While the future of work remains unpredictable, what is widely known and accepted is that the labor market, technology, and how workers find value in their work are changing rapidly. According to a new report from one of the world’s leading HR research and advisory firms, McLean & Company, organizations that can successfully adapt to these changes will be likely to have a significant competitive advantage in the shifting landscape. The firm’s recently published Future of Work report explains that workplaces that are inclusive, equitable, and rewarding for all are a key differentiator in attracting customers, investors, and top talent, which ultimately leads to organizational success.
“For some, the future of work promises unprecedented freedom and flexibility. For others, it will bring uncertainty and instability,” says Will Howard, director of HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. “Organizational leaders will play a pivotal role in determining which route their organizations and employees will take. Those that are aiming for creating and sustaining workplaces where everyone thrives will need to intentionally evaluate and address the change drivers and change impacts. For future-focused organizations pursuing long-term success in the unknown future, these are critical considerations that cannot be overlooked.”
McLean & Company’s report references data from a 2024 survey conducted by the firm with a total of 802 HR and non-HR respondents, 60% of whom are senior leaders, 15% are in management, and 25% are individual contributors. Participants hailed from a variety of regions, including but not limited to North America, Europe, Oceania, and Latin America, as well as industries including finance and insurance, healthcare and social assistance, professional, scientific, and technical services, educational services, manufacturing, retail trade, public administration, transportation and warehousing, and others.
In the Future of Work report, McLean & Company defines change drivers as elements of the external environment that are driving a shift, while change impacts are aspects of the future of work that will be most affected. The firm highlights three distinct change drivers and six unique change impacts, as outlined below:
Change driver 1 – Technology: Reimagining human work. As work increasingly consists of collaborating with technology such as AI and generative AI and leaning into the uniquely human attributes that add value above and beyond technology, the skills of the workforce will need to shift. Organizational leaders will be tasked with reimagining human-technology collaboration to augment rather than replace human abilities. They will also need to invest in durable skills and capabilities, such as creative and analytical thinking, curiosity and lifelong learning, and resilience, flexibility, and agility, not just technical know-how.
Change driver 2 – Labor market: Different faces and places. The talent shortage remains an unsolved and long-standing challenge that is likely to worsen in the future. Unemployment and vacancy rates, an ageing population, and low birth rates continue to shape the talent shortage. Additionally, according to McLean & Company survey data, 31% of employee-level respondents agree or strongly agree that they will participate in gig work in 2030, meaning the proportion of gig workers in the talent pool will be more pronounced. The workforce is shifting, and organizational leaders will need to prepare for these shifts.
Change driver 3 – Work and workers: The shifting value exchange. Workers expect employers to be impactful social institutions that contribute positively to communities, societies, and the planet, to be purpose hubs that bring people together to strive toward a shared greater purpose, and to provide fair and competitive compensation. Organizations must navigate the great balancing act with the understanding that, according to survey data, 57% of employees ranked pay as the top priority to work for an organization, while also acknowledging that 71% of those between the ages of 18 and 29 indicated they would be willing to leave their employers for another that creates a more positive social impact.
Change impact 1 – Mission, vision, values: A value proposition for all. To attract and retain top talent in the future, organizations will need to revisit their value proposition for not only their employees, but also the contingent workforce and society at large. With only 22% of organizations reporting they have an articulated employee value proposition, there is a significant gap that organizational leaders will need to bridge in the future of work.
Change impact 2 – Employee development: Durable over technical. Development is shifting to become more personalized and continuous. To ensure this evolution produces a workforce equipped with the skills necessary for the future of work, organizations must ensure employees are bought into the need for development, especially considering that survey data indicates that only 46% of employees reported the need for skillsets to change and adapt to the future of work compared to 61% of leaders. Learning and development is often the first to be cut in tough times; in a future of work where skill development is more important than ever, the firm advises it must no longer be seen as merely a “nice to have” expenditure.
Change impact 3 – Organizational design: Fluidity and flexibility. A strong understanding of skills, enabled by technology, will be a competitive differentiator for organizations in the future of work. As just 26% of survey respondents reported they anticipate their job quality, enjoyment of work, and compensation will improve in 2030, organizations need to better design work for a world in which humans and technology are more closely linked than ever, internal and external change is accelerating, and talent shortages are the norm.
Change impact 4 – Leadership: Managing energy, not tasks. The definition of what it means to be a leader is undergoing a profound transformation. Most people surveyed (73% of leadership respondents and 58% of employee-level respondents) feel that leadership skill sets will need to change completely or almost completely to adapt to the future of work in 2030. Advancements in technology and the increasing diversity of the workforce requires leaders who emphasize leading people over leading just tasks.
Change impact 5 – Collaboration: No longer exclusively human. With leadership respondents being 1.4 times more likely to anticipate technology having a positive impact on collaboration compared to employees, organizations must optimize collaboration for the future workforce. This can be done by ensuring adaptable collaboration experiences, augmentation through the use of technology, accessibility that enables and empowers all workers, and autonomy and ownership of collaboration by the human workforce.
Change impact 6 – Wellbeing: Surviving the loneliness epidemic. While advancements in technology present exciting opportunities for productivity, severe risks associated with isolation and loneliness threaten worker wellbeing in the future of work. Both employees and leaders are concerned about wellbeing in the future of work, with 51% of employees reporting wellbeing as a top three concern when thinking about work in 2030 and 45% anticipating that workers will feel more work-related stress in 2030. A holistic approach will be imperative to nurture interpersonal connection in the workplace.
The firm suggests that how organizational leaders plan for and navigate the change drivers explored in the report will determine whether organizations and their employees will thrive or simply survive in the future of work.
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