We’re excited about the Future of Work, but is everyone else?

We all know we are passionate about the future of work, but what does the wider public think? Are people petrified or pumped about the forces disrupting the workplace?

I asked Mercer's Thought Leadership team to find out. Their analysis of news and online chatter – and how sentiment has changed over the last four years – is fascinating.

They found that in 2014 three-quarters of online conversations about the “Future of Work” and the “Workforce of the Future” were positive. Around one in four conversations noted that companies were increasingly focused on boosting employee engagement. Still, a small slice (7.5%) of the dialogue noted the coming impact of technology on the way people communicate and collaborate.

Four years on and the mood has shifted somewhat. In 2018 only half of news and media mentions on the future of work were positive. The concerns raised will not surprise anyone. They included tension about the impact of the gig economy, anxiety about the future of employees’ rights, and calls for much-needed training on sexual harassment at work. That’s not to say it was all doom and gloom. People also believed in the potential of machine learning to enhance the employee experience and improve hiring decisions.

What this shows is that people are at once excited about the opportunities of AI, automation, and other technological advances, and yet nervous as they start to question what the future holds for them personally.

People could do with a dose of inspiration, encouragement that the revolution at work will bring individual benefits. This sentiment came across strongly in this year’s Mercer Global Talent Trends results, and I’m looking forward to sharing more on what companies are doing to achieve this. So watch this space!