Resetting the Future of Work Agenda: Disruption and Renewal in a Post-COVID World

The document outlines five imperatives for organizations to adapt their workforces and workplaces following the COVID-19 pandemic: transforming organization design, aligning technology and skills, cultivating well-being, building human-centric leadership, and embracing stakeholder capitalism. It emphasizes a shift toward agile, distributed workforces, the acceleration of digitization and reskilling, and a more socially responsible approach to employment and the gig economy.

• Organizations are encouraged to shift from traditional multilayered matrix structures to nimbler network structures to improve decision-making speed and agility.
• The pandemic accelerated the digitization of work, with over 80% of global employers speeding up the digitization of work processes.
• Companies are urged to integrate reskilling and upskilling as part of their transformation journey, focusing on emerging, evolving, and declining talent areas.
• Mental health has become a critical priority, with two-thirds of companies offering behavioral health services reporting an increase in use.
• The report advocates for 'total well-being' that includes financial security, noting that many employees globally live paycheque-to-paycheque and lack savings for financial shocks.
• Human-centric leadership in a remote environment requires increased transparency, authenticity, and a shift toward over-communicating to maintain team alignment.
• The pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities, particularly affecting women, young people, and Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) communities.
• Stakeholder capitalism in the workforce context involves an equitable sharing of risks and rewards, including efforts to minimize lay-offs through furloughs or cross-industry talent redeployment.
• The use of a gig workforce is expected to grow as an interim solution for filling vacancies or managing peak demands, but requires ethical and fair implementation.

APA

World Economic Forum (2020). Resetting the Future of Work Agenda: Disruption and Renewal in a Post-COVID World. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_NES_Resetting_FOW_Agenda_2020.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Resetting the Future of Work Agenda: Disruption and Renewal in a Post-COVID World. 2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_NES_Resetting_FOW_Agenda_2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Resetting the Future of Work Agenda: Disruption and Renewal in a Post-COVID World |date=October 2020 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_NES_Resetting_FOW_Agenda_2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2020resetting, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Resetting the Future of Work Agenda: Disruption and Renewal in a Post-COVID World}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_NES_Resetting_FOW_Agenda_2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }