Future of Work

The Future of Work

The impetus for a workforce transformation has never been stronger. Employees are struggling with record high burnout, mental stress, social issues, pressures to reskill and upskill, and, in many countries, caregiving crises. There is an opportunity now to boldly design a future of work that will deliver what the work requires and what the talent needs.

As we envision the workplace of the future, we know that employers will continue to deal with labor shortages, low engagement, and real and quiet quitting, on top of the pressure they already feel regarding escalating technology (for example, generative AI), innovation, and environmental, societal, economic, and geopolitical changes and imperatives. One thing seems certain: disruption will only accelerate. How to prepare for the future of work?

BCG’s Future of Work approach is focused on making work work better, for everyone. Through this lens, leaders and organizations are able to deepen relationships with employees and customers and deliver innovation, productivity, quality, and value generation. They are able to address needs and challenges related to remote work, the skills gap, flexible work models, workplace technologies, and more. To achieve a more energized, engaged, and productive workforce of the future, organizations must excel in six areas:


Why BCG?

We have developed an integrated approach that enables companies to understand how to prepare for the future of work, expand their thinking from the tactical to the strategic, and redefine the way work gets done.

Transforming the Workplace of the Future to Make Work Really Work

We have an opportunity to create a future of work that is more engaging, productive, and humane. Find out how we can stop contorting our lives around work—and instead reshape work to work better for everyone. 

Returning to the Office or Site

As companies bring employees back to the workplace, it’s tempting to revert to old work models. But doing so would be a missed opportunity to redesign work for the way it should be—not the way it used to be.

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The Future of Work Revolves Around Talent

BCG’s latest global employer survey reveals that finding and keeping employees are among the top reasons that organizations are supporting new workforce initiatives.


Enabling Hybrid Working Models

The question facing many employers is how to create the right models for hybrid working—models that preserve the benefits of remote and flexible work while recapturing the energy of in-person interactions—without unintentionally creating new frictions and inequities.

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The How-To of Hybrid Work

A systematic approach to postpandemic ways of working can capture the upsides of these models while mitigating the risks.

Winning the Competition for Talent

One in five knowledge workers is likely to jump to a new company in the next year, and more than half are open to looking for a new position. Meanwhile, companies are rethinking their talent models—including what a “job” looks like. This is about to be the fiercest race for talent we’ve ever seen.


Understanding Trends in Jobs and Skills

Companies that understand which jobs are growing and which are disappearing—as well as which skills are increasingly in demand and which are becoming obsolete—will gain a significant advantage over competitors.

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The Future of Jobs in the Era of AI

An in-depth analysis of the US, Germany, and Australia shows how technology will disrupt labor markets by 2030—displacing millions of workers but creating new opportunities as well.


Transforming the Operating Model

Companies are transforming their operating models to enable faster innovation and adaptation using agile at scale, AI at scale, and new ways of working. The best way to redesign an operating model in the postpandemic era? Boldly and quickly.

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Two Focus Areas in a Company’s AI Journey

AI as a personal assistant is powerful. The next frontier is using AI to make entire processes more efficient, says Microsoft’s Jared Spataro.

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Systems Thinking Powers Bionic Success

Why do digital natives grow into the world’s most valuable companies seemingly overnight while the world’s largest legacy companies achieve only incremental digital progress?

BCG’s Partners in the Future of Work

  • BCG has been a founding partner of the Future Forum, a Slack-backed consortium that helps companies thrive in a digital-first world.
  • In partnership with LightCast, a leading provider of real-time labor market information, BCG has analyzed 95 million jobs and skills. We use that knowledge, in combination with interviews and in-depth employee surveys, to help clients answer a key question: What is the future of work?
  • BCG collaborates with Faethm, a company specializing in AI and analytics, to model the effects of new technologies on jobs and determine how the supply and demand for individual types of jobs will change.
  • BCG has also collaborated with the Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work to pursue research that business and policy leaders can put into action as they navigate the changing nature of work.
  • In cooperation with the World Economic Forum's Future of Work project, BCG has developed a blueprint to help companies assess and manage changes and challenges in the future of work.

Meet BCG’s Future of Work Consulting Team

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