Featuring:

James McQuivey, VP, Principal Analyst, and J. P. Gownder, VP, Principal Analyst

Show Notes:

For many organizations, the term “future of work” conveyed a long-term, strategic concept. When it came to subjects like emerging employee experiences and systematic risk management, most organizations felt they had time to monitor the trends and adapt over time.

But the coronavirus epidemic changed the game plan. In this week’s episode of What It Means, Vice Presidents and Principal Analysts James McQuivey and J. P. Gownder discuss workplace trends that have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and how companies have responded.

McQuivey and Gownder identify four key “shocks” that will define the future of work: systemic risk, the employee data tsunami, the rise of employee power, and robots and automation. The pandemic has certainly accelerated some of these trends and forced organizations to face them sooner than expected.

For example, systemic risk could have meant climate change or regional political fluctuations. But a global health pandemic brought health risk to the top of nearly every organization’s priority list at the same time. And when it comes to employee experience and power, the pandemic forced many organizations to figure out how to support a fully remote workplace in a matter of days instead of taking a long-term strategic approach.

If you like what you hear from our guests in this episode, be sure to check out our CX North America live virtual experience June 16–18.