By 2019, leaders from the public and private sector had become increasingly anxious about how advanced technologies and aging global populations could affect labor markets, workplaces, and workers’ lives. Some analysts forecasted that hundreds of millions of workers would have their jobs threatened by automation. Questions about how relevant stakeholders (e.g., workers, firms, NGOs) should respond to those threats created a new field of study called the “Future of Work.” Comparing current forecasts to historical episodes of workers getting automated, many commentators wondered “will this time be different?” Despite so much uncertainty on the topic, many leaders concluded that they would need to collaborate across sectors to address many different challenges, such as rapid technological changes and evolving labor markets.
Keywords: Employment; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities;
Citation:
Kerr, William R., Allison Ciechanover, and Jeff Huizinga. "Managing the Future of Work." Harvard Business School Case 818-128, May 2018. (Revised May 2018.) View Details
