Seventy years ago, careers were built on loyalty, tenure, and the pride of longevity on one specific workplace; forty years ago, globalization and the rise of women in the workforce began to shift the balance; twenty years ago, digital acceleration brought flexibility to the workforce but with the push for workers to be available 24/7/365 as technology enabled constant connectivity. Today, identity, purpose, and health sit at the center of how people define work, and companies are being pushed to rethink everything from office design to leadership training to what the traditional workforce even means. Quite simply, technology, globalization, and new labor models have changed the workforce game entirely.
According to Melissa Painter, founder of Breakthru, the concept of the workforce has shifted balance in recent decades, with increased globalization and digital acceleration.
“Technology enables fluidity. For many kinds of workers and workplaces, we can all be everywhere all at once; there are not hard boundaries between work and home, between the start and end of the workday, between vacation and work,” Painter says. “The ability to be everywhere at once, on a global level across multiple time zones, and to have shared virtual environments for collaboration have been powerful tools. They have the power to enable humans to do their best thinking and work, but without thoughtful design and intent they wear us down.”
Amy Dufrane is a global leader in human resources and workplace management. As CEO of HRCI, a provider of learning and credentialing for HR professionals and their organizations, she brings decades of experience in human capital management and employee wellness. Dufrane says that after the recession of 2008-2009, job growth increased – but automation continued to impact job structures. For example, the emergence of remote work changed employee expectations of what their workday would entail.
“While it made sense during COVID, in some cases it feels like it has permanently changed the workforce, especially those in highly specialized, in-demand roles,” Dufrane says. “Of course, today, we’re adjusting to the rapid progression of AI and its implications for the workforce. What shifts will there be – particularly for entry-level or administrative roles? What skill sets do we and our employees need to cultivate to evolve? What will a shift to skills-based hiring mean for labor scheduling and management? There are a number of big issues still being worked out.”
There’s no doubt that every company, regardless of their line of business, served markets, and size, have needed to modify how they hire, compensate, develop and retain workers given the rapid changes in the last few decades.
“One change is more focus on employee well-being to help build resiliency and retain talent,” Dufrane says. “We’ve also seen an increased emphasis on learning and development; not just the checklist coursework, but also opportunities for self-paced learning that expands opportunities for the employer and employee.”
According to Teresa Creech, president of MBO Partners and contingent workforce expert, digital platforms started connecting people to work in entirely new ways 10 years ago. Today, independence isn’t just an option – it’s a driving force in the economy. In the 2025 State of Independence Report from MBO Partners by Beeline, nearly 73 million Americans were found to work independently. Approximately 5.6 million of them earn more than $100,000 annually.
“The biggest shift? Work is no longer tied to a single employer, job description, or even location. People are seeking flexibility and control,” Creech says. “Companies are learning to embrace a workforce that’s dynamic, blended, and global.”
As a result, Creech says every organization – from the global enterprises to small local businesses – has had to rethink how it engages talent. Large companies have built formal programs and platforms to track their employees and extended workforce. Smaller businesses might not have the same technology, but they’ve had to become just as nimble – finding specialized talent quickly while keeping compliance in check.
“The most successful companies focus less on simply filling jobs and more on accessing skills, fit, and outcomes,” Creech says. “That mindset changes everything – from operations to culture – and it’s opening the door to more agility and innovation.”
Elena Agaragimova, co-founder and CEO of Shiftwell.ai, a human-centered tech platform focused on performance, wellbeing, and building sustainable workplaces, agrees the workforce has transformed in various ways. It went from being a place where people stay for 10, 20 years, or a lifetime and retire with that company to a place where turnover is frequent (especially in specific industries such as retail).
“It went from a place where you can predict what the future role might look like, to not knowing how your job will be impacted tomorrow,” Agaragimova says. “The workforce went from people who could make a living working at a store or small business, to now having a hard time keeping up with rising bills and expenses. Today, we also have multiple generations working in the same place, making it harder for employers to keep up with the different demand each generation expects of a workplace.”
Different companies are taking a different approach and only time will tell to see who is doing it right. Agaragimova thinks it ultimately comes down to your industry and your specific business.
“Some companies are cutting the human staff and keeping a set number of full-time employees and instead redeploying some of those funds towards tools and technology – such as self-checkouts, automated payment, back-end administration tasks; other companies are hiring gig or part-time workers (instead of paying full-time employees and paying benefits). Other companies are doing what they can do to re-train/upskill their staff, move them into other areas of their business where they can add value, focusing on retention and company culture.
“This makes more sense in some businesses and not others,” Agaragimova says. “For example, if you are in the convenience store business – does it make sense for you to invest in upskilling/training your current employees or does it make sense to outsource to technology where possible and hire part-time or gig workers? How many employees will stay long term and is it worth the investment? That, only the business owner can decide.”
Change in the way businesses operate always brings challenges, and workforce dynamics are no exception. Many companies still struggle to see the full picture – how many non-employees they rely on, what risks they face, and what opportunities they might be missing.
“Compliance is another tricky area. Misclassifying a worker, missing tax obligations, or failing to protect intellectual property can have real consequences,” Creech says. “There’s also a human side: independent professionals need to feel included and respected to deliver their best work, meaning a culture must be created that nurtures those sentiments.”
Also, many companies wrestle with balancing cost pressures and workforce flexibility. Traditional models alone don’t cut it anymore in today’s labor market, but adopting new ones requires confidence and clear structure.
“That’s where leaders are focusing their energy today,” Creech says.
Addressing these challenges begins with recognizing that the workforce isn’t just full- and part-time employees anymore. Contractors, consultants, and independent professionals all play vital roles, and companies need strategies that include them.
Creech says practical steps companies within the gasoline marketing arena can take include investing in systems that give visibility into the full workforce, partnerships that ensure compliance, and training managers to lead blended teams.
“At the same time, companies need to respect the independence of these professionals while still connecting them to culture and values,” Creech says. “The organizations that thrive are the ones that balance structure with flexibility. They manage risk and cost but still empower leaders to engage the right talent at the right time. That’s where competitive advantage emerges.”
Agaragimova says the first step is companies understanding what is important to each employee and what they value in working for your business – meeting them halfway between what they want and what you can offer them.
“With multiple generations and different expectations, each person will want something different and has different aspirations,” Agaragimova says. “Knowing your employees becomes essential. Having transparent and open conversations becomes crucial – especially with those employees you want to retain. Also finding ways to help them do their jobs with more ease, flexibility, and avoiding burnout will help by investing in tools and technology that can help them do their jobs more efficiently and accurately. Create a culture – no matter how small the team or the business – where people feel like they belong, they have some growth opportunities, and get rewarded in a way that works best for them.”
Dufrane suggests companies take a two-prong approach to addresses today’s workforce evolving structure. First, arm your human resources (HR) team with the information they need to deliver the right services to the workforce in context. That means being realistic and fully aware of increased economic pressures and even unprecedented legislative changes.
“No HR professional can meet the needs of their workforce without access to the technology and data that support decision-making in a fast-moving world,” Dufrane says. “Also, make sure that your HR and people operations teams have the training they need to handle what are no longer simple questions like, ‘How much PTO do I have?’ or ‘What’s the dental insurance deduction?’ HR and managers need to be able to expedite workforce concerns while reducing workplace risk, and that only happens when they have access to training.”
Painter believes the best way for companies to address the challenges of today’s workplace is by putting people at the center, not technology.
“Listen to the domain expertise of their own colleagues and communities, have open routes of communication, and honor and listen to what people need for their minds, bodies, families, and rhythms to do their best work,” Painter says. “Companies should structure the workplace, workday, and the quarterly goals in a way that allows people to be curious, engaged, and open to learning new things. They need to set aside the idea that longer hours and grinding harder leads to better work, which goes against both neuroscience and human dynamics.”
Experts agree that we will see further integration of technology and humans throughout the workforce, and across industries. Agaragimova believes the focus on customer service will be the distinguishing factors for businesses – as technology will be able to do a lot of other things, but it won’t have the relationships and customer experience with customers.
Painter says the future will demand even greater fluidity. With the rise of AI, it will continue to handle routine tasks and replace certain tasks, but creativity, empathy, and adaptability will become the true differentiators.
“The companies that thrive won’t just adapt to change, they’ll design cultures that honor the human side of work to build spaces where people can recharge, connect, and keep evolving without burning out,” Painter says.
“If there’s one thing that history has taught us, the workforce will continually evolve. Whether it was Rosie the Riveter during World War II or digital nomads propelled by the effects of the global pandemic, the workforce will transform to operate under whatever conditions are presented,” Dufrane says. “That said, going forward, it might not be a workforce that’s 100% human powered. We have some very interesting times ahead.”
As we’ve seen through the last few decades, the traditional workforce has evolved dramatically. Looking ahead, Creech says the workforce of the future will be defined by choice.
“Workers will have more control over how they build their careers, and companies will have more ways to access the skills they need. Independent work will continue to grow – now in the context of just a ‘gig economy,’ but as a professional economy,” Creech says. “Highly skilled independents are building careers on their own terms, and companies are figuring out how to integrate them strategically. In 10 years, I see a workforce that’s fluid, borderless, and skill-based. Companies won’t think just in terms of ‘headcount,’ but in ecosystems of talent – employees, independents, and everything in between – working together to drive growth. It’s an exciting future to imagine.”
