In the first episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2024 Lucy is joined by fellow Lewis Silkin partner Naomi Hanrahan-Soar.
Lucy and Naomi discuss the trends behind shifting migration patterns and what that means for the workplace. They explore how employers can harness the benefits of migration, while also addressing a range of challenges.
Key takeaways:
Over the course of this year, we’ve hosted conversations with leading experts and thinkers to explore their perspectives on the future of work and consider the opportunities and challenges ahead for employers and their people as the world of work continues to evolve rapidly.
In this final episode of 2023, our podcast host, Lucy Lewis, Employment Partner at Lewis Silkin, reflects on the conversations she has had this year and draws together a range of insightful perspectives shared by her guests.
Lucy spotlights the key themes that emerged across her conversations - from the role of trust and employee voice in the workplace, to the four-day working week, the importance of organisational resilience, adapting to an ageing workforce, what the future of the platform economy looks like and the impact of automation and AI on jobs and workforce skills.
At the end of each discussion, we asked each of our guests to share their thoughts on what is missing from the current conversation on the future of work. What is not getting enough attention? What are we not talking enough about? Tune in to hear what they had to say!
In the tenth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, partner at Lewis Silkin, speaks to Shruti Singh, Senior Economist at the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs.
Lucy and Shruti discuss the impact of ageing populations on the world of work and how employers, governments and individuals can respond to demographic shifts and build productive intergenerational workforces.
Key takeaways from the conversation:
In the ninth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, partner at Lewis Silkin LLP, is joined by Paul Miller, Chief Creative Officer and founder of the Digital Workplace Group.
“We are living in a time which is no longer the industrial age, it’s not even the digital age; it is the living age.”
Lucy and Paul discuss the need for organisational adaptiveness and resilience to better withstand and respond to the current disruption and pressure on business, and explore concepts from Paul’s book ‘Nature of Work: The New Story of Work for a Living Age’. In this book, Paul draws on patterns from the natural world to provide leaders with the language and questions to evolve their workplaces from organisations to organisms.
Key takeaways from the conversation:
In the eighth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, partner at Lewis Silkin LLP is joined by fellow partner James Davies.
What if these optimists have been seriously underestimating the pace and scale at which automation will replace and change the jobs of today in the second quarter of the century? What if the insipid productivity growth we have experienced over the last 10 years or so continues into the second quarter of the century? And what if we have too few workers with the skills needed for the occupations of tomorrow?
Lucy and James discuss James’ upcoming report for the Future of Work Hub, and consider whether, despite current skills shortages, the future world of work in 2050 could feature too few jobs.
Key takeaways from the conversation:
In the seventh episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP is joined by fellow partners Colin Leckey and Tarun Tawakley.
“There is the opportunity to be ahead of the regulators and not wait for the regulation to catch up with you but be the ones who are innovating and taking the lead when it comes to developing the models that are most attractive for the people who want to work with you.”
As expectations around work continue to evolve, Colin and Tarun discuss the big questions surrounding the future of the platform economy, including opportunities to foster good work and the impact of regulation on the future landscape.
Key takeaways from the conversation:
In the second episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Partner Lucy Lewis speaks to Penelope Mantzaris, Senior Vice President at Edelman Data & Intelligence about trust and how it is evolving.
“Trust is the foundation that allows an organisation to take responsible risk and to innovate and, if it makes mistakes, to rebound from them”.
With the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer hot off the press, Penelope and Lucy consider the role that trust has to play in an increasingly polarised society and what this means for employers.
Key takeaways from the conversation:
For more on this topic, visit the Future of Work Hub.
In the first episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2023, Lucy speaks to James Davies, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP. James is a leading expert in employment law and speaks widely on issues relating to the future of work. He published his latest report on the future of work, “Eight drivers of change: 2022 and beyond” in November last year.
In this episode, James and Lucy explore the impact generational attitudes, particularly those of younger generations, are having on work and society more broadly and how that will influence the world of work in the years ahead.
Key takeaways from the conversation:
Generational attitudes, particularly those of younger generations, are impacting employer decision-making around the world. Employers, particularly in the US, must consider their stance on social and political issues as part of their value proposition.
Shifting attitudes are predicted to drive significant political change in the UK which could, in turn, dramatically influence the employment landscape, including in areas such as tax, immigration and labour relations.
To attract and retain the best people, employers will need to look outside traditional demographic and geographic recruitment pools and review their recruitment models. Employers need to recognise the importance of connecting organisational and employee sense of purpose.
Climate change and inequality are likely to emerge as dominant societal and business critical issues in the years ahead and garner the attention and action they deserve from society, governments and employers.
You can read James’ report here.
In the ninth episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2022, Lucy speaks to Ritu Mohanka, Managing Director and Head of EMEA at Syndio, a leading workplace equity platform.
In this episode, Ritu shares her fascinating insights into how data can be used to drive workplace and pay equity and how businesses are responding to increasing pressure from stakeholders, employees and legislators to address systematic bias in the workplace.
Ritu discusses the important role that communication and transparency have to play in building and creating high workplace trust and considers some of the key factors driving the creation of pay gaps, including the ‘opportunity gap’. She goes on to explain why data driven decision-making is one of the most important components for future strategic decisions, pushing it to the top of HR’s agenda.
Turning to intersectionality, Ritu explores how this poses particular challenges when assessing and tackling pay gaps and illustrates the different approaches employers are taking to address these. Finally, Ritu and Lucy discuss the role that pay transparency legislation has to play in driving change, and how multi-national companies can navigate their global obligations from a cultural and regulatory perspective.
In our final ‘In conversation with…’ podcast for 2021, our host, Lucy Lewis, reflects on the perspectives shared by our ten guest speakers on what the future of work could hold. Our conversations have covered a lot of ground, reflecting the dynamic landscape of the world of work. Highlights include how the role of trust between people and business is changing, the rise of hybrid working and the future of the office and how the workforce is shaping the sustainability agenda. Lucy concludes with a look back at what some of our ten leading experts and thinkers consider will be the biggest and most radical change for the future of work that we’ll see coming out of the pandemic.
James discusses his new report, the Eight Drivers of Change, analysing that whilst the pandemic has been a leading catalyst for change in the future of work, it is only one of many drivers of change. James talks through the emerging themes he has identified as a result of the drivers of changes, in particular exploring how changes to the labour market will see ongoing skills shortages and the pandemic meaning employers will be striving to restore a sense of belonging at work. Finally, James makes some thought-provoking predictions for the future, predicting we will all work less hours yet work for longer.
In our second podcast of the series, we talk to Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, championing better work and working lives.
Peter discusses how 2020 has changed the agenda for businesses, the potential for the end of the 9 to 5 working day and the future of the office. We go on to discuss how people professionals should be planning for the future of work, the increasing importance of employee voice and why upskilling to futureproof your workforce is so important.
To learn more about the work of the CIPD and read their People Profession 2030: a collective view of future trends report, please click here.
In our first podcast of the series, we talk to Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development at Oxford University and Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Technological and Economic Change. Previously Ian was economic advisor to President Mandela and then Vice President and Director of Development Policy for the World Bank.
Ian gives us his views on the key trends at play in the world of work and discusses the Oxford Martin Programme’s research showing 47% of jobs may be vulnerable to technological displacement over the next 20 years. He goes on to discuss the impact of the pandemic in respect of the transformation of office space and property prices as well as the increasing inequality and divisions in society. Finally, we hear about how the global pandemic will affect globalisation in the future.