Deloitte: The Future of Work is here and organizations should stop speculating and start acting

NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2017—As technology continues to blur the line between digital and physical, there is a heightened focus on what the future of work will bring. The latest issue of Deloitte Review examines the key trends shaping the future of work —from new talent models, cognitive tools and augmented reality to the gig economy and more — and how companies and employees alike can take action to help define what comes next.

The newest issue of Deloitte Review features 10 articles on the “Future of Work” including an interview with Deloitte US CEO Cathy Engelbert, New York Times op-ed columnist Tom Friedman, and John Hagel, co-chairman for Deloitte’s Center for the Edge. In the piece, “Radically open: Tom Friedman on jobs, learning, and the future of work,” they discuss how business can adapt to pressing challenges such as the gig economy, richer knowledge flows and the future of schools. Friedman shares insights on how employers and employees should constantly be thinking and planning ahead in order to avoid problems in the future.

The publication’s content speaks to the fact that the future of work is about constantly evolving and adapting to disruptions, uncertainties and expectations. And, it not only impacts the business world but has far reaches into how we approach our everyday lives.

“We are currently in a unique position to alter and shape our future by understanding the powers driving these changes in our lives and business,” said Heather Stockton, Deloitte global future of work and Americas human capital practice leader, Deloitte Global. “Deloitte Review explores what lies ahead and how talent models, cognitive skills, talent demographics and even the very definition of a career is changing.”

“Navigating the future of work: Can we point business, workers, and social institutions in the same direction?” provides a framework for business to understand three key forces shaping the future of work and helps equip them with tools to help make the future of work productive and rewarding for everyone.

In an age where skill sets can become obsolete in just a few years, many workers are scrambling to stay current. “Catch the wave: The 21st-century career” shows how organizations can encourage continuous learning, improve individual mobility and foster a growth mindset in every employee, year after year.

“Work and jobs are dramatically changing as automation and cognitive technologies, along with the gig economy and crowds, transform and augment the workforce. We hope our new issue of Deloitte Review will enable business leaders to better understand the timely opportunities and challenges that lie ahead while giving them insights to start experimenting and making changes today,” said Erica Volini, principal and U.S. human capital leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP.

This issue of Deloitte Review also covers:

• “More real than reality: Transforming work through augmented reality” – It’s hard to wire a wind turbine while juggling a thick technical manual, or to ask off-site experts for help without being able to show them exactly what you see. Business leaders can learn how augmented reality may help by overlaying digital data onto the real world to give workers immediate access to vital information.
• “Meet the U.S. workforce of the future: Older, more diverse and more educated” – Adapting talent models and strategies is paramount to the future of work. Take an in-depth look at changing demographics, what the U.S. workforce of the future will look like, and what this could mean for decision makers across the globe.
• “Tech fluency: A foundation of future careers” – Technology permeates virtually all aspects of our lives—and our jobs. Without a strong foundation of knowledge about technology in the workplace, workers will likely find it harder and harder to contribute to enterprise value—and to grow professionally.
• “The rise of cognitive work (re)design: Applying cognitive tools to knowledge-based work” – Cognitive technologies and business process reengineering could be a match made in heaven, but it may require organizations to redesign their processes with cognitive technologies’ specific capabilities in mind.
• “Reconstructing work: Automation, artificial intelligence, and the essential role of humans” – Some say that artificial intelligence threatens to automate away all the work that people do. But what if there’s a way to rethink the concept of “work” that not only makes humans essential, but allows them to take fuller advantage of their uniquely human abilities?
• “Beyond office walls and balance sheets: Culture and the alternative workforce” – Managing organizational culture, often a challenge, is getting even harder with the rise of the alternative workforce. How can leaders bring independent contractors, telecommuters, and gig workers into their organization’s culture if many of the traditional levers do not apply?
• “Making the future of mobility work: How the new transportation ecosystem could reshape jobs and employment” – From truck drivers to elder care professionals, occupations of all sorts are facing shifts driven by the future of mobility’s vision of widespread ridesharing, autonomous vehicles and the integration of different modes of transportation.

The full publication can be accessed at Deloitte Review. Deloitte University Press publishes original articles, reports, and periodicals to advance the conversation on a broad spectrum of topics of interest to executives and government leaders. Explore more at www.dupress.deloitte.com.

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