What does the future of work look like? A round-up of our latest articles

Decent work for all and sustainable economic growth underpin the United Nations’ 8th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

It is one of the UN’s 17 SDGs, which are designed to combat world challenges including poverty, hunger and climate change by 2030.

Progress on SDG 8 has been hugely disrupted by COVID-19 and the economic crisis it unleashed, the UN says. Setbacks include higher unemployment than before the pandemic, and Russia’s war on Ukraine slowing economic growth. But progress is still being made.

Here's a round-up of our latest articles on the future of work:

The World Economic Forum’s 2022 Annual Meeting in Davos included 13 dedicated sessions on the future of work, jobs and skills. Themes included the importance of jobs in education, health and care. It also covered how to get more women into the workforce and the impact of a skills gap in the digital economy.

Women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, as they are more likely to work in the social, hospitality and informal sectors. But the greater flexibility triggered by COVID-19 could enable women to participate more easily in the workforce, said Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of Manpower Group.

However, the pandemic-driven shift to remote work has also heightened a digital skills shortage. Helping people attain these skills will fuel not just economic growth, but the green transition too.

Read more about the future world of work.

Fair wages benefit workers, companies and governments, and help to address poverty and social inequality. But the pandemic reduced wages, and almost 270 million workers earn below the minimum wage in their country.

Recommendations from seven experts at the Forum’s annual meeting in Davos include disclosing indicators used to set pay levels and providing continuous training to help workers grow their skills and pay.

Discover how to promote fair pay in your organization.

Borderless work is when employers hire overseas candidates for remote roles. The benefits include flexibility for workers, a wider talent pool for employers and a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Some roles advertised as remote turn out to be based in a particular country. But now is the time to fully embrace borderless remote work – or be left behind.

Find out how to start your journey to borderless remote working.

Workers are quitting traditional employment in record numbers. They’re switching industries, trying different things and sometimes leaving the workforce completely.

The people who are quitting fall into three main groups, according to management consultancy McKinsey – reshufflers, re-inventors and re-assessors. McKinsey’s analysis, called The Great Attrition is Making Hiring Harder, looks at who these workers are, where they’re going and why.

Explore more on the Great Attrition and why workers are quitting.

Longer lives mean we can all expect to work longer. In the European Union, workers are expected to spend an average of 36 years at work, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.

With the number of over-65s globally forecast to double by 2050, there are implications for productivity, pensions and policy.

Learn more about longer lives in Europe and globally.