The Future of Work in Flux

Almost every aspect of the way we work is changing as the world shifts from lifetime employment to freelance work arrangements, and as new technologies portend to displace jobs at an unprecedented rate.

Today, in the U.S. alone, 34% of the workforce is already freelance, a number that is expected to rise to 50% by 2030.

Public Policy for a World in Flux

The gap between technology and policy today is widening faster than ever before. To some degree this gap has always existed, and this makes sense given that policy is a lagging indicator. However, given the pace of change today, we face a very real risk of hitting a “point of no return” where policy -- whether local, national or global -- simply can’t keep up… with serious implications for society and well-being.

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Flux: Thriving in Constant Change and Uncertainty

The pace of change has never been as fast as it is today... and yet, it's unlikely to ever again be this slow. Every day, we’re bombarded with information and feel pressure to keep up. We juggle increasing responsibilities and higher expectations, often set by others. And we’re doing this against a backdrop of uncertainty about the future: Will automation destroy my job? Will my children inherit an uninhabitable planet? Will I ever earn “enough?” For business leaders, there is added anxiety about what this means for talent, strategy, purpose, and profitability.

Careers of the Future: From Path to Portfolio

Traditionally, professional development is framed as a straight path: study hard + get good grades => get a good job + work long and hard => retire + enjoy the fruits of your labor. The education-career-retirement path is linear, the expectation is to do one thing before another, and we assume that this equation works out.

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Yet in today's world in flux, every step of this journey is thrown off course. A degree is no guarantee of a good job; "jobs" are fraught, uncertain, and all too often lack meaning; and retirement is an open question mark for many. Moreover, leaders and HR departments struggle to reconcile the future of work: from the demands of top talent and managing an intergenerational workforce, to the gig economy and implications of automation.

What the Future of Work Means for the Future of Education

We hear the stories: of a future in which technology has addicted us, we have robot overlords, and we lose the ability to be in relationships. We see the statistics: of automation that will eliminate entire job categories, of rising inequality and safety nets that are fraying. Or will it be a future of unparalleled connectivity, collaboration and opportunity?

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While the answers are up for grabs, one thing is clear: the future of work and education are fundamentally intertwined, and whether we get it right depends on understanding these forces at play. The stakes are high for parents, teachers, educational institutions, business, government and society at large… and most of all, future generations.

Future-Forward: New Ways of Learning, Working, Living and Leading in Flux

The future can feel overwhelming: it’s full of unknowns and risks, the pace of change is unrelenting, and sometimes it’s as though we’re losing our ability to understand one another. For young adults, there’s an added burden of older generations expecting you’ll fix the problems they created. Yet right now, you’d really just like to know: what should I study? What skills will be valuable in 10 years? Is a four-year college degree be worth the debt? You’ve been taught to study for the test, yet the future resembles a multiple-choice question with no good answers.