There is an overwhelming consensus among researchers that the contemporary work environment is transforming at a rapid pace. Advanced technology, increasing globalization, and the influx of a new generation of workers are all factors that will change the structures that govern the contemporary workplace. To prepare for the future of work, an organization must comprehend the manner in which each of these factors will engender changes in the evaluation of skillsets, the employer value proposition, and the available labor force

Born, Nicholas

Drori, Elad

English

There is an overwhelming consensus among researchers that the contemporary work environment is transforming at a rapid pace. Advanced technology, increasing globalization, and the influx of a new generation of workers are all factors that will change the structures that govern the contemporary workplace. To prepare for the future of work, an organization must comprehend the manner in which each of these factors will engender changes in the evaluation of skillsets, the employer value proposition, and the available labor force.What_Factors_Will_Transform_the_Contemporary_Work_Environment_and_Characterize_the_Future_of_Work.pdf: 2975 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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What Factors Will Transform the Contemporary Work Environment and Characterize the Future of Work?

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What Factors Will Transform the Contemporary Work Environment 
and Characterize the Future of Work? 
Nicholas Born 
Cornell University 
Elad Drori 
Cornell University 
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What Factors Will Transform the Contemporary Work Environment and 
Characterize the Future of Work? 
Abstract 
There is an overwhelming consensus among researchers that the contemporary work environment is 
transforming at a rapid pace. Advanced technology, increasing globalization, and the influx of a new 
generation of workers are all factors that will change the structures that govern the contemporary 
workplace. To prepare for the future of work, an organization must comprehend the manner in which each 
of these factors will engender changes in the evaluation of skillsets, the employer value proposition, and 
the available labor force. 
Keywords 
human resources, future of work, contemporary workplace, skillset evaluation, employer value 
proposition, globalization 
Comments 
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Born, N., & Drori, E. (2015). What factors will transform the contemporary work environment and 
characterize the future of work?Retrieved [insert date] from Cornell University, ILR School site: 
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/student/78 
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Nicholas Born & Elad Drori                            March 2015 
 
 
 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
 
 
KEY QUESTION 
 
What factors will transform the contemporary work environment and characterize the future of work? How will such a 
transformation be manifested? In addition, what actions are businesses undertaking today to prepare themselves for the 
future of work?  
 
INTRODUCTION  
 
There is an overwhelming consensus among researchers that the contemporary work environment is transforming at a 
rapid pace.1,3,6 Advanced technology, increasing globalization, and the influx of a new generation of workers are all 
factors that will change the structures that govern the contemporary workplace.7 To prepare for the future of work, an 
organization must comprehend the manner in which each of these factors will engender changes in the evaluation of 
skillsets, the employer value proposition, and the available labor force.7  
	  
THREE FACTORS TRANSFORMING THE NATURE OF WORK  
 
1. Technology: The most radical changes to characterize the future of work will be spurred by technological advances. 
Computers can now sort through legal documents and predict court decisions far more accurately than lawyers; Google’s 
autonomous cars are better drivers than any person; and the Baxter robot can pack, count, and inspect inventory on a 
24/7 basis without making mistakes.3 Technological performance is surpassing human capabilities on a mental and 
physical level, and will displace workers whose skills can be better performed by automated counterparts.3 In a future in 
which advanced technology is widely available, an organization must determine which skills will remain or become 
valuable as well as how it will develop such skills within its workforce.3  
 
Implications for H.R. 
• An organization should conduct research to determine which new technologies will impact its industry and its 
contemporary workforce.2,4,5 Research is critical because it will allow for a reevaluation of employee skills and lead to 
decisions regarding which employees to keep, which to train and develop, and whether new talent must be acquired.   
• Once those decisions are made, the organization must develop the new skills that are essential for success in the face 
of technological advances.3 Development of new workforce skills is accomplished by creating a team responsible for 
skill development, the implementation of a training program by that team, and continuous expansion of that training 
program.2,4,5  
• Domo, Inc., realized that future prevalence of social media technologies presented an opportunity to connect with 
potential customers, future talent, and business partners anywhere in the world. To seize that opportunity, Domo 
needed its employees to become savvy social media users. In response, Domo conducted research on the social IQ 
of its employees. A social media team was then created to address the gaps in the social IQ of the workforce. That 
team developed a social media training program that educated employees about the fundamentals of social media 
usage. Lastly, the training program was expanded through a badging system that rewarded employees for newly 
earned badges. Thus, Domo can continuously introduce new badges to motivate employees to further develop their 
social media skills.4 
Domo prepared for the future prevalence of social media technologies by researching the skillset of its employees, 
creating a team responsible for developing a new workforce skill, implementing a training program, and expanding that 
training program.4 The process Domo used to develop employee social media skills can be used by other organizations 
to develop different technological capabilities among their employee bases.   
 
2. Globalization: Globalization is essentially the ability to do business around the world without boundaries. Organizations 
have the ability to sell and market their products or services anywhere in the world and are no longer bound by transportation, 
cultural, talent acquisition, currency, or communication barriers. Technology is a large driver for making this possible. 
Globalization is forcing organizations to reevaluate where they find, deploy, and utilize talent. No longer does talent need to 
be local; organizations can access talent from any part of the world and work without boundaries. 
 
 
 
Implications for H.R. 
• A new form of labor pool and market will evolve where individuals or project teams from all over the world will bid 
on high-value tasks and opportunities. This is new dynamic represents a big shift away from large centrally located 
teams to smaller more globally distributed teams.8 In order to support these global teams, organizations need to 
continually develop new forms of infrastructure to drive the ability to innovate, share knowledge, and work virtually 
across geographic boundaries, time zones, and languages.7 Microsoft’s “The New Way of Working” program enables 
employees to access every business application over the Internet, from work or home, ranging from invoicing 
systems to logistics systems to sales information.9 
• As businesses begin to shift to offering more services than selling products, employers will need to tap into external 
talent. For instance, the use of contract employees or crowdsourcing freelance talent enables employers to fill a need 
for talent on demand as their business and customer demands evolve. With the seasonal ebb and flow of business, 
employers can reach out to a pool of talent within a community to find temporary workers to fill positions during 
peak times. These contract employees or freelancers can take on projects when needed and then be released at the 
end of a project.10  
• Outsourcing will continue to be a strategic move to not just save on costs, but also to free up workers to focus on 
the things that add the most value. In 2008 Pfizer, a pharma company, undertook a huge self-examination under the 
heading PfizerWorks. It realized that its most highly skilled workers were spending 20% to 40% of their time on 
routine work—entering data, producing PowerPoint slides, doing research on the web. The company now contracts 
out much of this work.11 
 
3. The Multi-Generational Workforce: In an era of unprecedented workforce diversity, the changing age demographic 
is one of the strongest trends to emerge. In Generations At Work, Herman Miller called this a “generation-bending” era.12 
As the overall population ages, mature workers are staying in employment longer. A recent Deloitte study showed that 
48% of Baby Boomers expect to keep working past the age of 65 – and 13% believe they will work into their 70s.13 Yet, 
at the same time, Millennials will make up over half of the entire workforce by 2020 and exceed 70% by 2025.14 The 
challenge for organizations will be to accommodate key differences across generations in terms of working styles, 
approaches to collaboration, communication, and decision-making, as well as operational and structural changes to 
compensation, promotion and training structures.15 
 
Implications for H.R. 
• Organizations need to think creatively about reward strategies and what motivates Millennials. While money is 
important, we know that other factors contribute heavily to motivation, particularly for knowledge-based work. 
Millennials value empowerment to get things done, challenging work, collaboration, teamwork and fun, responsibility 
for own personal development.16 
• H.R. policies and practices that are built around long-term cycles (e.g., annual performance reviews or extended 
succession plans) just don’t cut it for Millennials. Managers play a critical role in really understanding the personal 
and professional goals of their Millennial workforce.7 For instance, Millennials want to know how they’re doing 
much more regularly. Managers need to build in frequent touchpoints to provide informal, honest feedback in real 
time. 
• With a workforce comprised of two-thirds Millennials, the consulting firm PwC conducted a study that looked at 
what motivated and drove high levels of engagement amongst their Millennial population. They found that 
Millennials are less willing than older generations to make their work lives an exclusive priority, want job flexibility in 
the here and now, sought opportunities for training and mobility, and desired more frequent feedback and rewards. 
One initiative that came from the study was the Flexibility2 Talent Network, which allows people to work for the 
firm during their busiest few months (January through March) and then pursue other interests the rest of the year.17 
 
 
 
CONCLUSION  
 
Both the workforce and the way work gets done are changing, dramatically. New collaborative and social technologies 
are already reshaping business operations and the way we work. Simultaneously, globalization is forcing organizations to 
reevaluate where they find, deploy, and utilize talent. The influx of younger employees into the workforce is creating a 
new dynamic that requires a unique organizational response. Combined, these factors are shaping the future of work. We 
have highlighted the implications for the H.R. functions and proposed levers to pull to mitigate potential risks in light of 
the changing future of work and, with it, H.R. 
 
CITED REFERENCES  
 
 
1. Boudreau, J. & Ziskin, I. (2011). The future of HR and effective organizations. Organizational Dynamics 40 (4) (0): 
255-66.  
2. Cisco social media playbook. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/Cisco/cisco-social-media-
playbook.  
3. Colvin, G. (2014). In the future, will there be any work left for people to do? Fortune. 169 (8) (06/16): 193-202.  
4. Dreher, S. (2014). Social media and the world of work. Corporate Communications: An International Journal. 19 (4) 
(10): 344-56.  
5. McKintosh, S. (2012). Empowering employees to social ambassadors at Pepsi Co. Vol. 16.  
6. Munro, C. (2012). Preparing the next generation of leaders: The emerging organizational landscape with 
generation Y at the helm.  
7. CAHRS Working Group – Future of Work. (2015). Retrieved from: 
https://est05.esalestrack.com/eSalesTrack/Content/Content.ashx?file=6205d707-9f55-476e-aa6a-
d26129501bcc.pdf 
8. Ardi, D. (2014). 7 Predictions for the future of work. Fast Company. Retrieved from: 
http://www.fastcompany.com/3026345/leadership-now/7-predictions-for-the-future-of-work 
9. Clarke, S., Livingston, J. (2012). Future of work enabler: Worker empowerment. Cognizant Consulting. Retrieved 
from: http://www.cognizant.com/SiteDocuments/Future-of-Work-Enabler-Worker-Empowerment.pdf 
10. Huhman, H. (2014). How to prepare for the future of work. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from: 
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237723 
11. Norris, M. (2015). There’s an app for that. The Economist. Retrieved from: 
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21637355-freelance-workers-available-moments-notice-will-
reshape-nature-companies-and 
12. Miller, H. (2010). Generations at work. Retrieved from: 
http://www.hermanmiller.com/content/dam/hermanmiller/documents/research_summaries/wp_Generations.
pdf 
13. Bowman, K., Flynn, J. & Geddes, T. (2013). The aging workforce: Finding the silver lining in the talent gap. 
Deloitte. Retrieved from: 
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/HumanCapital/dttl-humancapital-
trends11-aging-no-exp.pdf 
14. Morgan, J. (2014). The Future of work: Attract new talent, build better leaders, and create a competitive 
organization. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley & Sons. 
15. The Future of work: A journey to 2022. (2014). PwC. Retrieved from: 
http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/managing-tomorrows-people/future-of-work/assets/pdf/future-of-work-
report-v23.pdf 
16. New ways of working. (2015). The B Team. Retrieved from: http://issuu.com/the-
bteam/docs/150114_newwaysofworking_v12?e=15214291/11024330 
17. Moritz, B. (2014). The U.S. chairman of PwC on keeping millennials engaged. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 
from: https://hbr.org/2014/11/the-us-chairman-of-pwc-on-keeping-millennials-engaged 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES & READINGS  
 
 
Bjerke, J. (2012). Employees Prefer Flexibility over Salary Increases. Recruiter.com, Aug. 31, 2012. 
 
Hamel, G. & LaBarre,  P. (2010). Dispatches From the Front Lines of Management Innovation. McKinsey Quarterly, 
November 2010. 
 
Jackson, B. & Pfitzmann, M. (2007) Win-Win Sourcing. Booz & Co., Strategy+Business, Issue 47, Summer 2007. 
 
Khanna, S., & New, J. R. (2008). Revolutionizing the workplace: A case study of the future of work program at Capital 
One. Human Resource Management, 47(4), 795-808. 
  
Kwoh, L. (2012). More Firms Bow to Generation Y’s Demands. Wall Street Journal, August 22, 2012. 
 
Morgan, J. (2015). Evolution of the Organization Pt 1. Retrieved from: 
http://www.thefutureorganization.com/evolution-organization-1/ 
 
Schweer, M. (2011). Contingent by Choice: Understanding and Leveraging the New Worker. Moxie Insight, Aug. 16, 2011. 
 
Society for Human Resource Management. (2010). SHRM Poll: Challenges Facing Organizations and HR in the Next 10 
Years. Sept. 16, 2010. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX  
 
 
Figure 1. 
 
 
 
 
Figure 2. 
 
 
Figure 3. The Rise of Temporary Workers 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 4. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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