Four keys for addressing changes in the workplace after the pandemic

The World Economic Forum’s Mexican expert on employment and training, Leticia Gasca, offered her advice during the e-seminar organized by InvestChile.

One of the consequences of the pandemic globally has been its profound impact on the labor market. Is this change reversible? According to the World Economic Forum’s expert on education and employment, Leticia Gasca, it is not just the pandemic that is shaping the future and causing a change that will impact employment; she believes there are three other forces that will modify the way we work: climate change, migration and the aging of the population.

During the e-seminar “Chile: Re-boost to Investment and New Business Opportunities” organized by InvestChile with the support of the Economy Ministry, the Mexican expert explained her keys for addressing these changes, which are also inherent to the fourth industrial revolution associated with artificial intelligence.

For Gasca, there are strategies that can be used at a personal or organizational level to adapt to the current volatile environment. She refers to them as “the four keys to success”: “learning to learn; critical thinking for taking decisions at times of crisis; adaptability in order to be agile and resilient in the face of change; and having a data mindset so as to take advantage of technology”.

In the expert’s opinion, constant learning is essential since technology is changing ever more quickly and the world is evolving constantly.

“The half-life of a skill is five years and that means we have to be learning all the time. The rule is continuous education: if knowledge is power, learning to learn is a superpower,” she said.

According to Gasca, critical thinking is one of the most important skills for the future of work and we are seeing this now “not only because we are receiving a large amount of information but also because, in a pandemic, decisions become more complex and the best way to address them is through critical thinking.”

The same can be said of adaptability, she added, because the pandemic took many of us out of our comfort zone and forced us to be resilient. “To build resilience, we must have a growth mindset, understand and accept change, and create networks,” she explained. The other ingredient in this recipe for success is a data mindset “that helps us to generate predictive analytics to project future scenarios”.

Watch the video of Leticia Gasca’s talk below.

To learn more about the economic recovery and investment opportunities in Chile, check out the following article.