Project on Managing the Future of Work

#AI is reshaping knowledge work as entry-level white-collar hiring slows. While labor market data lags, what can #gig platforms tell us about the technology's influence? And how are platform companies adapting? Listen to the latest episode of the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work podcast for Joseph Fuller's conversation with Fiverr co-founder and CEO, Micha Kaufman. 💡 White-collar gig workers are now among the most AI-exposed, as highly educated talent increasingly relies on AI tools and faces rapid shifts in skill demand. 💡 Online talent platforms are restructuring around AI, automating matching, discovery, and operations while pushing teams to adapt and reskill. 💡 In a 2022 appearance on the MFW podcast, Kaufman talked about cloud-based talent, hybrid staffing, and the Covid-driven demand for freelance work. His 2025 update: Fiverr pairs expert freelancers across 750 skill categories with generative AI to deliver digital work. 💡 Kaufman notes that AI is displacing some simple tasks but driving strong demand for new skills—from data labeling and model tuning to AI software development. 💡 Companies are growing more comfortable integrating contingent talent, with freelancing rising across generations as both a lifestyle choice and an economic necessity. 💡 Leaders must help teams embrace AI-driven change, balancing what can be automated with uniquely human capabilities. Find the conversation at https://hbs.me/2p97n8kc #workforce #skills #freelance #leadership

On the latest episode of the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work podcast, Joseph Fuller welcomes Wells Fargo head of HR, Bei Ling. Highlights: 📌HR strategy for navigating a corporate reset 📌Bolstering external recruitment to balance a traditional reliance on internal talent 📌Executing a culture shift around performance and compensation 📌Ramping up AI efforts 📌Supporting employee efforts at upskilling and career advancement 📌Recruiting and training for "learning agility" 📌Taproot Foundation initiatives boosting corporate volunteer programs at Wells Fargo and other firms Listen to the conversation at https://hbs.me/55w9ke65 #AI #Skills #InternalTalent #HR #UpwardMobility #WorkforceDiversity

The The Washington Post reports on how federal pressure on Harvard University to invest in workforce development highlights the University's existing research programs and educational resources, including the Project on Managing the Future of Work and The Project on Workforce at Harvard. Joseph Fuller, co-lead of both projects, provides context. 

This week on the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work podcast, MFW co-chair and podcast co-host Joseph Fuller's recent appearance on the TechWolf podcast. 📌 The #AI imperative: Accelerating innovation while managing disruption 📌 Rearchitecting processes through experimentation  📌 The #skillsbased organization and nontraditional career paths 📌 #CHRO as the #CSuite's skills data strategist    📌 #Reskilling and retention 📌 #Organizationalknowledge as critical asset 🎙️ Find the episode at https://hbs.me/2p8rp8d8. Also available on: *Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eqd-ing5 *Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/e68YiWim

https://lnkd.in/e8m7tqU2 🎙️ Podcast appearance: Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work co-chair Joseph Fuller joins #HBS Executive Fellow John Winsor on the Open Assembly Transform Work podcast. #AI #Workforce #Enterprise #DecisionIntelligence #SocialSkills #SoftSkills #TalentPlatforms #GigEconomy #HiddenTalent

The Burning Glass Institute and the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work have applied their Opportunity Index framework (developed in U.S. and the U.K.) to the Singaporean context, working with the Ministry of Manpower and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).  The 2025 Singapore Opportunity Index examines how opportunity develops across Singapore’s workforce, using administrative data from nearly one million workers and 1,500 firms to track employment access, pay progression, gender parity, advancement, and retention. In contrast to the American Opportunity Index and the British Opportunity Index, which rank employers, the Singapore study aggregates results by industry, firm size, and opportunity “archetype.” Find the Index at: https://lnkd.in/g7zsr8tK (Cover image in comments) #WorkforceDevelopment #Opportunity #HR

How is #AI different than previous waves of automation and digital transformation? And as it disrupts knowledge work, creative output—and the labor market generally—how can organizations weather the upheaval? This week on the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work podcast, Joseph Fuller welcomes serial entrepreneur, author, and HBS executive fellow John Winsor. Highlights: 🎯 Dealing with the overlapping management challenges of AI and the growth of #gig work 🎯 Rearchitecting jobs, workflows, and business models 🎯 Diagnosing the AI implementation lag 🎯 Mapping new job pathways 🎯 Sizing up the post-AI organization 🎯 AI-boosted entrepreneurship 🎯 Ethical AI    Find the conversation at https://hbs.me/yckzzxew #DigitalTransformation #Workforce #Talent #Upskilling #Reskilling

On the latest episode of the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work podcast, William Kerr welcomes Or Lenchner, CEO of Bright Data, for a discussion of how large-scale web data collection is shaping generative AI, automation, and workforce strategy.   The same dataset can power competition, investment analysis, or entirely new products—raising hard questions about what’s truly public information and echoing broader debates over the commercialization of the web.   As Lenchner explains, “the same data point, which is the price of bleach, can be used for competition … or by a hedge fund analyzing an acquisition.”   Key points: 💡 Data as infrastructure: Real-time web data underpins the training and operation of large language models, finance, e-commerce, and cybersecurity. 💡 Policy and litigation in flux: Recent U.S. court cases (e.g., against Meta and X) have favored data collectors’ definitions of “public” information, but privacy, competition, and copyright concerns remain unsettled. 💡 Workforce impact: AI is raising demand for speed, scale, and specialized skills, yet hasn’t broadly replaced engineering talent. 💡 Future trajectory: Bright Data customer demand points to an impending robotics boom, with AI models evolving into physical systems that will require continuous streams of reliable data.   Find the episode at https://hbs.me/3t8d7kf6 #GenAI #Robotics #BigData #Workforce #Automation #DataCollection #Skills  

Even as it drives more business, #AI is ratcheting up the pressure on consulting firms. Can established players rework their business models, workflows, and talent strategies to tap the technology as it matures?  On the latest episode of the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work podcast, Joseph Fuller welcomes EY's head of AI, Dan Diasio.   Highlights:    📌       Internal first:  The firm as “client zero”, experimenting on itself before extending AI-enabled services externally. 📌       Beyond efficiency: Firms are under pressure to move from pilots and incremental gains to redesigning roles and processes around AI, rather than simply layering it onto current workflows. 📌       Enthusiasm waning: Roughly half of executives report “AI fatigue” as early projects have not consistently delivered. 📌       Labor implications: Worker anxiety is high (65% fear displacement) even as specialized skills like “context engineering” gain importance. 📌      Reskilling & training: Mandatory, role-specific programs and recognition systems are central to adoption strategies. 📌       Education & early careers: Debate continues between fundamentals-first teaching vs. AI-integrated curricula. 📌       Culture & management: Middle managers are a critical bottleneck; many must unlearn norms of equating effort with long hours and adapt to new expectations around AI-enabled efficiency. 📌       Leadership role: How CEOs frame AI—cost-cutting vs. growth and innovation—shapes organizational uptake. 📌       Keeping up: Tracking AI developments nights and weekends won’t do. Find the episode at https://hbs.me/45tbsjbp. #Workforce #Consulting #AgenticAI #ContextEngineering #Skills

How will efforts to promote job quality fare amid economic turbulence, battles over labor data, and persistent barriers to good work? On the latest episode of the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work podcast, William Kerr welcomes Jobs for the Future (JFF) CEO Maria Flynn. Highlights: 🎯 Defining job quality with worker input. JFF’s framework (developed with Gallup and others) measures pay, safety/respect, worker voice, advancement opportunities, and schedule control—recognizing that workers weigh these dimensions differently over a career. 🎯 Target “North Star” populations with both universal and tailored supports. Despite progress (51M workers now in quality jobs vs. 38M two years ago), 63 percent of workers without degrees, women, workers of color, and "justice-involved" workers remain excluded. Flynn emphasizes both broad interventions (e.g., childcare, transportation) and targeted strategies (e.g., fair-chance hiring). 🎯 Strengthen career navigation for nontraditional pathways. Flynn notes the lack of transparent, high-quality guidance for youth and mid-career adults outside the four-year college track. Initiatives like the ASA Center for Career Navigation aim to close this gap, alongside scaling apprenticeships in emerging fields. 🎯 Integrating AI into workforce strategy. JFF’s Center for AI and the Future of Work explores how to mitigate disruption while leveraging AI to accelerate progress on skills-based hiring, portable digital credentials, and more agile education-to-work pipelines. Listen to the conversation at https://hbs.me/3jdprwjb #GoodJobs #JobQuality #WorkforceDevelopment #LaborMarkets #SkillsBasedHiring #Apprenticeships #UpwardMobility #AIandWork