The Nordic future of work

Dølvik, Jon Erik; Steen, Johan Røed

doi:10.6027/tn2018-555

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In terms of competencies needed to respond to these changes, both the survey participants and the literature placed a heavy emphasis on building and strengthening capacity for collaboration, coping with emergencies and building greater social safety nets for those whose livelihoods are affected (World Bank, 2019; Dølvik and Steen, 2018). In addition, Patrick et al 's (2012) qualitative study of community health workers in Australia found that critical thinking, communication, teamwork and interpersonal skills were most important.…”

Section: Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Long-term implications for the public sectors of richer countries include the need to manage intended and unintended effects of a potential increase in immigration of young unemployed people from the global south in response to demand from richer countries (Dølvik and Steen, 2018). The latter, combined with climate-related and economic disruptions discussed above, may also aggravate developing countries' problems in the form of brain drain and missed economic opportunities.…”

Section: Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This megatrend has been fueled by the doubling of computing powers and speeds every two years (“Moore's Law”), increasing data access, availability and interconnectedness. This is a cascading megatrend: the next wave includes innovations that promise even more dramatic changes including a more pervasive AI, smart robotics, (more) big data, the IoT, 3D printing of most products, genome editing, widespread use of autonomous vehicles and the use of blockchain technology to manage secure transactions, as well as innovations in energy sources (Dølvik and Steen, 2018).…”

Section: Advances In Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An even more serious issue is the fact that this trend, coupled with globalization of the labor market, will increase wealth disparity and can undermine democracy. As global elites shield their wealth in tax shelters (World Economic Forum, 2018; Dølvik and Steen, 2018), this “winner-takes-all” economy offers only limited access to the shrinking middle class and can be a recipe for “democratic malaise and dereliction” (Schwab, 2016). Existing structural inequities are likely to be further deepened by biases embedded in AI, innovations in biotech around deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) alterations, as well as the use of quantum computing technologies.…”

Section: Advances In Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These include influential intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations (2019), the International Labor Organization (2019), the World Bank (2019) and the European Commission (Vesnic-Alujevic et al , 2019); think tanks and research centers such as the World Economic Forum (2018), Pew Research Center (2019) and Brookings Institution (Kerry, 2019) and major consulting firms like Deloitte (Eggers et al , 2019). In addition, the article used insights from governments that have been most proactive about preparing for the future, as exemplified by the Nordic Council of Ministers' “Nordic Future of Work” report (Dølvik and Steen, 2018) and OSCE's “Future of Government 2030+” (Vesnic-Alujevic et al , 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Megatrends and the future of work for public sector leaders and educators

Baimyrzaeva

Meyer

2020

IJPL

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PurposeThis article asks (1) what megatrends are likely to significantly influence public sector roles and in what ways and (2) how might higher education institutions better prepare public sector leaders for the future shaped by these trends. While public sector leadership in every region, country and locality is unique, they are exposed to the same set of global megatrends. Therefore, this article teases out general insights, observations and implications for public sector leaders and educators by focusing on the effects of these trends.Design/methodology/approachThe article is informed by a review and synthesis of relevant academic and practitioner sources and is complemented by the authors' survey (n = 64) of public affairs practitioners and educators. The survey is not representative and is used to supplement other inferences from the literature.FindingsThe key megatrends reshaping public sector jobs include demographic and climate changes, technological advances and deepening social fragmentation. The confluence of such trends has increasingly strained the public sector's capacity to respond to present challenges, let alone prepare for the future. The future public sector leaders can benefit from new competencies, including ability to think systematically, see the big picture and ability to solve complex problems. Ideally, they would also have a strong capacity to foster collaboration and cohesion among diverse stakeholders, to model ethical and inclusive behavior, to accommodate, facilitate and bridge competing and conflicting viewpoints and become creative innovators and doers who can operate in increasingly complex environments, while navigating and reshaping their governments' outdated institutional structures.Research limitations/implicationsThe key trends reshaping public sector jobs include environmental, demographic and technological factors and deepening social fragmentation. The confluence of such factors has increasingly strained the public sector's capacity to respond to present challenges, let alone prepare for the future. The authors observe that the future of public sector practitioners may benefit from new competencies including digital and data fluency, high emotional intelligence, who are also big picture thinkers who understand global megatrends and their impacts locally. Ideally, they would have a strong capacity to foster cohesion among fragmented and polarized communities, to model ethical and inclusive behavior, to accommodate, facilitate and bridge diverse viewpoints and become creative innovators and doers who can operate in increasingly complex environments, while navigating and reshaping their governments' outdated institutional structures.Practical implicationsThe megatrends listed above have significant implications for public sector leaders and educators who train them.Social implicationsThere is a new awareness about the need to train public sector workers on diversity and inclusion issues. This paper discusses global trends through this lens.Originality/valueThis synthesis of the literature from academic and practitioner sources, supplemented with the original survey of educators and professionals, intends to open up a conversation about the future of public affairs leadership and education.

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Section: Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Advances In Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Advances In Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Megatrends and the future of work for public sector leaders and educators

Baimyrzaeva

Meyer

2020

IJPL

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Career experts’ conceptions of innovation in career development

Kettunen

2021

Int J Educ Vocat Guidance

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This article reports the findings from a phenomenographic investigation into career experts’ conceptions of innovation in career development. The results show that conceptions of innovation in career development varied from (1) initiating service, (2) developing demographic-based programmes, (3) professionalising the sector to (4) exploiting cross-sectoral synergies. The findings give us a more profound understanding of critical aspects that may have an important role in improving innovation in career development.

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