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As we prepare to head towards the end of 2019, and gearing up for a couple of big projects related to this topic, I wanted to do a round up of various things I’ve collected on the future of work. Thought I’d share them for followers in case you’d like to explore in a more comprehensive format!

General Reports and Future of Work Overviews

Five ways work will change in the future (2019)

Trends 2019:  The future of work and the shape of future skills (2019)

Skills change, but capabilities endure (2019)

Global Commission for the Future of Work report (2019)

The future of work – OECD Employment outlook (2019)

Racial differences on the future of work (2019)

Women and the future of work (2019)

The future of work for women (2019)

Aspen institute future of work policy agenda (2019)

World Economic Forum – 4 scenarios for what work will look like in 2030 (2018)

World Economic Forum on the future of jobs (2018)

Automation and the future of the African American workforce (2018)

Eight scenarios for the future of work from the World Economic Forum. (2018)

The real future of work (2018)

Seven forces that will change the way you work (2018)

Pew Research – the future of jobs and job training (2017)

Technology, jobs and the future of work (2017)

Job Loss

We need a reskilling revolution (2019)

32 million working class workers risk being left behind by the future of work (2019)

The robots are not coming for your job – management is (2019)

Mounting a response to technological unemployment (2018)

The case for the humanities as an educational protection against job loss (2018)

The question isn’t whether AI will take our jobs…. (2018)

Is a robot coming for your job?  (2018)

(This is an accepted proposal for an upcoming “TED”-type talk I’ll be giving at the Council on Social Work Education meeting in Denver on October 26, 2019.)

Ever get the feeling that the future is coming on faster than we can make sense of it? Do the challenges ever seem like they are multiplying? In some respects they are….but so are people, communities and possibilities for positive change that are tackling these challenges in intensely creative and future facing ways. Some suggest – our very survival as a planet depends on our ability to harness “the best” of who we are to navigate and co-create the future in new ways. The truth is, being “futures literate” is an acquirable skill…and while it doesn’t mean a person can predict (with absolute certainty) or control the future, it does mean that we can enter the future better prepared to deal with whatever comes. This practice is called “foresight” and it is being practiced all over the world. Foresight is being used in a variety of private and public sectors. It is a “big tent” community full of technologists, ethicists, scientists, artists, gamers, equity workers, inventors, engineers and policy wonks (to name a few). But social work is only beginning to explicitly engage with this body of knowledge and set of practices. While in many respects – everything we do in social work is implicitly “for the future” – there is so much more possible. Our value propositions, skills and tools as social workers can enhance futures practice – and futures practice can challenge us to think bigger across our profession. Come learn about the ideas, methods and fascinating world of this global community and practice that can build collective imagination, intelligence and agility to deepen our impact, increase our effectiveness and help to build the world we want to live in. Should every social worker be a futurist? YES. We belong and are much needed in this movement and in the future (as are the people and communities we work and stand with). Come learn more!!! Let’s build a better future.

It was my pleasure to share my futures work with colleagues who work in the addictions field from across our region this past week. As promised, I’m sharing my slides! Please access them here! Note that the page about technology and the future of mental health care from the National Institute of Mental Health I mentioned can be accessed here. Also of interest on my blog are additional links to work I’ve done in related topics here, here and here.

Please follow along and join the coversation – you can do so here and/or find me on Twitter @lauranissen. It was great spending the morning with you this week!!

Do you ever wonder to yourself about what social scientists, social workers, app developers, related professionals and researchers are exploring with regard to what is happening with mental health technology, and how ethics are playing out in their application to urgent mental health challenges in world? Melanie Sage and I have been thinking about this very thing – and we gathered up some of our resources to share them with you here.

Being future ready, means that we have a sense of how technology, ethics and the needs of the people we work with and for – intersect. Many people are doing work in this space. Let’s contribute, exchange ideas, debate and explore.

Do you have other favorites you might want to share with us? Please be in touch – the more we grow our shared capacity to learn, develop deeper capacity and spread the best use of ethical tech in mental health practice – the better for all!

I had so much fun sharing this presentation with the National Network of Social Work Managers!

Slides are here.

Archived webinar is here.