What does the future of work look like for women?

Photo: Roman Samborskyi | Shutterstock

The last two years has accelerated a change in the way we work. At Meiava, we think that the future of work will be characterized by three key attributes:

1.    Flexible hybrid working practices;

2.    More human-centric employee experiences; and

3.    A workforce ecosystem approach.

For women, this is expected to have a positive impact. Not only will this offer greater work-life integration options, but it may also help to increase women’s participation in the workforce.

Flexible, hybrid work

The Covid-19 pandemic quickly forced organizations and employees to adapt how and where we work. According to Mercer, the future of work is not a fully remote model, but hybrid.

Remote work is effective and may offer more job-sharing opportunities and part-time work for women, according to Angela Langmann, General Manager - Fashion at Amazon Australia. See video segment as part of the Meiava Inspiring Career Journeys interview.

Claudia Massei, former CEO Siemens Oman agrees and says that hybrid working models is a new reality for companies. See video.

Angela Langmann, General Manager - Fashion, Amazon Australia

Claudia Massei, former CEO Siemens Oman

More human-centric employee experiences

Organizations are reshaping their work strategy, in part learning from the experiences of working practices during the pandemic. Increasingly companies will invest in employee experience platforms that bring wellbeing, knowledge, engagement, and learning together in a digital world.

For women, this represents an opportunity to design career development on their own terms and take advantage of new well-being programs.

Technology will be an enabler to these experiences. According to PwC, 74% of companies plan to increase spending on HR technology to address pressing talent needs including technology to support skills mapping and career paths.

For example, investment in mentoring software and advisor matching platforms such as Meiava Elevate is expected to increase nearly 20% through to 2025 as companies seek to retain talent and create more self-directed career development experiences.

And, it is no wonder that the global corporate wellness market is expected to grow significantly to see employers spend $87.3 Billion by 2026.

Workforce ecosystems

The shape of the workforce of the future will move to having expanded teams beyond the company walls towards a “workforce ecosystem.”

In fact, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Deloitte survey found that 87% of executives define their workforce in broader terms than just full- and part-time employees, and expect more external workers to be part of their workforce in the future.

This ecosystem approach is reinventing the traditional view of the workforce, where individual employees perform work along what have been linear career paths to instead create value for their organization by their contributions to meet business objectives and in the projects they help to deliver.

For women, the shift will enable even greater flexible work arrangements such as part-time and project roles. In addition, we can expect more women entrepreneurs offering their skills as a contingent worker on a freelance, independent worker, or consultant basis. In the United States for example, 40% of freelancers are women (about 24 million women) and flexibility in their schedule and being able to work from a location of their choice are among the reasons they participate in the gig economy. (Source: Statista)

Main photo: Alexander Suhorucov | Pexels