Work Force

Meet the workforce of the future

Demographic trends show a steady creep upwards of life expectancy in many parts of the world, whilst birth-rates are in rapid decline in most of the old economies. Even Latin America, the US and Asia are heading towards a "greying" of the population.

These dramatic shifts will lead to an unprecedented shortage of younger workers and the need to keep employees working until well past current retirement ages. The notion that companies would be able to source talent from an unlimited supply of workers from emerging markets has simply not been supported. Talent shortages are just as critical in China, India, Eastern Europe and parts of South America.

Fewer younger people will be working to support a significantly larger older generation in the future. If older generations stay in the workforce longer, it is clear that the millennials will have a significant, perhaps unprecedented, role to play in driving businesses forward.

The race to capture the best has always been challenging, but with even less talent available in tomorrow’s world, we can expect a significant talent crunch with a potentially profound impact on organisations.

So how much do we understand about what really drives this new generation―their work priorities and expectations of employers? Are they really so different from previous generations?