The Changing Nature of Work: 30 signals to consider for a sustainable future

SIGNAL 8. Professions of the future

The fourth industrial revolution is driving radical shifts in the way we live. It has brought a range of emerging powerful technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnologies, advanced materials and quantum computing, which represent entirely new ways of creating value in the digital economy for organizations and for citizens. They change how we produce and transport goods and services, and how we communicate and collaborate. Ultimately, these technologies redefine what it means to be human.

The unprecedented speed of change and scale of disruption require organizations and individuals to adapt to, learn and experience new technologies. This requires new skills and different mindsets. A study by McKinsey Global Institute has shown that more than 60 percent of current jobs have at least 30 percent of tasks that can be performed by computers. Many jobs are already fully automatable. Automation has caused occupational and skill shifts across labour markets.

Physical and administrative tasks are shifting toward more enjoyable activities that create greater value for firms. In recent years, advanced economies in Europe have grown in knowledge-intensive sectors such as telecommunications, financial services, real estate and education, while there have been a decline in manufacturing and agriculture.

There are two groups of jobs that many see as key in the fourth industrial revolution. The first group involves the adoption of new technologies, giving rise to greater demand for jobs in the green economy, at the forefront of data and the AI economy, as well as jobs in engineering, cloud computing and product development. Creative and personal skills are gaining importance with an emphasis on problem-solving and management skills. The second group involves social skills and reflects the continuing importance of human interaction in the new economy, giving rise to greater demand for jobs in the care economy, marketing, sales and content production.

With further advances in AI and robotics, an increasing number of jobs will be fully automated. Some authors claim that eventually work will re-focus on human connection – care work and entertainment as irreducible human activities.

Check out the next signal, #9: Soft skills and knowledge

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The Changing Nature of Work: 30 signals to consider for a sustainable future

Work helps sustain livelihoods and largely determines the quality of life. Its changing nature is at the frontier of development. This report is the result of a broad horizon scanning by six UNDP Accelerator Labs across Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.  They reveal 30 signals that shape the “where, who, how, and why” of the changing nature of work. From the impact of COVID-19 on the workforce to new work models and entrepreneurial ecosystems, the authors explore opportunities and threats, as well as solutions from local contexts that can be scaled up into positive answers to the challenges people around the world are facing.  Download the full report here.