McKinsey Global Institute
Overview: Over the past four years, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has published a series of reports exploring aspects of the future of work in a time of technological change, including an analysis of jobs that could be displaced by automation and AI, likely sources of future labor demand, changes in occupations and skill requirements, and the geographic and social implications of these developments.
This report is the first of three MGI reports that examine aspects of the postpandemic economy—the future of work, consumer behavior, and the potential for a broad recovery led by enhanced productivity and innovation. The COVID‑19 pandemic disrupted labor markets globally during 2020. The short-term consequences were sudden and often severe: Millions of people were furloughed or lost jobs, and others rapidly adjusted to working from home as offices closed. Many of those workers were deemed essential and continued to work in hospitals and grocery stores, on garbage trucks and in warehouses, yet under new protocols to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Here, we examine the long-term changes that COVID‑19 may impose on work in the years ahead. One factor the pandemic has highlighted is the importance of physical proximity and level of human interactions across different occupations and workplaces; those with the highest levels have seen the most change. This report attempts to identify the lasting impact of the pandemic on labor demand, the mix of occupations, and workforce skills required, as well as the implications for business leaders, policy makers, and workers.
