Workforce of the future update

Looking out to the year 2050 and beyond, the Millennium Project is creating a vision for what it calls the “self-actualizing economy,” characterized by improved education and health, reduced crime and increased self-employment. Add to that the steady reduction in costs of many common, everyday products and services, and you can see how the trend toward less “stuff” and more freedom will continue into the foreseeable future.

What it all means

We find many organizations going all-in on the mobility craze while paying little attention to the social and cultural aspects and wondering why their investment isn’t paying off. Others have avoided mobility, mainly out of fear, yet wonder why they’re having trouble attracting and retaining the right talent.

The answer goes much deeper. For much of the workforce, especially in developed countries, the very notion of a job is changing, if not going away entirely. HR managers and execs need to worry less about policies and procedures and focus more on tapping into and expanding their talent networks, and enabling knowledge flows both within and outside their organization.

This does not need to be complicated. Start by looking strategically at what you want to accomplish. Then find people who are the best match in both directions: where you provide a path to growth and fulfillment through purposeful work and where the knowledge worker contributes to the ongoing success of your enterprise.

The freedom-loving, purposeful, self-actualized workforce is here to stay. Now is the time to act, whether you’re the one being hired or the one doing the hiring. Oh, yes, and no matter where you happen to be.