– Employers and employees are facing unprecedented challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic created immense and unexpected obstacles for business, education, and communities. It accelerated a digital transformation as technology is reshaping every job.Â
Automation and artificial intelligence are replacing and creating new industries. Remote work is changing who is prompting for jobs, making human skills more important than ever. Communities are rethinking how they attract new residents. There are major implications for organizations as new structures, leadership, culture, and rewards are required.
Workers in the future will be impacted by the public policy decisions that we make today. As Americans rush to respond to our current moment, Missourians are coming together to imagine how to turn this disruption into opportunity. Our 4th Annual Humanities Spring Symposium, The Future of Work, was a day-long virtual event that convened students, scholars, and community members to consider how work shapes our shared human experience. Through a series of interdisciplinary panels and presentations, participants and attendees examined workforce development, practices, and trends that impact how, where, and why we work.Â
– The Future of Work explored the central role of work in our lives by exploring a number of important questions about the past, present and future of work:
- How will the COVID-19 pandemic permanently change the way we work?
- Where will work take place and what impact will that have on communities?
- What are the jobs of the future?
- What skills do workers need? How do the humanities fit?
- How is artificial intelligence and technology impacting work?
- How are approaches to leadership and ethics evolving?Â
- What lessons can we learn from past American workforce development initiatives and policies?