- While 40% of workers say their digital skills improved during the lockdown, 
data shows unequal access to career and training opportunities

One of the largest-ever studies of the global workforce shows:

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1121790/PWC_Logo.jpg 


    -- Two in five believe their job will be obsolete within 5 years 
    -- Half of the global workforce report missing out on career opportunities 
       due to bias 
    -- Training opportunities focused on those who already have high levels 
       of skills 
    -- Younger people report being more focused on maximising income than 
       'making a difference' 
    -- Only 1 in 10 of those who can work remotely want to go back to a 
       traditional commute and work environment full time 
    -- But people are taking their future into their own hands:  77% are ready 
       to learn new skills or completely re-train and 49% would like to set up 
       their own business

A new survey of 32,500 workers in 19 countries paints a picture of a global 
workforce that sees the shift to remote working as just the tip of the iceberg. 
Reflecting the fact the pandemic has accelerated a number of workforce trends, 
60% are worried that automation is putting many jobs at risk; 48% believe 
'traditional employment won't be around in the future' and 39% think it is 
likely that their job will be obsolete within 5 years.

However, this is not a counsel of despair, as 40% of workers say their digital 
skills have been improved through the prolonged period of lockdown, and claim 
they'll continue to embrace training and skill development. 77% are 'ready to 
learn new skills or completely re-train' and 74% see training as a matter of 
personal responsibility. And, 80% are confident they can adapt to new 
technologies entering their workplace, with a large majority of those asked in 
India (69%) and in South Africa (66%) saying they are 'very' confident. 

In addition, 49% of respondents are focused on building entrepreneurial skills 
with an interest in setting up their own business.

Half of workforce report missing out on career opportunities or training due to 
prejudice

The survey also found that 50% of workers say they've faced discrimination at 
work which led to them missing out on career advancement or training. 13% 
report missing out on opportunities as a result of ethnicity and 14% of workers 
have experienced discrimination on the grounds of gender, with women twice as 
likely to report gender discrimination as men. 13% report discrimination on the 
basis of class, with post-graduates and others with higher qualifications more 
likely to report prejudice. Younger people are as likely as older people to 
report discrimination based on age. 

On top of that, the survey found there are disparities in access to upskilling 
opportunities. While 46% of people with postgraduate degrees say their employer 
gives them many opportunities to improve their digital skills, just 28% of 
people with school-leaver qualifications say the same. Industries like retail 
or transport, which are most at risk of disruption, score just 25% and 20% 
respectively; while banking scores 42%.

"If current patterns in access to training persist, upskilling will increase 
social inequality when it should be doing precisely the opposite," said Bhushan 
Sethi, Joint Global Leader of PwC's People and Organization Practice. 
"Government and business leaders need to work together to intensify efforts to 
ensure people in the most-at risk industries and groups get the opportunities 
they need. Automation and technological disruption are inevitable, but we can 
control whether its negative effects are managed or not."

Younger people more focused on maximising income than 'making a difference' if 
forced to choose 

Three-quarters of workers globally (75%) say they want to work for an 
organisation that will make a 'positive contribution to society.' This feeling 
was especially acute in China (87%), India (90%), and South Africa (90%). 

However, economic insecurity is limiting people's ability to pursue purpose 
driven careers, with younger people particularly affected. Overall, 54% of 
those polled said, if forced to choose, they would prefer a job that enabled 
them to 'take every opportunity to maximise their income' over a job that 
'makes a difference' (46%). 

Interestingly, those between 18 and 34 are more likely than other generations 
to prioritise income over purpose in their job with 57% prioritising 
'maximising their income' over 'making a difference' (43%), a margin of 14 
points. Those over 55 prioritise making a difference by a margin of 8 points, 
which rises to 22 points amongst workers over 65.

"As the world continues to grapple with a global health crisis and economic 
uncertainty, we've seen workers come to demand more from the business 
community, expecting their employers to make a positive contribution to 
society," said Peter Brown, Joint Global Leader of PwC's People and 
Organization Practice. "Fortunately, focusing on societal impact and maximising 
profit are not mutually exclusive, and being a purpose-led business can 
actually help boost your bottom line."

Employees want the option to work remotely moving forward

The survey concludes that remote working will persist post-lockdown. Of those 
who can work remotely, 72% of say they prefer a mixture of in-person and remote 
working, with only 9% stating they'd like to go back to their traditional work 
environment full-time. This is particularly true of professionals, office 
workers, business owners and the self-employed, all of whom are able to perform 
their jobs remotely using technology. Home working need not be limited to 
professional jobs. 43% of manual workers and 45% of semi-skilled workers say 
there are many elements of their job that they are able to do remotely.

People's attitudes to working from home also change by location, providing 
further evidence of how the pandemic has increased the global digital divide. 
Workers in metropolitan areas (66%) are more likely to work in roles that could 
allow remote working than those who live in rural areas (44%).

Workers torn on privacy and technology

44% of workers globally would agree to let their employer use technology to 
monitor their performance at work including sensors and wearable devices, with 
31% against. However, many would not go as far as allowing their employers 
access to their personal data. 41% of respondents said that they were unwilling 
to give their employer access to their personal data including social media 
profiles, with only 35% willing. 

Notes to editors

Between 26 January, 2021 and 8 February, 2021, PwC commissioned a survey of 
32,517 members of the general public. Respondents included workers, business 
owners, contract workers, students, unemployed people looking for work, and 
those on furlough or who were temporarily laid off. The survey polled workers 
in 19 countries:  Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, 
Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South 
Africa, Spain, UAE, UK, and the US.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. 
We're a network of firms in 155 countries with over 284,000 people who are 
committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find 
out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of 
which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further 
details.

(c) 2021 PwC. All rights reserved

SOURCE  PwC

CONTACT: James Morris, Global Director, Corporate Affairs and Advocacy, Mobile: 
+44 (0) 7483 448 952, james.y.morris@pwc.com