 months ago, and professionals in banking and finance or media, marketing, or communications 13% more distressed than they were in 2019.

Our research also reflects a sense of disconnection from the workplace – particularly among baby boomers whose recent isolation has, in some cases, pushed them into early retirement. Further reports suggest that nearly half of today’s newly remote workers worry that their sense of belonging suffers at home,⁶ and three-quarters of the American workforce feel less connected.⁷

The positive impact of COVID-19 on careers

At the same time, however, many have felt that COVID-19 has had a positive impact on their careers. Our positive responses reveal some degree of ambivalence towards the question of influence as, while some respondents have felt restricted, more than half (51%) have simultaneously found new clarity in this regard. By claiming ownership over their skills development and embracing remote work, respondents have also been able to take more control (38%) of their careers and professional growth.

Influencing the future of work

For many, the ‘new normal’ has enabled organizations to pinpoint growth opportunities and advance digitization. According to our research, both Generation Z and millennials express excitement at how leading companies have placed greater emphasis on advancing cutting-edge technologies and fostering digital collaboration. Globally, executives have found that the crisis has created significant opportunities for their organizations, with 77% agreeing that it has accelerated their digital transformation efforts.⁸ In thriving industries such as IT and tech (where shareholder returns have increased by 53.5%), advanced electronics (41.7%), healthcare supplies (32.7%), medical technology (25.1%), and pharmaceuticals (19%),⁹ respondents are invigorated to pursue new opportunities – with GetSmarter’s research indicating that individuals in healthcare or biotech 17% more energized than a year ago. Many respondents also express satisfaction that the lockdown has allowed them to better illustrate their impact from the safety of their homes. The fact that some 75% of employees have been able to maintain or improve their productivity remotely appears to have fostered an enhanced level of support from their organizations.¹⁰

Taking back control

The slowdown effect of the lockdown has afforded respondents greater control over how they allocate their time, with many grateful for the opportunity to reevaluate their priorities. Millennials, Generation X, and baby boomers have all appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with what’s important to them, with parents particularly grateful to have more flexible hours at their disposal. Nearly half of newly remote workers say they now spend the time usually needed for commuting with their families,¹¹ with a substantial 86% of workers expressing satisfaction with their new work-life balance.¹²

Harnessing COVID-19’s positive effects in future career paths

According to GetSmarter’s 2020 ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report, the one thing that employers value above all else on an applicant’s CV is evidence of continued learning.¹³ Today, in a time of disruption, there’s a burgeoning desire to meet this need as respondents seek to enhance their skill sets and advance their careers, regardless of geographics and demographics. GetSmarter’s research suggests that millennials (especially those who aren’t parents) have used the time to seriously contemplate a career change, or focus on pursuing their studies. Over half of tertiary-educated young people globally have already pursued new training courses during the pandemic,¹⁴ and women particularly anticipate that new professional opportunities will emerge for them in the longer term.¹⁵

By developing a tool kit of transferable skills, professionals can bolster their ability to pivot into new roles, regardless of whether their industry is currently thriving or not. A look at the top trending competencies towards the end of 2020 reveals that broadly relevant skills such as teaching, writing, team building, and project delivery – those detached from any single sector or job title – are increasingly prioritized in leading economies:¹⁶

A combined arsenal of both technical and soft skills can empower today’s professionals – not only to prosper in their current positions, but to build sustainable careers that are resilient to the most drastic changes. Ultimately, it appears that we stand on the cusp of a new era of upskilling and personal development, where the majority of learning and development professionals see a stronger appetite for learning than before COVID-19 took hold.¹⁷

Regardless of whether the pandemic has had a predominantly negative or positive impact on your career, now is the time to prepare for an uncertain future. Whether your career trajectory has been turned upside down and you want to upskill to remain relevant, or you feel more in control and want to leverage this opportunity for growth, the GetSmarter Career Navigator tool provides the insights to help you take charge of your career. Explore how best to go about building your professional skill set and develop a better understanding of your individual worth, using an intuitive dashboard and salary calculator.

Discover growth opportunities using the Career Navigator tool.

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The post The Great Career Reset: The Positive and Negative Impact of COVID-19 appeared first on GetSmarter Blog.

As a professional responsible for upskilling and reskilling your staff, are you equipped with the knowledge to create a culture of learning? It’s one of the best solutions for keeping up with the demands of an evolving world and should no longer be treated as an additional company benefit, but rather a necessity for survival.

GetSmarter explores the implications of a changing world in ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report. With over 8,000 respondents globally, the research sheds light on the driving forces behind change in business. The shift in skills and jobs has made upskilling overwhelmingly urgent – for both individuals and organizations – and continuous learning offers a competitive advantage that can’t be ignored. The businesses that adapt and evolve their culture and facility for lifelong learning will be the ones that stand out.

There’s a lot of uncertainty in navigating a rapidly changing future. Still, worldwide, businesses are recognizing the need to adjust and adapt organizational structures while addressing a shift in skills. As a result, continuous learning has become a necessity. Employers are now faced with an exciting challenge: our working world sits at a juncture where Industrial Age practices meet Information Age patterns. Employers are tasked with navigating a new age of work, with the current revolution bringing as much change in a decade as previously spread over a century.¹

How, then, do we navigate a culture of learning that’s relevant to every employee?

It’s time to adapt management practices

Younger professionals (Millennials and Generation Zs) – some of whom have never known a world without the Internet – are starting to influence the workforce. Communication is expected to be instantaneous, and the conventional 9–5 in-office work schedule is being called into question. With hours, locations, cultures, and systems being re-evaluated, traditional management practices are faced with radical changes in attitudes towards work. To attract, retain, and engage talent, organizations will need to embrace these values: 

• Equality
• Freedom
• Flexibility
• Work-life balance

Company culture has also become a differentiating factor among organizations, and acts as an effective drawcard in recruiting and retaining top talent. As a context for performance and employee engagement, a company’s culture will be increasingly monitored, managed, and curated by design, as opposed to being adopted by default.²

With digital transformation at the forefront, businesses need to guarantee that their workforce is equipped to meet tomorrow’s needs. Enabling a space of lifelong learning will also ensure that, despite an employee’s age, experience, or capabilities, acquiring new skills via learning initiatives is supported and encouraged.

The importance of continuous learning and professional growth

Continuous learning is now an integral part of working, and it’s not exclusively about remaining relevant in the job market.

Employers, learning and development (L&D) managers, and HR professionals need to address the economic inequality being created by the technical advances of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – especially for lower-skilled workers.³ A workplace culture that prioritizes the skills development of existing labor forces is a holistic solution to this challenge.

GetSmarter asked HR, L&D, and talent managers why they think it’s important to develop employees. Among the top reasons were: 

1. Gaining a competitive advantage.
2. Filling existing skills gaps.
3. Increasing employee engagement.

The survey results shed light on the critical need for L&D opportunities. As we navigate the future of work, training needs to be at the forefront and become a key component for addressing some of the challenges companies face in ensuring that their employees’ skill sets are up-to-date.

The value of lifelong learning to an organization

Employee development is also directly linked to business outcomes. ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report shows that companies with agile learners react quickly to the evolving demands of business, and are better prepared to leverage new ideas for a strategic edge. 

A culture of learning is a powerful solution to change, and it’s likely to set an organization up as a market leader. But the benefits don’t stop at business outcomes. Lifelong learning is critical to overcoming HR-specific challenges.

The value of lifelong learning to HR and L&D managers

When L&D managers were asked what their number-one challenge was, the majority said: employees who are unaware of their skills or performance gaps, followed by developing leaders.

Engaging employees through skills-development is a solution to some of the workplace challenges HR professionals experience, and thus worth prioritizing. Along with the strategic business benefit of professional growth, successful training programs also contribute to attracting and retaining top talent. Research shows that more than 92 percent of employees feel more engaged after being given learning and development opportunities.

How to enable a culture of learning

Luckily for HR professionals and employees, learning has become easy and accessible. With access to books, online courses, development programs, podcasts, and other available resources, making a habit out of lifelong learning is viable. The sheer extent of development and training programs (from micro online learning courses to more formal skills-based certificates) reveals how interconnected continuous learning and the future of work are.

The research findings reveal that 33 percent of respondents identify the value and role of continued learning and skills-based certificates in securing their current positions. This is supported by recruiters, with talent professionals identifying continued learning as one of the top elements they look for in a prospective candidate’s CV.

As a business leader or professional involved in getting your team up to speed with the latest skills and knowledge, you have access to online learning solutions. GetSmarter offers a range of courses within training, development, and change management to ensure you’re equipped to manage the demands of upskilling and future workforce needs.

Online learning has also proven effective in teaching technical as well as interpersonal skills. As the working world gets increasingly technology-driven, human-based skills rise in value – so much so that it’s become a differentiating factor within the labor market. Offering these learning opportunities helps address the skills gap your business may be experiencing, whilst also developing your talent’s capabilities and, in turn, contributing to your business’s success.

Though the urgency of upskilling staff may seem daunting, the responsibility doesn’t fall solely on the shoulders of HR and L&D professionals. Over half of the GetSmarter report respondents believe it’s a joint responsibility between the individual and the organization. Businesses that want to remain competitive have an obligation to not only provide training opportunities, but also to foster a learning culture that encourages employees to upskill themselves.

The skills gaps businesses need to address

Recognizing the gap in your workforce’s competencies is the first step to tackling them. However, there are varying perceptions regarding where skills gaps exist within organizations. Both HR team members and people managers believe leadership skills need the most attention. At the same time, individual contributors consider the most significant gap to be interpersonal skills, which include communication and negotiation.

People managers and individual contributors believe that digital capabilities feature highly, as opposed to those in HR who rank them as the least pressing concern. What is clear is that the need for soft skills, such as leadership and interpersonal skills, is likely to grow. Those in hiring positions shouldn’t necessarily focus on candidates with technical skills, but rather those with the capabilities that machines can’t mimic.

What to look out for on CVs

Recruiters who want to build a learning culture should look for evidence of continued learning on future candidates’ CVs. This indication of professional development reveals that the worker can adapt to the demands of change.

Interpersonal skills are now among some of the most sought after by employers. These include social skills, communication, collaboration, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, decision-making, and critical and analytical thinking capabilities.

Surprisingly, job titles hold far less weight today than they did in the past. Instead, a candidate’s expertise and willingness to grow their skills will be what lands them the job.

Of HR, L&D, and talent managers, 68 percent believe that skills-based certificates are a valuable signal of capability. Seventy-two percent believe that, with the increasing need to upskill and the current rate of technological change, skills-based certificates will become an even more valuable stamp of capability in the next two years.

Evidence of continued learning shows employers:

• A worker’s intent to learn and grow
• The right attitude and a willingness to adapt
• Experience and extent of knowledge
• A commitment to work

As we venture into a future of work driven by technology, characterized by change, and influenced by Millennials and Generation Zs, our capacity and facility to learn need to be stronger than ever. The traditional workplace model no longer suits the needs of an evolving labor force and advancing economy. This shift has brought about a desire for meaningful work and an organizational culture that supports growth, with professional development a prerequisite for keeping up with the rate of change.

HR, L&D, and talent practitioners are tasked with reshaping a corporate space that meets the needs of employees and businesses. To ensure a team is fit for the demands of a changing world, continuous learning needs to become as integral to business practice as shareholder meetings. Employers can no longer rely on simply hiring top talent – they need to create it.

Explore ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report.

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Individuals are expected to live up to the age of 115,¹ making the working lifespan that much longer. Yet these workplace changes also offer opportunities; with every new skill needed, you have the potential to reinvent yourself, your role, and your career.

‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report from GetSmarter details our human ability to adapt to new driving forces within the working world. To better understand the implications of globalization, megatrends, and emerging technologies, GetSmarter conducted research that reached over 8,000 respondents globally, allowing for significant insight into the current and future business impact of such forces.

The report discovered that although technology is one of the biggest catalysts for change, ultimately the impact of this change is human. As machines augment our workplace, we’re left to explore the unique skills that set us apart as people. What this climate of change has shown is that lifelong learning and the need to upskill has become critical to individuals and organizations alike.

Do you have the skills needed for the future?

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has paved the way for transformative change. Today, the lines between physical, digital, and biological worlds have blurred, as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and other industry advances become increasingly embedded within society. These technologies are some of the biggest drivers of change in the workplace and they’re shaping the future in various ways that are yet to be seen. What this means for the working world is still being understood, but in order to navigate the uncertainty, professionals will need to look beyond the skills of today, towards the demands of tomorrow.

In the Leadership in an Exponentially Changing World online short course from the MIT Sloan School of Management, you’ll learn to leverage your unique leadership style and team strengths to drive your organization through change and towards success.

The GetSmarter Skills Hierarchy provides a guide to what professionals may need to upskill or reskill in the near future.

The expectation on digital capabilities has expanded over the years; they’ve also become assumed skills for every employee. What once only included Microsoft Office now includes Google’s G-suite, Slack, and Zoom, acting as the digital skills foundation for every professional role.

The proliferation of data has driven the demand for analytical and critical-thinking skills. From finance and marketing to other less obvious business functions, the ability to interpret information and extract insights that inform decisions is quickly becoming one of the most profitable skills to learn.

As complexity within the business landscape has developed, leadership and interpersonal skills have become highly sought-after capabilities. Leaders will need to effectively drive teams through radical change and uncertainty, while ensuring their workforce is inclusive and diverse and that their business impact is transparent, conscious, and valuable.

Saïd Business School, University of Oxford recognizes the crucial need to prepare for leadership roles. The Oxford Women’s Leadership Development Programme offers you a space to critically examine, acknowledge, and develop your leadership style and skills. Over six weeks online, you’ll build the confidence to broaden your impact and realize your full potential as a leader.

How people are choosing to upskill

The 4IR has also brought about a skills shortage across industries, specifically within the realm of emerging technologies. With such rapid advances, the labor market has struggled to keep up with the rate of change. Research indicates that by 2022, “no less than 54% of all employees will require significant re- and upskilling.”² Organizations are realizing that bridging the gap between current and future skills goes beyond individual employee benefit – the business value of addressing the skills gap reveals major financial incentive. The WEF predicts that closing the gap could result in an additional $11.5 trillion to global GDP in 2028.³ Business leaders are now asking themselves, how will we address the skills shortage?

Globally, companies have begun to answer this question by upskilling their employees. But despite technology driving change, the emphasis on skills gain is not solely technical. Many disruptive technologies have moved beyond their initial hype towards actual business implementation and application. Yet, even though the hype is now being acted upon, only 11 percent of respondents from our report identified learning about disruptive technologies as a key development tool used to close the gap in their existing skills. Instead people are choosing to close the skills gaps in their current capabilities by adapting to dynamic work needs and changes.

Despite what may seem like a technological takeover with advances in automation, humans are central to every technological design. With technology essentially becoming more human, it’s less about using technology (gaining technical skills) and more about interacting with technology (harnessing interpersonal skills). According to GetSmarter’s research, in the future, technical skills will serve as a means to compete, while interpersonal skills will hold the competitive advantage.

But in order to truly close the gaps that exist, companies will need to continuously invest in the current and future workforces.

Explore the power of the individual on the Communicating for Influence and Impact online short course from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). During the eight-week course, you’ll develop the communication skills needed to future-proof your business and influence positive change.

How businesses can address the need for upskilling

When organizations foster a culture of learning, employees become empowered to confidently navigate change. What’s more, employees understand that continuous learning is a joint responsibility that falls both on an individual as well as a business.

There is also a notable business benefit for businesses that learn. Companies that facilitate cultures of lifelong learning are:⁴

• 46% more likely to be first to market
• 37% more productive
• 92% more likely to innovate

This kind of culture requires leaders to go beyond just simply offering development programs. According to the Corporate Executive Board (CEB), “A learning culture supports an open mindset, an independent quest for knowledge, and shared learning directed toward the mission and goals of the organization.”⁵

An organization’s training, upskilling, or reskilling courses and systems will need to keep pace with the new demands of labor markets, technological disruption, demographic changes, shifting business models, and the evolving nature of work.⁶

What recruiters are looking for on CVs

From the GetSmarter report, it’s clear that evidence of continued learning and skills-based certificates play an important role in setting professionals apart in the market – and in some hiring scenarios, skills-based certificates are ranked higher than formal degrees by HR and talent managers.

The focus on technology has resulted in a warped perception of what employers are looking for now, and in the future. Alongside the growing skills gap is a perception gap regarding the skills employees perceive to be valuable, versus what employers actually find valuable.

When it comes to getting hired, experience is important, but an individual’s ability to learn and adapt is the true differentiator within applicants.

HR professionals will be looking towards a future where soft skills such as leadership outweigh technical skills. In the face of uncertainty, businesses will need to ensure their ‘human’ skills’ are sufficient enough to drive a workforce.

The nature of jobs are changing

With each new or lost skill, jobs evolve. And with each new technological innovation, particularly within automation, business processes restructure. While technology is set to bring about significant changes in the job landscape, it’s not expected to render humans irrelevant. Instead, automation is expected to bring about more than double the jobs that it could potentially displace.⁷ Of the 133 million new positions to emerge by 2022, these are the jobs that will be most in demand in the years to come:

1. People-centric roles
2. Technology-supported roles
3. Skills in emerging technologies

Roles are en route to adapting to a new division of labor between humans, machines, and algorithms.⁸ As automation becomes more common in the workplace, people will have the capacity to be more creative and innovative. Essentially, humans will have the space to become better humans.

Today, with online education and short courses, professionals can gain the most in-demand skills in a matter of weeks. Both employers and employees now need to ask themselves: will our skills meet the needs of an evolving future? As change becomes constant, so will continuous learning. Beyond the competitive advantage that upskilling gives employees, is a growing awareness amongst businesses and recruiters that talent is a scarce resource. With the future of work becoming increasingly human, investing in new skills is a sure way to meet the demands of employers.

We’re faced with some of the biggest challenges, changes, and disruptions of the last decade. In response, professionals will need to build and maintain a sustainable skill set that ensures they have a place in the future. Those who learn to evolve, adapt, and drive change, will be the ones leading the future of work.

How prepared are you for the future of work?
Explore the rest of this series of blog articles here

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The post How to Respond to the Future of Work: The Importance of Upskilling appeared first on GetSmarter Blog.

Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.

– Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Changing demographics worldwide are creating a labor market in which five generations coexist. For the first time in history, the silent generation, baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, and Generation Z are working side by side. With more generations in the workforce than ever before, the workplace values and working styles are changing. Understanding this multigenerational workforce and its implications will be essential for driving innovation, creating united and productive teams, and adapting to the future workplace.

To understand the challenges and opportunities that this and other factors have on the future of work, GetSmarter conducted research that surveyed 8,000 respondents from over 106 countries. The ‘Future of Work Is Here’ report provides significant insights into the current and future impact of disruptive and convergent forces, helping global business leaders and organizations to uncover meaningful tools for navigating change.

Organizations must be aware of the aging workforce, the multigenerational workforces that will be created as a result, and the possibilities and challenges that age diversity in the workforce will bring. The knowledge of how different generations can work together, and the ability to manage their collective differences, will be a critical factor in achieving business success. In fact, 89 percent of talent professionals agree that a multigenerational workforce makes their company more successful.⁷

Why we are working longer: the aging population and the workplace

As a result of a declining mortality rate, improved healthcare, and better quality of life, human life expectancy has risen dramatically. When considering that global life expectancy is currently averaged at 73 years⁸ compared to just 52.5 years in 1960,⁹ this becomes even more evident.

Simultaneously, the average birth rate – the number of children a woman gives birth to – is on the decline. This rate currently sits at 2.4 (nearly half of what it was 60 years ago) and is forecasted to reach 1.7 in 2100.¹⁰ Should the global fertility rate fall below 2.1, as expected, the world population will decrease, resulting in an inverted age structure (more older adults than youths). Globally, in 2018, those aged 65 or over exceeded children younger than five for the first time.¹¹

This increase in life expectancy, coupled with lower birth rates, has put immense pressure on traditional retirement and pension funds, with research indicating that most people will outlive their retirement savings by between eight and 20 years.¹² Additionally, with the rising cost of living, retirement is also becoming more expensive. As a result, the current workforce isn’t able to retire at the same age that previous generations did. In the U.K., this has seen the default retirement age of 65 being abolished entirely, and employers can no longer force older workers to retire.¹³

The continued rise in the cost of living also means that members of Gen Z are opting to study longer and enter the workforce at a later stage – a trend that’s projected to continue for the next 20 years.¹⁴ The combined impact has implications for employers, who will need to shift existing beliefs and attitudes towards older workers.

The longevity dividend

With healthier, older employees unwilling – and largely unable – to retire, companies that use the aging workforce to address this societal concern are more likely to set themselves apart from their competitors.

However, this will create changes for employers that they would not have experienced with employing workers from only one or two generations. Varying degrees of skills among the generations will require the workforce to adapt their skill sets, with our research suggesting older generations need improved technical skills, and younger generations require interpersonal and leadership development.

There’s a notable association between increased rates of aging and increased rates of automation.¹⁵ Research shows that countries that have experienced aging more rapidly show a higher automation adoption rate. This supports the idea that a decline in a “prime-age” workforce forces companies to find alternative sources of productivity beyond local labor.

As we move towards higher levels of technological advancement and automation, technology will be designed with humans at the forefront. In the future, work will be less about using technology and more about interacting with technology. Therefore, technical skills will become the means by which to compete, and soft skills will become a competitive advantage. Older employees with these skills will become a more prominent source of labor, rather than risk being made redundant.

A shifting workplace: industry preferences

The increase in older employees hasn’t been seen equally across industries. Data from GetSmarter’s report shows that certain sectors are still dominated by a younger workforce.

Ageism, in combination with other factors such as the perception that younger generations are more tech-savvy, may explain this skew towards a younger workforce in certain industries.

Younger generations are known to choose which industry they work in based on its perceived values. Companies in the tech industry are well known for establishing positive corporate values, appealing to younger generations.

On the other hand, younger generations attach a negative perception to industries such as oil and gas, defense, government, and public services. They’re therefore less inclined to work in these sectors, which is evident from GetSmarter’s research.

With employees who could be born more than five decades apart, today’s workforce is more complicated than ever. Technology has revolutionized our ability to perform various tasks virtually across continents and via multiple online platforms. Yet, the management systems, leadership practices, and communication processes that we use today are following routines established by a previous generation of workers, created in the Industrial Age.¹⁶ These assume that employees are prepared to commit a large percentage of their lives to their employers and fit their leisure, holidays, and family life around work. This outdated approach doesn’t comply with today’s principles of equality, freedom, and flexibility. To succeed, organizations now need to understand the various needs, values, and priorities that make up each generation and re-envision their management styles.

Organizations are also increasingly realizing the need to remain agile in the face of constant disruption. Change management offers organizations, and leaders, a way to respond to shifts in the workplace by putting a clear strategy in place. It’s the process that defines how an organization transitions from a current to a future state of operations in pursuit of value.

Gain the skills to achieve and nurture sustainable change in your organization in the Strategic Change Management online program from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

The impact of older generations working longer

Ageism and assumptions

While some governments have developed legislation that prohibits age discrimination in the workplace, ageism remains a significant problem. Ageism and generational stereotypes can make for an unpleasant experience, often pushing an older workforce to retire before they’re ready, or severely impacting their well-being. At the same time, employers can face discrimination lawsuits (some of which have costed companies between $2.85 million and $250 million),²⁰ a demotivated workforce, and a loss of opportunity due to the devaluation of older employees.

The AARP workplace survey found that two out of three employees aged 45 or older experience ageism. Out of the 61 percent of respondents who reported age discrimination, 91 percent believed it was commonplace.²¹ Understanding and avoiding the assumptions that exist, being intentional about conversations around age and ageism, and investing in unconscious ageism training is a way forward in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone thrives.

Companies who employ from a growing talent pool of older generational workers will have a better chance of managing skills gaps.²⁵ Creating tools in which older employees and younger employees can share knowledge, as well as increasing the number of intergenerational teams in the workplace, can assist in reskilling and upskilling, and contribute to the fight against ageism.

Overcoming ageism in the workplace is vital to the future of work. Organizations need to put plans in place now to reduce prejudice and negative stereotypes about older workers to ensure business sustainability.

Younger generations are moving into management

According to GetSmarter’s research, a significant portion of younger generations are already in management and decision-making positions. They therefore have, and will continue to have, an important influence on the workplace.

Younger generations want meaningful work

Millennials and Gen Zs place greater pressure on themselves and their employers to find a job that’s meaningful.

According to a recent survey, 57 percent of millennials feel that it’s very important for their work to have a positive impact on the world, and 50 percent would consider taking a pay cut to be employed by a company they believe is making the world a better place.²⁶ Similarly, Gen Z is one of the most socially active generations ever, with four out of five Gen Zs believing that their age group could change the world for the better.²⁷ To attract younger employees, companies are focusing on corporate social responsibility and are actively pursuing these responsibilities, as younger generations will hold them accountable and expect transparency.

In addition to meaningful work, younger generations are also more vocal in their need for organizations to have strong corporate values and a company culture that facilitates employee happiness. A survey by Glassdoor found that, in the U.S. and U.K., younger adults are more likely to prioritize culture above salary, and 73 percent of all adults surveyed wouldn’t apply to a firm unless its values aligned to their own.²⁸ Company culture has become a critical factor for young job seekers today. It also plays a role in whether they stay with a company, or move on. This has created a dynamic where employees have decision-making power over employers.

Young managers support flexibility

Younger generations’ demand for increased flexibility in the workplace, paired with better enabling technology, turbulent economic conditions, and uncertainty have given rise to an increasing number of remote workers and the growing “gig economy.” Both remote work and the gig economy can provide new job opportunities, improve earning potential, and offer parents the flexibility to work from home.

According to data from GetSmarter’s report, Generation Z managers are the most positive towards the gig economy. As shown by the graph below, nearly 16 percent of Gen Z managers said they’re hiring part-time contractors to fulfill specific skills gaps that exist in their organization. Additionally, Upwork found that younger-generation managers are more likely than their older counterparts to support flexibility in their teams by allowing remote work, and 50 percent of millennial and Gen Z managers have increased their use of freelancers in the past three years. In contrast, only 23 percent of baby boomers managers have done so.²⁹

The value of continuous learning and skills-based certificate

Disruption and uncertainty, amplified by COVID-19, has had a dramatic impact on the business world, requiring professionals to refine their capabilities or risk falling behind. Now, more than ever, online learning is playing a vital role in ensuring skills development is more accessible and flexible.

According to GetSmarter’s research, 70 percent of respondents believe that skills-based certificates are currently a valuable signal of capability on a CV. This is especially true with Gen Zs and millennials. Furthermore, younger generations also believe that, with the increasing need to upskill and the rate of change in technology, skills-based certificates will become an increasingly valuable sign of capability on a CV in the next two years. As younger generations move up the corporate ladder, an online certificate will become a more acceptable form of education and signal of competence to employers.

With younger generations already in management and decision-making positions, organizations are shifting away from the traditional workplace model of the past. They will continue to adapt as more Gen Zs enter the workforce.

The importance of diversity

There are many known benefits to having multigenerational teams working together, and research demonstrates that age diversity can improve performance. Through cognitive diversity and sharing workplace wisdom, age diversity can lead to more creative thinking and innovation.³⁰ Younger workers tend to enjoy the insights, professionalism, and engaged work ethic that their older coworkers provide.³¹ Older employees also often display stronger relationship skills, which benefit the organization.³²

By viewing age and generational differences as an opportunity, organizations can shift the focus to the abilities, experiences, and knowledge of individuals. Diversity can ultimately be a source of strength and innovation that leads to a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce.

Learn how to leverage diversity and inclusion to transform your business culture in the Inclusive Leadership online short course from EGADE Business School at Tecnológico de Monterrey, or gain practical tools to demonstrate the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion in your organization in the Leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion online short course from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University.

While the business case for an age-diverse workforce is growing, employers need to navigate a host of new challenges in managing and supporting workers of all ages successfully. The age demographic shift has already started to disrupt the future of work drastically. The ability to adapt to an increasingly aging workforce and the changing values of younger generations will ensure professional and organizational success in an increasingly complex, competitive business environment.

Navigate the changing workforce effectively. Explore the rest of this series of blog articles related to the future of work here.

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GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, curated ‘The Future of Work Is Here’ report with the aim to help professionals and organizations navigate these challenges. The research unpacks findings from over 8,000 respondents in 106 countries. With additional insights gathered from more than 100,000 students over the past 12 years, the report provides in-depth data of how the workplace is changing as attitudes and values shift. It also reveals that the most valued skills for the future won’t be technical, but rather those that can’t be done by machines, such as critical thinking and leadership. Furthermore, there’s a growing importance being placed on ‘soft’ or ‘interpersonal’ skills, something that human resources (HR), learning and development, and talent managers – particularly those in charge of recruitment – are taking note of.

While machines might be set to take over many technical tasks, employers and employees will increasingly place high premiums on uniquely human skills. The result of this will likely be more creative human-centered jobs, requiring higher degrees of social and emotional intelligence, and negotiation skills.

In the face of an increasingly tech-driven workplace, develop your practical negotiation skills through the exploration of strategies and real-world case studies in the Negotiation Strategies online program from Yale School of Management Executive Education.

Debunking the myths about the future of work

Despite prevailing fears of redundancy, humans are very much at the heart of the future of work. As technology assumes the menial work that humans used to do, more opportunities open up for companies to leverage the previously untapped creativity and innovation of people – and prioritize humanity and emotional intelligence at work. For people to thrive, it’s important that companies invest in programs and skills development that enhance trust, appreciation, respect, autonomy, and equity.¹

To that end, it’s necessary to address and debunk some of the myths that have arisen, and aptly place the role of human beings as a core component.

Myth 1
Machines will be superior to humans
Technology may take over the more menial tasks, but it also creates opportunities for organizations and employees to be more creative and innovative.² It may also provide people with the time and space to improve on leadership, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills – essential talents needed to navigate an increasingly complex world. Ultimately, humans will have the capacity to become better humans.

Myth 2
The most important skills are tech-related
GetSmarter’s respondents agree that the two skills that will be most important in the future are analytical or critical thinking and leadership. What’s more, those in charge of recruitment appear to understand just how important interpersonal skills will be far better than non-HR counterparts. The demand for social and emotional skills are also anticipated to grow across industries by 26 percent in the United States and 22 percent in Europe by 2030.³

Myth 3
Gig and remote work are created equal
Before COVID-19 forced employees into remote working, it was estimated that almost two-thirds of companies were employing full-time remote workers already.⁴ A number which has only risen in the past few months. In contrast, only nine percent of people and HR managers respondents indicated that they hire ‘giggers’ (part-time workers without a formal contract) to fill skills gaps that exist within their teams. While past research hasn’t always made the distinction between the two, it’s predicted that the rate at which remote work is adopted will far outpace the rate at which companies adopt the gig economy.

Myth 4
The responsibility of learning lies with employees
GetSmarter’s research found that employees feel individually accountable for continuous learning, whereas talent management and HR view it as being more of a business or joint responsibility. This misalignment may mean that employees are unaware that their employer is willing to support them to learn. To remedy this, HR, learning and development (L&D), and talent managers need to lead the way within organizations and create a continuous learning culture.⁵

Myth 5
Millennials will replace Baby Boomers in the workplace
In 2018, for the first time in history, those aged 65 or older outnumbered children younger than five globally.⁶ Due to improved healthcare and quality of life, human life expectancy is on the rise, meaning more people are working for longer. Therefore, a bigger concern should be the multi-generational workforces that will be created as a result, and the challenges that this offers.

Myth 6
The lump of labor fallacy
There’s the notion that the more work is being done by machines, the fewer jobs there’ll be for people. In reality, the amount of jobs flexes over long periods of time as technology creates new desires and needs, resulting in additional positions. Important to note, however, is that when tech-related changes happen, not everyone will have the skills or opportunities to make the transition to these new positions. Government, policymakers, and influencers will have to put programs in place to ensure a smoother short-term transition.⁷

The impact of technology on human life

Automation and AI are here, as is the ongoing debate around technology and its impact on work. But that’s not to say humans have lost our sense of agency; the choice to use robots to perform tasks is ultimately in our hands. Instead of replacing entire jobs, it’s believed that they could possibly make professionals’ work experiences more favorable. Mundane tasks delegated to robots, and creative tasks are left to humans.⁸ Computer-driven work can help improve our lives through better and cheaper products and services, whilst a new generation of jobs will be created for humans who can work alongside technology.

• Automation can help humans enjoy productive working lives

Technology influences every facet of modern life. But the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many people to move online and socialize through screens, has underscored just how integral technology has become in our lives.

As machines work to improve our experiences so that we can invest in more productive tasks, business leaders need to look at navigating AI in the workforce. To accomplish human productivity and business objectives, key actions include: a reallocation of resources, investment in up-skilling and reskilling employees and, on a larger scale, advancing new models of education and lifelong learning.⁹ Although some technological innovations have existed in the workplace for a while, they’re increasingly being used in new and exciting ways. In some cases, modern and next-gen tools, like modern video gaming, interactive apps and smartphones, have already replaced old or outdated technology, improving productivity, efficiency, and mobility.¹⁰

• Humans are strategic; machines are tactical

When analyzing the impact of technology on the economy, business, and society, studies reveal that skill shifts are not a new phenomenon; rather, the workforce has been affected since at least the First Industrial Revolution.¹¹ But the adoption of automation and AI marks a very different acceleration than what’s occurred in the past. It’s suffice to say that the more technical the work, the more technology can accomplish it. In other words, machines skew towards tactical applications.¹² On the other hand, work that requires a high degree of imagination, creativity, and strategic thinking is harder to automate: computers are skilled at optimizing, but fall short at goal-setting, or even using common sense.

Technology will replace some work, but it won’t replace the people who have done the work, or tech-savvy professionals who are comfortable working in online environments.¹³ For example, ATMs took over a number of tasks bank tellers were doing, making their roles redundant, but at the same time it gave existing workers the opportunity to upskill and sell a wider range of financial services. As American economist James Bessen notes, “The problem is that people are losing jobs, and we’re not providing them with the skills and knowledge that they need to prepare for new jobs.”¹⁴ The immediate call to action then is to rethink the shape and characteristics of the workforce, and to generate a new human resource development agenda that is both technological and human.¹⁵

Not all skills are created equal

GetSmarter’s research respondents agree that analytical and critical thinking is most valued in the workplace, both currently and in the future, while technical skills are rated in the middle in both instances, and digital capabilities feature last. Discover what these skills entail below:

In order to better leverage these human-centric skills, companies across all industries need leaders who can communicate persuasively and effectively, meet business objectives, influence various stakeholders, and drive positive change. The Communicating for Influence and Impact online short course from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) provides comprehensive insights and a range of tools to develop impactful communication.

• The most valued skills in the future

In its research, GetSmarter assessed the current and future values that people assign to different skills by asking:

1. Which of the following skills do you currently value most in employees? Or which of the following skills does your employer currently value the most?
2. Which of the following skills are you anticipating to be most valuable to your organization in the next 18 months?

Every working professional, no matter their role or function, should start preparing themselves for the increase in value that will be placed on uniquely human skills. GetSmarter’s data reflects that across generations, and employee and managerial levels, there’s widespread acknowledgement that analytical and critical thinking skills will become even more valuable and sought after in the future. The relatively low value that respondents placed on technical skills is likely based on the expectation that machines will take over technical tasks, leaving cognitive and creative tasks to humans.

When broken down by generation, the data reveals that younger people in Generation Z perceive technical skills and digital capability as far more valuable compared to other groups. As digital natives, this is to be expected. However, they also agree that analytical and critical thinking skills hold the most value overall, followed by interpersonal skills. This shows that even the digitally native generation acknowledges the value of uniquely human skills.

As a result of this evolving business landscape, there’s a growing need for highly skilled leaders who can navigate through these complex challenges and empower their teams to succeed. Combining theory and practice, the Oxford Executive Leadership Programme, from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, is centered around refining your leadership skills and purpose in line with your company’s strategic focus.

The ability to think analytically and critically, to lead teams, and build productive interpersonal relationships are the factors that will help one candidate stand out from another in the future workplace. These skills are highlighted as the areas where the largest skills gaps currently exist.

Organizations need to ensure that education and employment are fit for the needs of a changing world, one where new skills and learning are a continual part of a professional’s life. The GetSmarter Skills Hierarchy offers five key areas as a guide for where the workforce may need to upskill or reskill in the near future in order to stay relevant.

The future of work is human

In a time of rapid change and uncertainty, people have become the most valuable asset to companies. The ability to balance work and life, aided by technology, will be a key factor in shaping people’s lives over the next decade. Businesses and employees can prepare for the future of work by aligning their purpose, culture, vision, and values to the needs of the changing workplace, and prepare for a new division of labor between humans and machines.

How prepared are you for the future of work?
Explore the rest of this series of blog articles here

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The post Future of Work: Why Critical Thinking and Interpersonal Skills Are Power Skills appeared first on GetSmarter Blog.