Working through change: what employers need to learn from the Global Workforce of the Future 2024 research.

Every year, the Adecco Group captures global workers’ perspectives on the changing world of work. This fifth edition of the Global Workforce of the Future research, Working through change: Adapting to an AI-driven world of work, compiles insights from 35,000 worker interviews across 27 countries and 20 industries.

Unsurprisingly, it revealed that organisations are preparing for an uncertain future shaped by AI. Workers remain motivated to take charge of their professional development and eager to seize opportunities for progression – despite pervasive uncertainty keeping many where they are.

But relatively low talent mobility doesn’t mean the labour market is stagnating. On the contrary, our research identified a new breed of ‘future-ready workers’. This minority group is adaptable, nimble and outperforms most workers, but remains rare. Employers looking to prepare for what’s ahead and maintain their competitive edge must invest in a four-step process to grow this new worker segment: assess, communicate, develop and train.

Uncertainty ahead

Workers are worried about the future. Two fifths of global workers (40%) are concerned about their long-term job security, encouraging 83% of workers to stay with their current employer. This is the highest number in three years.

They aren’t necessarily staying out of loyalty or opportunity. AI is one of the megatrends pushing workers to turn towards their organisations for guidance, but there are others. The Adecco Group’s Head of Public Affairs, Bettina Schaller, recognised the impact of political instability on labour market trends in the report’s launch webinar: “The one major trend this year has been politics. It's been the incredible amount of elections we've had and, therefore, the shifts that are going to happen and have started to happen in the administrations and bureaucracies around the world, and what that means for labour markets but also for companies and workers.”

How will these megatrends impact workers and how can they prepare for what’s coming? Employers have a responsibility to answer these questions and must prepare their workers to thrive in this uncertain environment.

Seizing the AI opportunity

Last year, only 8% of workers were worried that AI would make them lose their job, but this year 13% reported having lost their jobs because of it. Feelings of burnout are significantly more prevalent (62%) amongst workers who are concerned about the impact of AI and have been negatively affected by it than the global average (40%). What’s more, only 46% of global workers have confidence in leaders' AI skills and knowledge to be able to understand the risks of AI adoption at work.

But AI’s impact on workers does not have to be negative. The fact is that AI has become more embedded in the world of work, with a measurable impact on the global workforce. Workers who are using it are saving an average of around an hour a day. Even more encouragingly, over a quarter of workers say they are spending this time saved on more creative work. Gains made by AI are revealing more human potential. However, only 25% of workers have completed training on how to use AI at work, leaving the majority in need of guidance.

For Corinna Refsgaard, CHRO at GXO, this is an opportunity for leaders to redefine their role and responsibility to unlock the full human potential. “AI will impact the organization, it will impact workers but it’s actually up to leaders”, she explains. “It’s up to us to provide a frame and to actually tell people what’s in it for them, because we are at the heart of change.”

Roberto di Bernardini, Former CHRO at Danone and Banco Santander, echoed this message: “During the pandemic we saw how important it was to adjust to working remotely. Now, we have AI giving us a gigantic amount of possibilities and information. All of this is changing the way leaders lead others,” he said. “Leaders don’t just need to provide new capabilities and indicate new ways of working for their people, we need to have our leaders, our managers endorsing these changes. And this is critical because if one trend is true, it’s the acceleration of change.”

Companies must address fears that AI will give an unfair advantage to certain worker groups by demonstrating a commitment to inclusion in their company culture, and championing values through their leaders.

The rise of future-ready workers

Our research identified a minority group of workers that is adaptable, tech-savvy and proactive. These ‘future-ready workers’ experiment with AI, seize new opportunities and invest their own time into preparing themselves for the future. However, they currently only represent 11% of global workers.

“They’re not an elite group of unicorns you’ve got to go out and find,” outlined Caroline Styr, Head of Thought Leadership Research at the Adecco Group. “They are workers who are supported much more than the average by their organisation in things like development, upskilling, internal mobility and education in how the world of work is changing and how this is impacting them.” Indeed, 93% of future-ready workers are given personalised development by their employer and 95% regularly participate in training provided by their employer.

Companies must commit to increasing this segment of their workforce and train future leaders. They can do this by regularly assessing the relevance and suitability of the skills in their workforce, communicating development and progression opportunities, designing personalised development plans, and investing in training. But for the first time in years, the amount of upskilling in organisations has plateaued. This may be eroding worker confidence in their employer’s commitment to their professional journey. In fact, only 9% of workers are staying with their employers expecting to be upskilled.

Working through change

“It’s all about human intelligence – specifically, leader intelligence,” recapped Corinna. “Leaders have a very important responsibility to redefine their role in their organisations and in society and to double down on it.” For Roberto, adapting to an AI-driven world of work creates opportunities: “We are facing a gigantic revolution. But let’s not forget that we have seen many of these revolutions before. For me, one of the big question marks is how can we use some of the opportunities in front of us today to give time back to our people?”

In a world of work increasingly shaped by AI and defined by uncertainty, employers must build workforce resilience and retain an adaptable workforce. This will require investing in upskilling, supporting workers in their AI journeys, providing opportunities for progression and creating sustainable workplaces for all.

Download Working through change: Adapting to an AI-driven world of work report to learn more about the future of the world of work in 2024, and the key takeaways for employers.

Watch the replay of the report launch webinar to catch up on a fascinating discussion between Roberto di Bernardini, Corinna Refsgaard, Bettina Schaller and Caroline Styr.

Here's the link to the webinar