A sequel to the Rise of the humans series
The lasting impacts of COVID-19 coupled with the rise of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies require that we reinvent the organization of work, how it is done, and where it is done. This, in turn, demands that leaders make critical choices about what kind of future-focused workplace they want to create at a much more accelerated rate than they had anticipated.
Creating a balanced workforce of the future will take a strategic approach that applies a digital mind-set to the reinvention of work. We are seeing organizations responding to the inevitable need to reinvent. AI and digital technology, and now COVID-19, are demolishing aging and soon-obsolete workplace structures.
While no one can predict entirely what will happen as the "new reality" or post-COVID-19 world sets in, or when we will get there, what organizations can control now (or as soon as they get out of crisis management) is planning for scenarios that may occur and preparing for that future makeup of the workforce—one that will most certainly include forms of automation.
In this paper, we discuss:
- the need to reinvent work and workforces
- the tenets of a digital workforce mind-set—an innovative perspective that will be critical in the race to build thriving, sustainable enterprises featuring flexible workplaces that are designed to survive the inevitable waves of disruption ahead
- the benefits of workforce shaping in creating a purpose-led culture where learning is constant and evolving
- some words of caution about the dangers of an emerging “quantified workforce” if not balanced within an ethical framework applied to work reinvention.
