IMPACT OF COVID-19 & DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON WORLD OF WORK REVEALED

Future of Work Research Study Examined Changing Landscape of Skills in Demand, Work Environments and Technology

A global survey of Business and HR Leaders conducted by OI Global Partners has captured the effects that the pandemic and digital transformation are bringing to the world of work.

In this fifth annual survey conducted by OI Global Partners on the Future of Work and the implications from the pandemic were felt right across organisations, key take-aways were uncovered.

Key take-aways include:

• 43% of global respondents believe Covid-19 had a positive impact on productivity.
• By comparison, 46% of respondents globally perceive a negative impact on collaboration because of fewer informal interactions.
• The impact of remote working has led 71% to anticipate a hybrid form of work in the future with some division to time spent between home and the workplace.

Commenting on these findings, Susan Ruhl, Co-Chair of OI Global Partners, said, “Certainly, this pandemic has greatly sped up the use of technology in the workplace. As organizations are forced to embrace a remote workforce, large gaps in leadership and team collaboration have been uncovered. The need for soft skills is becoming more and more important as we navigate this strange new world.”

The top 5 skills most valued by organisations are:

• Leadership agility
• Embracing Change
• Collaboration
• Communicating Clearly
• Critical Thinking

“While we saw the same top 5 in 2019, leadership agility has jumped three places to the top. Digital transformation has accelerated as well because of Covid-19 and this has increased the need for an agile mindset to embrace change and learn new ways of work.” Ms. Ruhl noted.

Other key findings include:

• 46% say that ‘adapting to change’ is the biggest people challenge facing their organisation, followed by ‘managing remote workers’ (43%) and keeping employees engaged (42%).
• The transition to a remote working environment has increased responsibility for each employee to self-direct their own career development. Self-directed learning portals garner support from 45% of survey participants this year, the highest rated development activity and one that has not made the top list in previous years.
• Just over half of survey participants predict that new technology (e.g., artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning) will have no impact on jobs (56%). This is an increase from 2019, when 38% of responses fell into the “no impact on jobs” bucket.
• Turning to the impact of new technology on social skills, more than 3 out of 4 of overall survey participants (77%) believe that new technology will require more social skills.

The Global Future of Work survey results can be downloaded here.
About the survey:
The survey was conducted in September and October 2020. There were almost 600 respondents from 16 countries. Organisations of all sizes weighed in, with half reporting more than 500 employees. Respondents represented every one of 16 major industry groups, with heaviest response from Financial Services, Business Support & Logistics, Technology, Telecom, Internet & Electronics and Manufacturing.

OI Global Partners
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CONTACT: SUSAN RUHL
sruhl@oiglobalpartners.com

OI Global Partners is a leading human resources consulting firm that helps organizations manage their talent and individuals manage their careers. More than 1,000 consultants strong with 225 offices in 28 countries, our reach assures customers a broad suite of talent management services and a deep base of experienced consultants. For more information, please visit www.oiglobalpartners.com

This release was published on openPR.