For business to work in the future, we need to put people at the heart of work

Work is the engine at the center of our economies. It lies at the heart of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Vision 2050 where over 9 billion people live well, within the limits of the planet, and is essential for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

However, the world of work is being disrupted. The combination of rapid technological evolution, socio-economic polarization and disillusionment of the workforce could lead to jobless growth, income inequality and social instability at a global scale. If businesses don’t act, they will be unprepared for these challenges and unable to realize the opportunities of building a stronger business in a thriving society.

WBCSD advocates that business is part of the solution in contributing to a future with inclusive workforces that are secure, motivated, skilled and prepared for any challenge that comes next. A future where people’s lives are enriched by advancing technology and where society is empowered and prospers from equal access to new opportunities. In short, a future where business and society don’t just adapt but thrive.

So how do we make it happen? At WBCSD, we bring businesses together that look to play an active role in defining a positive and inspiring vision of the future of work, with people at its heart, and in contributing to realizing this vision.

In particular, WBCSD is mobilizing business action around two themes:

• Be Responsible – Build foundations for fair and meaningful work, implement new technology responsibly and operate with high levels of transparency and trust;
• Be Transformative – Work together to create strategies and business models that enable an equitable, diverse, inclusive and empowering future of work – contributing to future-fit businesses, labor markets and social security mechanisms, with people at the center.

These will be supported by business leadership in advocating collective action to enable a human-centered agenda for the future of work.
Everyone is talking about how to prepare for the future of work. WBCSD and its members are working to shape it by building solutions that put people at the heart of this transformation.

• Future of Work hub highlighting data, trends, case studies, and more information on business action in this space

• Case study booklet with 18 short case studies bringing recommendations for business action to life – Business Leadership for the Future of Work. Features ABB, Microsoft, PWC, IKEA, KPMG, Honda, Hitachi, Vale, Fujitsu, Randstad, The Navigator Company, Unilever, Solvay, and Firmenich

• A human-centered agenda for the future of work – WBCSD perspective on the Global Commission on the Future of Work landmark report “Work for a brighter future”

• cerri@wbcsd.org – Director, Social Impact, WBCSD