The pandemic accelerated existing trends in remote work, e-commerce, and automation, with up to 25 percent more workers than previously estimated potentially needing to switch occupations.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted labor markets globally during 2020. The short-term consequences were sudden and often severe: Millions of people were furloughed or lost jobs, and others rapidly adjusted to working from home as offices closed. Many other workers were deemed essential and continued to work in hospitals and grocery stores, on garbage trucks and in warehouses, yet under new protocols to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The future of work after COVID-19
This report on the future of work after COVID-19 is the first of three MGI reports that examine aspects of the postpandemic economy. The others look at the pandemic’s long-term influence on consumption and the potential for a broad recovery led by enhanced productivity and innovation. Here, we assess the lasting impact of the pandemic on labor demand, the mix of occupations, and the workforce skills required in eight countries with diverse economic and labor market models: China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Together, these eight countries account for almost half the global population and 62 percent of GDP. READ MORE
By Susan Lund, Anu Madgavkar, James Manyika, Sven Smit, Kweilin Ellingrud, Mary Meaney, and Olivia Robinson
Source: mckinsey.com
Remote work seemed to become the standard in a post-Covid-19 world. However, with recent announcements regarding the purchase, leasing and building of offices by Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet, we can’t take the “everyone is going to work-from-home” trend as a done deal.
When reviewing an idea, my advice to leaders is to focus on strategic alignment. Leaders need to provide clear strategic guidance on the arenas they want their innovation teams to explore. It is on the basis of this guidance that they can then evaluate whether an idea is worth investing in.
Last month, the FDA announced the 12 winners of it’s Low or No-Cost Tech-Enabled Traceability Challenge, which was part of the New Era for Smarter Food Safety initiative. The initiative aims at achieving end-to-end traceability throughout the supply chain.
