McLean & Company's report reveals how adapting to shifting work trends can lead to long-term success
McLean & Company’s Future of Work report highlights that organizations adapting to rapid changes in the labour market, technology, and workers' evolving values will gain a competitive edge.
Although the future of work remains unpredictable, these adaptations are crucial for success.
The report identifies that inclusive, equitable, and rewarding workplaces will attract top talent, customers, and investors, leading to overall organizational success.
Will Howard, director of HR Research and Advisory Services at McLean & Company, explains, “For some, the future of work promises unprecedented freedom and flexibility. For others, it will bring uncertainty and instability.”
Howard adds that organizational leaders will play a critical role in determining whether their organizations and employees will thrive. He advises that future-focused organizations must evaluate and address change drivers and impacts intentionally.
McLean & Company’s 2024 survey, which included 802 HR and non-HR respondents, offers insight into these shifts. Sixty percent of respondents were senior leaders, 15 percent were managers, and 25 percent were individual contributors.
These participants represented regions such as North America, Europe, Oceania, and Latin America, as well as industries like finance, healthcare, education, and retail.
The report outlines three change drivers and six distinct change impacts that will shape the future workplace:
Change driver 1 – Technology: Reimagining human work. As AI and technology become integral, organizations must focus on enhancing, not replacing, human capabilities.
Leaders will need to shift workforce skills towards creativity, analytical thinking, and lifelong learning to maintain a balance between technology and human abilities.
Change driver 2 – Labour market: Different faces and places. Talent shortages, shaped by factors like low birth rates, ageing populations, and unemployment, will worsen.
Additionally, McLean & Company’s survey reveals that 31 percent of employee-level respondents expect to participate in gig work by 2030, indicating a growing reliance on gig workers.
Change driver 3 – Work and workers: The shifting value exchange. Workers increasingly expect employers to be social institutions that contribute to society and the environment.
Compensation remains critical, as 57 percent of employees rate pay as their top priority, while 71 percent of workers aged 18 to 29 are willing to change jobs for a greater social impact.
McLean & Company’s report also describes the following change impacts:
Change impact 1 – Mission, vision, values: A value proposition for all. Only 22 percent of organizations have an articulated employee value proposition. To remain competitive, organizations must bridge this gap by revisiting their mission and values for employees and society.
Change impact 2 – Employee development: Durable over technical. Personalized, continuous development is key to equipping workers with the skills for the future.
However, only 46 percent of employees acknowledge the need for changing skillsets, compared to 61 percent of leaders, which highlights the urgency for more buy-in.
Change impact 3 – Organizational design: Fluidity and flexibility. With only 26 percent of respondents expecting improvements in job quality and compensation by 2030, organizations need to better integrate technology with human labour to meet these future expectations.
Change impact 4 – Leadership: Managing energy, not tasks. Leadership skills will undergo a transformation, with 73 percent of leaders and 58 percent of employees expecting leadership roles to change completely by 2030. Leaders must shift their focus from managing tasks to leading people.
Change impact 5 – Collaboration: No longer exclusively human. Leadership respondents are 1.4 times more likely than employees to see technology positively affecting collaboration. Organizations must enable adaptable, technology-enhanced collaboration that ensures accessibility for all workers.
Change impact 6 – Wellbeing: Surviving the loneliness epidemic. The report highlights the growing concern over worker wellbeing, with 51 percent of employees listing it as a top three concern for 2030.
McLean & Company emphasizes the need to address isolation and stress through a holistic approach to employee wellbeing.
The firm concludes that how organizations respond to these change drivers will determine whether they thrive or merely survive in the evolving future of work.
