1. FUTURE OF
WORKFORCE
Final Report, November 2022
Martin Arlitt, Tom Coughlin,
Paolo Faraboschi, Eitan Frachtenberg,
Phil Laplante, Dejan Milojicic,
Nita Patel, and Roberto Saracco
4. How is the World Changing?
Global just-in-time supply chains → Regional, home-bound deglobalization, plan B
Global industry production → Customized regional products owning tech
Regional workforce market → Crowdsourcing cutting global boundaries
Supplemental gig economy → Gig economy responsible for individuals
Benefits/ Corporate → Purpose/ Ecosystem
Office WF → Hybrid WF
White/blue collar → New collars
Diversity → Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
People ready for tech → Tech-ready people
High-tech → high-touch, high-care
Training → reskilling, upskilling, continued education
Work as a means of living → Work as a means of fulfilment
Cities, hub & spoke model → Support geo depressed regions
UN-driven sustainability → Social startups & global industry
Protect the Planet → Return to the Planet
Signing the treaties → act collaboratively
Reactive (to COVID, …) → Preventive
Automated → Autonomous
Technical standards → Social-technical standards
Stove pipes in technology → Interdisciplinary co-design
Social networks (humans) → Sensor networks (machines)
Technical advancement → human-centricity and ethical enablement
economical
technological
social
ecological
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5. How is Technology Evolving?
apps, U/I
infrastructure
security
automation
Economical divide education → digital divide education
Corporate IT, devices → CostShare, Bring your own,
broadband
Voice recognition → Hands-free Voice Control
Centralized data analytics → AI@edge
Robots in fenced environment → real-time responsive collaboration
AI-assisted → Explainable, mission-critical AIOps
Reusable code, patterns → Low-code no-code
Virtual and assisted reality → Metaverse
Telepresence → Digital twins
5G, WiFi6 → drone satellites communication for rural
Just-in-time production → Additive manufacturing
Quantum communication → Quantum computing
Assisted driving → autonomous driving
Data analytics → Datacentric AI
AI-assisted cyber analysts → AI/ML replacing analysts
Physical protection → Supply chain guarantees
Privacy-preserving → Privacy-driven
Bitcoins and digital currency → NFTs
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6. (1) Singapore 12/2020
• Emphasis on businesses agility introducing
new initiatives, practices and measures to
adapt and transform the way we work
• We all want digital technologies, but also
employee engagement, empowerment.
Workplace, workforce, technology coming
together
• Shifting from “people ready 4 tech” to “tech-
ready people”. How do we bridge the gap of
those who can/cannot embrace digital tools
• Reinforce mental agility and metal wellness
of individuals, advocate globally
US: (7) Northeast 6/21 (8) (Mid-)West 6/21 (10) Southeast 9/21
• Pandemic highlighted a trend the workforce. There’s been a
disappearance of middle-skilled jobs resulting in growing
polarization in the workforce.
• The pandemic has changed people’s priorities, which has resulted
in a seismic shift within the workforce and its expectations.
• Education of technology and STEM-related subjects is critical, not
only for the next-generation workforce but also for the educators.
• The blend of remote, hybrid and in-person workforces has created
new dynamics that will take time to understand and stabilize.
• Increased work mobility is an opportunity and a threat for talent
acquisition and retention and should be considered in re-evaluating
company policies
• Migration trends have been accelerated and impacted due to
increased work mobility, shifting cultural norms across the country
(9) Canada (8/2021)
• The pandemic augmented strains already being felt due
to the aging population. The solutions are complex
• Top three challenges for employees are dealing with
work-life balance, maintaining productivity and
communicating without in-person interactions
• COVID-19 has accelerated automation and digitization
while forcing society to rethink how we work and learn,
and our socioeconomic structures and systems
(6) Europe, Middle East, North Africa 4/2021
• Regulations, standards & certifications have become more
critical as technology is adopted widely and broadly.
• A single approach in education, shaping and managing the
Future of Workforce will not work. Localization is critical.
• Technology needs to be human- and user-centric to be
meaningful and impactful.
• Legislation and policies need to be more futuristic to
accommodate remote workers around the world
(5) Latin America 4/2021
• The region will likely undergo a more accelerated timeline
towards digital transformation, innovation and technology
adoption
• Concerns about challenges with language, local/rural
infrastructures, skills of educators, and processes within
industry.
• Incorporating technological tools in schools is necessary to
reduce the gaps in access to technology, modernize the
educational system and encourage students to develop skills
such as critical thinking, teamwork and creativity.
(4) Sub-Saharan Africa 4/2021
• COVID-19 has had a debilitating impact on African economies,
particularly due to a decline in informal employment, which
accounts for 80-90% of total employment in African countries
• Following the outbreak, the share of working women shrank in
all four countries. In Uganda and Ethiopia, more women lost
their job due to Covid-19 than men. This deepens the already
wide gender gap in employment.
• Language challenges, poor local/rural infrastructure, and an
inadequate education framework are critical concerns
(3) China (3/2021)
• Pandemic highlighted mismatch between
industry and education, supply and demand are
not meeting together.
• Strengthen cybersecurity, data security, and
personal information protection
• Focus on future technologies to support social
distancing and prevent future pandemic
(2) India 1/2021
• Concerns about challenges with language,
local/rural infrastructures, skills of
educators, and processes within industry.
• Investigation of emotional health and
technological intervention to handle stress
of pandemic
• Concern about focus on work-life balance
the inappropriate burden on women
during this time
Insights from 10 Panels with ~200 Participants
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7. Insights from Unstructured Feedback from Survey (~1500 people)
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Q2: Other technological trends?
Q5: Additional comments?
Q1: Other workforce trends?
Q3: How can your area assist?
Q4: How can IEEE assist?
•Flooding of inexperience in all positions. Replacements for the experienced aging retiring workforce
•Workforce changes not uniform around Globe. E.g. DEI a high priority in some but not all countries.
•People will tend to work for projects rather than for companies/employers. Increase in contractors.
•Early retirements as technology becomes an added stress to work life balance. Shortage of workers.
•People working to older ages (>70 to 75 cohort engagement in remunerated employment)
•Skill based workforce will be more in demand than college acquired knowledge or degree.
•24/7 work through globalization. The work follows the Sun. Shift to the 4-day work week.
•Use of AI assistants as part of the workflow. AI everywhere. Need for standards/protocols for AI/ML.
•Retirement of baby boomers, significant amount of engineering experience lost.
•Politically driven changes in workforce demographics. Affirmative Action driven by the market.
•The definition of money is going to change in near future.
•Move from fossils to renewables with urgency of climate threat, need to retrain energy work force
•Decentralized electricity generation, improvements to power grid to support cleaner energy.
•Identify steps (large, small) to drive current technology to support better human behavior.
•Make computing foundations/cybersecurity robust through proof and automated reasoning.
•Ensure ethical use of technology, from hardware up, push for equity in access to resources
•We instill values of collaboration, inclusion, innovation and environmental responsibility
•Influence companies to provide quality products while maintaining a happy work force.
•Continue investing in satellite RF communication programs that push the envelope.
•The improvement of underwater networks, can restore oceans and new green energies
•Assist with the automatic and accurate diagnosis of disease using AI
•Biotech instrumentation makes infectious disease testing faster, reliable, and lower cost.
•Net neutrality, and access to adequate bandwidth considered a modern but essential right.
•Closer coupling of technology to business outcomes.
•Invest in employee education/training, filling the gaps left by educational institutions
•Provide cost effective solutions for transportation electrification
•Carbon reduction in transportation; Electrification - power conversion
•Drive technologies to increase green harvesting and efficiency of energy/power conversion.
•Green energy is not as green. We need diverse sources for national security and reliability.
•Power efficiency w/ motors. Better charging, longer energy store. Green energy adoption .
•IEEE must be more valuable to industry.
•Make knowledge accessible to the community of
adopters, implementors & decision makers.
•Update policy (government/law), law (IP
internationally), and business and innovation.
•Help executives understand value of changes.
•Help experienced engineers keep their jobs.
•Incorporate Business Ethics, collaborate with ECI.
Develop Ethics in Engineering.
•Ethics as technology speeds past our ability to
curb it. Understand new technologies.
•Remain the World's pre-emanate Standards
organization.
•Supply employers with information to make
workplaces more efficient.
•Become a catalyst for technological change,
advance technology at the edge of science.
•Provide high-level roadmap for technology
evolution and adoption
•Understand trends and future research.
•IEEE closed to those w/o degree, a lot of people
understand theory, but not practice.
•AI based decision making. AI will be used to design.
•Massive adoption of AI for increased surveillance
•Autonomous mass transport. Increase in green vehicles.
•Increased drone usage including for personal transport
•Highways will be in maintenance mode. No expansion.
•Robots for domestic use, advancement of aerospace.
•Outer space technology becoming common.
•Fast field-deployable virus detection for future pandemics
•Cryptography protect against quantum computer attacks
•Holographic displays, hand/ face gesture, for computer IF
•Adoption of digital avatars (digital universe)
•Responsible AI/ML in civilian applications;
•AR glasses, direct brain I/F instead of traditional I/F
•Renewables 100%
•Wide range of sensors and sensor networks
•More efficient battery storage and solar converters
•Electrical products shrink, battery capacity increases.
•Microgrids for power generation and storage.
•Pervasive energy efficiency accelerating automation.
•Home energy systems, prosumers w/ rooftop PV/storage
•Climate change was not addressed. IEEE should encourage investments, motivate world leaders.
•Nobody can predict future, if there will be war or climate change that will change priorities
•Global society is not growing in a culture of ethics, respect. This should be a major debate.
•Quantum computing will become more prevalent in 10+ years in industry and governments.
•Certification of knowledge toward global consistency
•Businesses are thinking multiplanetary, but healthcare, environmental are still in basic stages! Some
questions may have vastly different answers in different parts of the world.
•Business, governments to help underdeveloped regions. Technology to 'bring the world together’.
•Diversity and Kindness are two core concepts in all interactions and rooted in respect.
•Will electrical stations be ready for high-volume transportation. How to recycle car batteries.
•Flattening of world will continue. Nations allowing free innovation will exceed centrally planned.
•Businesses should engage in beneficial exchange, regardless of borders.
8. Authors Insights
Society-Related
– We have an opportunity and responsibility to be active agents of change. This is
nearly universal among panelists.
– There is an opportunity to reboot work towards more desirable outcomes,
including a more just society.
– The pandemic created shifts from how we manage to how we establish
relationships with new colleagues.
– We need better tools and practices to create work/life balance resulting in more
satisfied and energized workers.
– Similarly, a reboot of work is necessary to improve the standard of living for many
workers.
– Encouraging diversity in work is necessary for a better society and for more
innovative and productive working environments.
– We are at a fundamental crossroads. One group wants work to return to
traditional workstyle, the other to work from home.
– We need more technically literate young people as legislators and educators, to
assist in long-term improvements.
Ecology-Related
– COVID triggered ecological benefits (smog reduction, clean rivers, noise
pollution). This should be considered when deciding on FOW policies.
– Future of work could be altered in a manner that is more ecologically friendly
without significant disadvantage to non-travel businesses.
– The pandemic demonstrated which business could reduce carbon footprints using
existing technologies, and which require new technology.
– The FOW should consider ecology as a first-class citizen, across metrics
that are a current focus and those that will be in the not-to-distant future.
Technology-Related
– The pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology in many aspects,
beyond the workplace, e.g., education, healthcare, social interactions.
– Technology could be used to help those who need work done and those
looking for work. The biggest need is internet connectivity.
– The pandemic highlighted the importance of technical literacy and
showcased the gaps in technical access and literacy.
– Technology for remote work makes a global talent pool accessible by
everyone. It changes the balance between employment and freelance.
– In areas where “informal work” is dominant (Africa, India), the pandemic
has exacerbated gender gap, lack of IT/telco, work-life imbalance, etc.
– A significant evolution in healthcare is accelerating the uptake of tele
medicine, setting up the framework for preventative healthcare.
Economy-Related
– Information work will look substantially different than before COVID. The
emerging winners will be those that anticipate and prepare for changes.
– The remote work could change urban areas as commuting, parking, and
demand for food will reduce.
– Remote work could help improve local economies in geographies where
other industries are being phased out due to ecological concerns.
– The pandemic has accelerated automation, uses of AI/ML, and remote
work, increasing digital divide, de-urbanization, reverse migration, etc.
– As the pandemic relented many companies resume the work-on-premise.
This is creating conflict between companies and the workforce.
– The pandemic, by accelerating the digital transformation, is also
accelerating the servitization of products.
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9. Recommendations
Balance properly labor markets
Look holistically at technology & society
Take advantage of remote work for geo-depressed areas
Enable reliable, high-speed communications infrastructure
Establish sustainable Workforce in a well-balanced labour
system
Enable inclusive and equitable technology access for the
underserved populations
Enable people to re-invent themselves multiple
times throughout career
Retrain for new tech., e.g., AI, reskill, upskill,
vocational
Changing demand for skills: interdisciplinary, global:
Learning never ends; train to learn how to learn
government professional
organizations
academia
industry
Redefine concepts, define hybrid career, assist individuals
and corporations
Derive principles, best practices for trust, transparency,
accountability, policies
Leverage power of convening, educate legislators,
technology predictions & roadmaps
Organize community responses to the issues of safety,
security, and privacy when exploiting AI & Robotics;
collaborate with legislators, international bodies
It is all about people! Hire those who can
adapt! Best people bring best people!
Office/home have advantages/drawbacks for
different career stages; go hybrid
Early career employees and new tech ─
attractor for hiring
Companies have a duty to give back to
communities
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