By 2025, the global labour force is estimated to reach approx. 3.69 billion people, with Generation X accounting for over one-fourth and millennials making up almost half of the workforce (Figure I) – with both cohorts being technologically inclined, globally focused, and highly educated. Although the size of the labour force is forecast to expand as the population rises globally, workforce participation rate is expected to decline by 2025, mostly due to an increase in the population aged 60 and over.
Aging populations would greatly influence 2025’s labour market, extending retirement ages, potentially creating labour shortages, and increasing the older-age population burden for prime-age workers. Many Western European countries – similar to Japan – will have hyper-aging societies by 2025, signaling the need for technological innovation to meet the needs of an aging populace.
Given that workplaces today are increasingly multi-generational, tech-enabled office communication tools and remote/virtual products and services (e.g., cloud web and video conferencing systems) are becoming essential to boosting engagement, collaboration, and productivity.
The Japanese government, for instance, is pushing ahead with a flagship work-style reform legislation that stipulates equal treatment for regular and non-regular workers in an effort to boost the nation’s productivity and competitiveness amid the rapidly aging and declining population. By 2025, the ongoing trend of teleworking in Japan is projected to technologically evolve to make up for difficulties in communication among remote colleagues.
According to Frost & Sullivan analysis, more than half of the labour force will be located in Asia-Pacific by 2025, 15.1% of North America’s labour force will be 60 and over, while Africa’s labour force will largely consist of those 44 and younger. Japan’s aging population, and likely decline in its potential labour force, is expected to be typically characteristic of many developed economies by 2025, while India, with its large youth population, will reflect the vast demographic dividends enjoyed by emerging markets.
Multiple studies have shown that in Emerging Asia, less than one-third of companies have their own websites while only about half use e-mail to communicate with clients and suppliers. This indicates that over the next decade, organizations in developing regions such as Latin America and Emerging Asia are likely to undergo radical changes in the way they approach office communication, primarily in the adoption of new technologies and work trends, as opposed to developed markets.
Enterprises in North America are likely to focus on cost reduction, productivity improvement, and customer experience enhancement as top investment drivers within office communication channels. Integrating UCC with office productivity and other business communication softwares in the next 10 years will be a priority across developed economies. In fact, recent surveys by Frost & Sullivan clearly show that the majority of IT decision makers perceive UCC as being critical to their organization’s digital transformation initiatives.
The projected increase in the millennial population worldwide, making up the vast majority of the workforce, by 2025 also indicates the need to implement smart workplace communication tools (Figure II). As businesses deploy a multitude of audio/video solutions, utilizing UCC devices to fit varying user needs, they will also need to look at adopting various biometric technologies to ensure interoperability among multiple modalities and devices.
It is no coincidence that the impending generational divide positions millennials as 2025’s global labour leaders, who value work-life integration, desiring time for personal pursuits through flexible working arrangements. These workers prioritize quality time with the family as well as learning and growing opportunities, suggesting that lifestyle and experience gained may be valued over pay when it comes to talent retention. The preference for work-life balance over the security of a steady fixed income is also giving rise to the sharing economy concept, and ultimately, freelance working.
While the model is not yet widespread, it is gaining momentum in pockets of the global workforce – with age proving to be the main differentiator of attitudes and behaviour.
Employers adapting to millennials’ communication preferences, such as engaging in social media applications, stand to gain improved employee outcomes and sustainable high performance in an ever-changing environment. A cross-cultural, multigenerational labour force and the need for continuous innovation could produce adaptive communication ecosystems in global enterprises.
