Work disrupted: opportunity, resilience, and growth in the accelerated future of work

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword xiii

Introduction xv

1 From Fear to Growth: Mindsets and Playbooks for Twenty-first-century Careers and Work 1

Part I Find Opportunity in a Time of Accelerated Change: Redesigning Work, Workforces, and Workplaces 21

2 People and Machines Working Together: Integrating AI and Workers on Every Team, in Every Job 23

3 Making Alternative Work a Meaningful Opportunity: The Workforce Will Include More Part-time, Contract, Freelance, Gig, and Crowd Workers 39

4 Working from Almost Anywhere: Redesign Workplaces from Where We Work to How We Work: Onsite, Online, and Everything in Between 51

Part II Build Long-Term Resilience for Uncertain Futures: Reimagining Careers, Organizations, and Leadership 63

5 Plan for Many Careers, Not One: Realistic and Energizing Transition Strategies for Multichapter Lives 65

6 The Rise of Teams: Reinvent Organizations, from Individuals and Hierarchies to Teams and Networks 83

7 Leaders as Coaches and Designers: Moving Beyond Managing Workflows and Controlling Direct Reports to Creating, Influencing, and Building 95

Part III Playbooks for Growth: Charting Paths Forward for Individuals, Leaders, Citizens, and Society 111

8 Carpe Diem: As Individuals, Strengthen Adaptability and Choice to Face Great Opportunities and Disproportionate Responsibilities 113

9 Create Opportunity: As Business Leaders, Unlock Value by Reimagining Jobs and Partnering with Workers to Build Resilience and Dynamic Careers 131

10 Set New Agendas: As Citizens and Communities, Reset Education, Labor Regulations, Job Transitions, and Societal Norms to Reflect Our Values 151

Acknowledgments 169

Notes 171

About the Authors 199

Index 201

If you only read one book on the future of work, Work Disrupted: Opportunity, Resilience, and Growth in the Accelerated Future of Work should be that book.

The future of work swept in sooner than expected, accelerated by Covid-19, creating an urgent need for new maps, new mindsets, new strategies-- and most importantly, a trusted guide to take us on this journey. That guide is Jeff Schwartz. A founding partner of Deloitte Consulting’s Future of Work practice, Schwartz brings clarity, humor, wisdom, and practical advice to the future of work, a topic surrounded by misinformation, fear, and confusion. With a fundamental belief in the power of human innovation and creativity, Schwartz presents the key issues, critical choices, and potential pitfalls that must be on everyone’s radar.

If you're anxious about robots taking away your job in the future, you will take comfort in the realistic perspective, fact-based insights, and practical steps Schwartz offers.
If you're not sure where to even begin to prepare, follow his level-headed advice and easy-to-follow action plans.
If you're a business leader caught between keeping up, while also being thoughtful about the next moves, you will appreciate the playbook directed at you.
If you're wondering how Covid-19 will change how and where you will work, Work Disrupted has you covered.
Written in a conversational style by Schwartz, with Suzanne Riss, an award-winning journalist and book author, Work Disrupted offers a welcome alternative to books on the topic that lack a broad perspective or dwell on the problems rather than offer solutions. Timely and insightful, the book includes the impact of Covid-19 on our present and future work. Interviews with leading thinkers on the future of work offer additional perspectives and guidance.Cartoons created for the book by leading business illustrator Tom Fishburne bring to life the reader’s journey and the complex issues surrounding the topic.