Idea in Brief

The Problem

As they try to build a workforce in a climate of perpetual disruption, business leaders worry that their employees can’t—or just won’t—adapt to the big changes that lie ahead. How can companies find people with the skills they will need?

What the Research Shows

Harvard Business School and the BCG Henderson Institute surveyed thousands of business leaders and workers around the world and discovered an important gap in perceptions: Workers are far more willing and able to embrace change than their employers assume.

The Solution

This gap represents an opportunity. Companies need to start thinking of their employees as a reserve of talent and energy that can be tapped by providing smart on-the-job skills training and career development.

Many managers have little faith in their employees’ ability to survive the twists and turns of a rapidly evolving economy. “The majority of people in disappearing jobs do not realize what is coming,” the head of strategy at a top German bank recently told us. “My call center workers are neither able nor willing to change.”

A version of this article appeared in the May–June 2019 issue (pp.118–126) of Harvard Business Review.