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Managing the challenges posed by the changing nature of workManaging the challenges posed by the changing nature of work   

Multiple forces of change – demographics, technology, automation, globalization – are coming together at an unprecedented pace and scale. How can leaders prepare their organization and create the workforce of the future? 

Featured Report 

Building the On-Demand Workforce

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Manjari Raman, James Palano, Allison Bailey, Nithya Vaduganathan, Elizabeth Kaufman, Renée Laverdière, & Sibley Lovett
  • 17 NOV 2020
Companies can transform their talent model—and business strategy—by using digital talent platforms to access highly skilled freelancers.

Podcast 

Factoring high-skills freelancers into the enterprise equation

  • 24 FEB 2021 | MANAGING THE FUTURE OF WORK
Digital platforms for highly skilled freelancers are set to broker more strategic engagements for businesses needing extra capacity and flexibility. HBS and Managing the Future of Work’s Joe Fuller and Boston Consulting Group’s Allison Bailey, co-authors of the report Building the On-Demand Workforce, join Bill Kerr. How can employers adapt their approach to talent and align management incentives to benefit from this trend? What are the implications for workers and what choices are policymakers weighing?
Digital platforms for highly skilled freelancers are set to broker more strategic engagements for businesses needing extra capacity and flexibility. HBS and Managing the Future of Work’s Joe Fuller and Boston Consulting Group’s Allison Bailey, co-authors of the report Building the On-Demand Workforce, join Bill Kerr. How can employers adapt their approach to talent and align management incentives to benefit from this trend? What are the implications for workers and what choices are policymakers weighing?

Featured Research 

How Businesses Can Find “Hidden Workers”

By: Joseph Fuller, Manjari Raman, Eva Sage-Gavin, and Ladan Davarzani
  • 24 Dec 2020
  • | 
  • Harvard Business Review
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, low- and middle-skill workers struggled to find and retain steady work. Now, many of these workers are considered “essential,” while many others are unemployed and struggling to find work. As the pandemic eases throughout 2021, companies will be looking to hire, and these workers are ready and willing. But there are several, persistent barriers in the way, including caregiving responsibilities and a lack of official credentials. So, in order to capitalize on their strengths and talents, leaders need to understand what’s preventing them from hiring “hidden workers” in the first place and how to better reach them.

The Gift of Global Talent: How Migration Shapes Business, Economy & Society

By: William R. Kerr
  • 27 May 2020
The global race for talent is on, with countries and businesses competing for the best and brightest. William R. Kerr combines insights and lessons from business, government, and individual decision making to explore the data and ideas that should drive the next wave of immigration policy and business practice.

Research Topics

Building the organization of the future 

Engaging with the ecosystem 

Reports 

Future Positive

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Judith Wallenstein, Manjari Raman & Alice de Chalendar

The Caring Company

By: Joseph B. Fuller & Manjari Raman

Room to Grow

By: Joseph B. Fuller & Matthew Sigelman

Dismissed by Degrees

By: Joseph B. Fuller & Manjari Raman

Faculty 

Lynda M. Applegate
Prithwiraj Choudhury
Shane Greenstein
Daniel P. Gross
Nien-he Hsieh
Karen G. Mills
Frank Nagle
Jan W. Rivkin
Willy C. Shih
Christopher T. Stanton
Sandra J. Sucher
Mitchell B. Weiss

Cases 

Vodafone: Managing Advanced Technologies and Artificial Intelligence

By: William R. Kerr & Emer Moloney
  • 19 FEB 2018
Vodafone was operating in the fast-moving telecommunications market where innovation and scale were key. Faced with an onslaught of technological advances-big data, automation and artificial intelligence-CEO Vittorio Colao reflected on how he should change the organization to incorporate these advancements to improve the way the functions work, how to incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence that de facto improve productivity and slash costs and what can he could do to give back to society and make sure that new opportunities were created for the new generation.
→More on Vodafone

Transformation at ING (A): Agile

By: William R. Kerr, Federica Gabrieli, & Emer Moloney
  • 15 JAN 2018
In December 2017, Vincent van den Boogert, CEO of ING in the Netherlands, was reflecting upon the company's "agile" transformation, a reorganization of work which had been critical to respond to and exceed rapidly changing customer expectations. Launched in 2015 at the head office, agile had spread to the rest of the Dutch organization, from client services to the branch network, and permeated the overall company culture. It was now time to rollout the transformation to other units of the ING Group, but some questions remained: could agile be as successful in other countries as it had been in the Netherlands? How fast should ING roll out the transformation? How could they build on the experience acquired so far to improve their methodology?
→More on ING

Hot Chicken Takeover

By: William R. Kerr, Manjari Raman, & Olivia Hull
  • 27 FEB 2019
By December 2018, entrepreneur Joe DeLoss's fried chicken company, Hot Chicken Takeover, has opened three restaurants in Columbus, Ohio using an unconventional employment model that helps people with criminal records get back on their feet. DeLoss is proud of the supportive employment environment he has cultivated, but wonders how to scale it beyond Columbus.
→More on Hot Chicken Takeover

The Golden Triangle: Back in Business (A)

By: Joseph B. Fuller, William R. Kerr, Manjari Raman, & Donald Maruyama
  • 08 FEB 2018
The Golden Triangle Region (GTR) is a three-county area in rural Mississippi that suffered a steep decline as manufacturing companies faced pressures from automation and overseas competition. Between the mid 1980s and late 1990s, several textile, toy, and tubing factories that accounted for a substantial share of local employment closed and forced GTR residents to make a difficult choice - leave their homes and communities behind for better employment opportunities elsewhere or stay and face a lower quality of life. GTR LINK, the local economic development agency, brought in a new leader in Joe Max Higgins, Jr in order to stem the flight of businesses from the region and offer locals the hope that they could stay and still enjoy a better tomorrow.
→More on The Golden Triangle
Video Embed

Digital Transformation at ING Netherlands

By: William R. Kerr
By: William R. Kerr
  • 21 OCT 2019
Vincent van den Boogert, CEO of ING Netherlands, discusses ING’s digital transformation efforts
Vincent van den Boogert, CEO of ING Netherlands, discusses ING’s digital transformation efforts

Media Coverage 

How COVID experiences will reshape the workplace

Re: Joseph Fuller & Ashley Whillans
  • 09 Feb 2021
  • | 
  • Harvard Gazette

For a more equitable recovery, corporations must stop using a college degree as a proxy for ability

Re: Joseph Fuller & Manjari Raman
  • 09 Feb 2021
  • | 
  • Fast Company

The Recession Exposes the US’ Failures on Worker Retraining

Re: Joseph Fuller
  • 01 Feb 2021
  • | 
  • Wired

Videos 

  • 11 Dec 2018
  • Re: William R. Kerr

William Kerr on Potential Changes to the H1-B Visa Program

William Kerr on Potential Changes to the H1-B Visa ProgramWilliam Kerr on Potential Changes to the H1-B Visa Program
  • 11 Dec 2018
  • Re: William R. Kerr
  • 04 Dec 2018
  • Re: Joseph Fuller

Skills Gap Solution? Disrupt the system

Skills Gap Solution? Disrupt the systemSkills Gap Solution? Disrupt the system
  • 04 Dec 2018
  • Re: Joseph Fuller

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Managing the Future of Work
Manjari Raman
Program Director & Senior Researcher
Harvard Business School
Boston, MA 02163
Phone: 1.617.495.6288
Email: mraman+hbs.edu
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