The future of work will be technology-enabled, automated, diverse, and inclusive, with a newfound value on cognitive skills and emotion.
That’s the picture that emerges in this month’s edition of “Mind-Blowing Stats,” which show how technological and cultural shifts are already reshaping work as we know it. Read on for a clearer view of what’s to come.
1. The U.S. workforce—the number of people working or looking for work—is projected to reach 163.8 million in 2024. (Source: United States Department Of Labor)
2. The share of women in the workforce is projected to reach 47.2% in 2024, and the number of men in the workforce is expected to slightly decrease to 52.8% in 2024. (Source: United States Department Of Labor)
3. Although automation will play a role in the future workforce, the future will hinge more on experts who wield smart technologies, with 78% of recent survey respondents citing that smart technologies will most significantly change the workplace by 2020. (Source: HR.com)
4. Sixty-five percent of children now entering primary school will hold jobs that currently don’t exist. (Source: World Economic Forum)
5. In an analysis of 25 common skill sets today, researchers found that between 2016 and 2030, demand for social and emotional skills will grow across all industries by 26% in the United States and 22% in Europe. (Source: McKinsey)
6. The need for advanced IT and programming skills is going to grow. There will be 1.4 million open computing jobs by 2020 but only 400,000 computer-science graduates with the skills to fill them. (Source: The Bureau Of Labor And Statistics)
7. Demand for higher cognitive skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, decision making, and complex information processing, will also grow through 2030—by 19% in the United States and by 14% in Europe, from already sizable bases. The same research predicts the fastest rise in the need for advanced IT and programming skills, which could grow as much as 90% between 2016 and 2030. (Source: McKinsey)
8. Companies with great employee experience outperform the S&P 500 by 122%. Today, 51% of business leaders said they have plans to create individualized employee experiences comparable to consumer experiences. A keen focus on employee experience will be key for the future of work. (Source: Accenture)
9. AI could double annual economic growth rates in 2035 by changing the nature of work and creating a new relationship between man and machine. (Source: Accenture)
10. The impact of AI technologies on business is projected to increase labor productivity by up to 40% and enable people to make more efficient use of their time. (Source: Accenture)
11. Besides being more efficient, tomorrow’s workforce will be even more diverse than today’s—by gender, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual preference and identification, and perhaps by other characteristics we don’t even know about right now. (Source: Deloitte)
12. The vast majority of office workers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany said they believe technology helps them get their work done. The majority of the 4,000-plus office workers surveyed also said they believe technology makes them more productive, improves work-life integration, and helps them better connect with co-workers. (Source: Adobe)
13. Flexible workplaces are all the rage nowadays. There are currently 14,411 shared work spaces in the world today. The number of co-working members will rise to 3.8 million by 2020 and 5.1 million by 2022. (Source: AllWork)
14. When asked about what they think about the future world of work, office workers said they are mostly excited (37%) and see a world of possibilities. (Source: PwC)
15. Seventy-nine percent of executives agreed that the future of work will be based more on specific projects than roles. (Source: Accenture)
Source: cmo.com
