2021 Global Human Capital Trends

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Four potential futures for the worker-employer relationship

We postulate four potential futures that illustrate how the worker-employer relationship could develop and how organizations and workers might respond. Read the full report

Work as fashion

Employers are in constant motion as they chase worker sentiments, competitor actions, and marketplace dynamics. The worker-employer relationship is REACTIVE: Employers feel compelled to respond in the moment to workers’ expressed preferences, and to competitor moves, without connecting those actions to a sustainable workforce strategy.

War between talent

Workers compete for limited jobs due to an oversupply of talent. The worker-employer relationship is IMPERSONAL: Employers view workers as interchangeable and easily replaceable, and workers are more concerned with competing with each other for jobs than with the quality of their relationship with their employer.

Work is work

Workers and employers view organizational responsibility and personal and social fulfillment as largely separate domains. The worker-employer relationship is PROFESSIONAL: Each depends on the other to fulfill work-related needs, but both expect that workers will find meaning and purpose largely outside of work.

Purpose unleashed

Purpose is the dominant force driving the relationship between workers and employers. The worker-employer relationship is COMMUNAL: Both workers and employers see shared purpose as the foundation of their relationship, viewing it as the most important tie that binds them together.

Charting your course

We invite you to explore these futures, where we discuss potential risks, how to know if you are in a particular scenario, and strategies to not only survive, but thrive. And as you explore them, challenge yourself to avoid concluding that the coming years will accelerate the changes you already expected or believed were inevitable.