Businesses Aren't Ready for Radical Change in the Global Workforce

Five years from now, the global work environment will look a lot different than it does today. But many companies aren't prepared to deal with the change. Jettison those full-time employees who have spent their entire working lives with the same company. Bring in the independent contractors and contingent employees who are making up an increasing share of the workforce. That's the picture painted by Workforce 2020, a new study by Oxford Economics with support from SAP SE. The survey covers more than 5,400 employees and executives in 27 countries. What it finds is a radical shift in the way that businesses are calling on managers and employees to perform key tasks. At the same time, it pokes holes in some of the myths that we've harbored about the so-called Millennials. Turns out they want many of the same things from their careers that their predecessors demanded – to a point. Explaining the study's findings is Tim Minahan, chief marketing officer with SAP Cloud. He talks about what companies must do to prepare for the changes that we'll see in the very near future.