Future of Work
The evolving landscape of employment and necessary skills, which universities must prepare students for by teaching uniquely human skills like critical thinking, listening, and empathy.
First Mentioned
9/17/2025, 2:49:47 AM
Last Updated
9/17/2025, 3:02:26 AM
Research Retrieved
9/17/2025, 3:02:26 AM
Summary
The "Future of Work" is a complex topic influenced by various interconnected factors, particularly within the realm of higher education. Universities are grappling with an eroding business model, exacerbated by massive student loan debt and questions about the return on investment for degrees. This is compounded by issues like administrative bloat and a decline in K-12 preparedness, which affects the quality of students entering higher education. Leaders are also addressing cultural challenges, emphasizing the need for viewpoint diversity, institutional neutrality, and free expression, while navigating political pressures and legal shifts like the Supreme Court's rulings on affirmative action. Artificial intelligence is poised to be a significant disruptor in higher education, potentially creating conflict with teachers' unions. Despite concerns like rising graduate unemployment, universities aim to prepare students for the future of work by focusing on uniquely human skills. The role of university endowments, supported by philanthropy, remains critical for financial aid and research. Reforms such as reinstating standardized testing and fostering bipartisan student groups are being explored as ways to improve the educational landscape and better equip students for the evolving demands of the workforce.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Challenges
Eroding business model of higher education, massive student loan debt, questionable ROI of degrees, administrative bloat, K-12 education decline, rising graduate unemployment, job transitions, burnout, labor shortages
Description
A complex topic influenced by various interconnected factors, particularly within higher education.
Key Drivers
Artificial Intelligence, Technology Adoption, Digitalization
Primary Focus
Evolution of work, jobs, skills, and wages due to technological and societal shifts.
Associated with
National Science Foundation initiative
Skills in Demand
Uniquely human skills, new skills, continuous skill development, upskilling, reskilling
Solutions/Reforms
Reinstating standardized testing, fostering bipartisan student groups, improving viewpoint diversity, institutional neutrality, free expression
Geographic Scope (Wikidata)
United States
Timeline
- World Economic Forum published its 'Future of Jobs Report 2023', highlighting new technology adoption and digitalization as top drivers of business and job transformation. (Source: web_search_results)
2023-05
- Deloitte's '2025 Global Human Capital Trends Report' highlights key workforce trends and how organizations can free up worker capacity to boost productivity. (Source: web_search_results)
2025
- LinkedIn's 'The Future of Recruiting 2025' explores how AI is reshaping talent acquisition, including trends like skills-based hiring and responsible AI adoption. (Source: web_search_results)
2025
- World Economic Forum's 'Future of Jobs Report 2025' provides data and forecasts on shifts in job roles and skills. (Source: web_search_results)
2025
- McKinsey's 'Development in the Future of Work' (2025 perspective) discusses supporting employee health and well-being as a top priority for organizations. (Source: web_search_results)
2025
- McKinsey projects that while there may be enough work to maintain full employment, transitions will be very challenging, potentially exceeding past shifts out of agriculture and manufacturing. (Source: web_search_results)
2030
- McKinsey predicts that 8 to 9 percent of labor demand will be in new types of occupations that have not existed before. (Source: web_search_results)
2030
Web Search Results
- Jobs lost, jobs gained: What the future of work will mean ... - McKinsey
Individuals, too, will need to be prepared for a rapidly evolving future of work. Acquiring new skills that are in demand and resetting intuition about the world of work will be critical for their own well-being. There will be demand for human labor, but workers everywhere will need to rethink traditional notions of where they work, how they work, and what talents and capabilities they bring to that work. Stay current on your favorite topics Subscribe [...] The results reveal a rich mosaic of potential shifts in occupations in the years ahead, with important implications for workforce skills and wages. Our key finding is that while there may be enough work to maintain full employment to 2030 under most scenarios, the transitions will be very challenging—matching or even exceeding the scale of shifts out of agriculture and manufacturing we have seen in the past. [...] We address this question about the future of work through two different sets of analyses: one based on modeling of a limited number of catalysts of new labor demand and automation described earlier, and one using a macroeconomic model of the economy that incorporates the dynamic interactions among variables. If history is any guide, we could also expect that 8 to 9 percent of 2030 labor demand will be in new types of occupations that have not existed before.
- 5 Reports on the Future of Work Since the Start of 2025 | Curated by ...
I’ve continued receiving requests for recent reports on the future of work, so I’ve curated five that I’ve shared since the start of the year—each with practical insights for HR and business leaders.1)2025 Global Human Capital Trends Report (Deloitte)– This 106-page report highlights key workforce trends; one topic I found particularly helpful is how organizations can free up worker capacity to boost productivity. 2)The Future of Recruiting 2025 (LinkedIn)– Explores how AI is reshaping talent [...] AI AI in the Workplace Bias Career Development Change Management CHRO Contingent Workers Critical Roles Employee Experience Employee Surveys Employee Value Proposition Engagement ESG Flexible Work Future of Work Generations High-potentials Hiring HR Operating Model Inclusion and Diversity Internal Mobility Labor Market Leadership Development Learning Strategy Metrics Onboarding Organization design Pay Transparency Performance Management Psychological Safety Recruiting Retention | Turnover [...] acquisition, with trends such as skills-based hiring, quality of hire, the evolving recruiter role, and responsible AI adoption.3) Future of Jobs Report 2025(World Economic Forum) – A 290-page report on shifts in job roles and skills, offering data and forecasts that help guide workforce strategy. 4)Workforce Transformation in the AI Era (Oliver Wyman Forum) – Includes an insightful article by Ravin Jesuthasan and others (p. 34) on the evolving workplace and AI’s impact.5)Global Skills Taxonomy
- [PDF] Development in the Future of Work - McKinsey
accomodation.’28 It has been reported that, on average, 1 in 4 employees within an organization is at high risk of burnout.29 The Future of Jobs report indicates that supporting employee health and well-being has become a top priority for organizations. However, employees placed a much higher value on working hours, pointing to a need to go beyond surface-level solutions and address the systemic root causes of this problem.30 McKinsey& Company, 2022 The Future of Jobs Report 2025 predicts that [...] success. Evolving technology is embraced as an ongoing opportunity to automate tasks and enhance the ability to focus, reflect, and create. Volatility is not seen as an existential threat, but as a catalyst for reinvention. Diversity in experience and perspective is celebrated and put into practice through mentorship, apprenticeship, cross-generational collaboration, and inclusive lifestyle policies. Work environments and workflows are designed to allow ample time for recuperation as a [...] This requires more than new tools or programs. It demands breaking down silos across people functions, aligning on shared goals, and creating systems that feel frictionless and are integrated to the employee experience. When employees see that these efforts reduce complexity, foster collaboration, and prioritize their growth, they feel supported by their leaders. And when leaders get this right, they unlock resilience, innovation, and sustainable success for their organizations.
- Future of jobs 2023: how technology is changing every workplace
##### Explore and monitor how Future of Work is affecting economies, industries and global issues ##### Stay up to date: #### Future of Work This article is part of: The Growth Summit: Jobs and Opportunity for All Listen to the article [...] This was the verdict of Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO at Coursera, the online learning company, on the challenges ahead for employers and jobseekers in a rapidly transforming world of work. He was commenting on the Future of Jobs Report 2023 from the World Economic Forum, into which Coursera contributed data. It is not surprising that new technology adoption and digitalization continue as the top two drivers of business and job transformation.
- Data Deep Dive: The Workforce of the Future
The future of the U.S. workforce is undergoing significant changes. We see a smaller yet more diverse population, along with challenges in labor force participation rates and a growing emphasis on education and skills development. Industries are in transition, with the service sector gaining prominence and grappling with a pressing need to address shortages, particularly in vital areas like healthcare. Immigration remains a critical factor in talent acquisition. To navigate these [...] Navigating the imminent future of the workforce demands a need for continuous skill development. As articulated by U.S. adults, staying attuned to shifting workplace dynamics necessitates ongoing training and upskilling. This will be necessary, as the majority of individuals intending to retain their roles in the near future will need to upskill and reskill. Image 11 [...] Here’s what the latest data says—and what businesses need to know—about the workforce of the future. The U.S. continues to battle a years-long labor shortage. The total number of working Americans has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, albeit at a slower growth rate than much of recent history. Specifically, there are 167.8 million people in the labor force today. That number is expected to grow to 169.6 million over the next 7 years. \ \_332M\_ U.S. population estimate in 2021 \ \_417M\_
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