John Yuva, Author at The Future of Work Exchange

A Workplace Transformed by the Metaverse, Part Two

Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 03/06/2025

Last week, part one of this two-part series on the metaverse, explored the technologies behind the metaverse curtain and what the possibilities are for the remote and in-office workforce. This week, we’ll examine how companies can leverage the metaverse for greater workforce and operational efficiencies.

The Enterprise in the Metaverse

When it comes to the future of the internet, it is the metaverse that often comes to mind. Integrated technologies working together to form a virtual interactive world. While its current existence offers cutting-edge interactivity, much of the grand potential of the metaverse is yet to come. What lies on the horizon will most certainly influence the future of work and what it means to collaborate and exist as an enterprise.

Currently, enterprises that want to enhance their production processes, for example, can now replicate their facility using digital twin technology. By simulating production lines or other assets, organizations can determine potential failures before they occur and develop mitigation strategies.

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A Workplace Transformed by the Metaverse, Part One

General Insights Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 02/27/2025

The metaverse. It is widely accepted that science fiction novelist Neal Stephenson first coined the term “metaverse” in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, where characters access a 3D world through VR goggles. More recently, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ready Player One provided a visual interpretation of the metaverse (The Oasis) with multiple worlds populated by avatars in every describable form. While we’re still years away from realizing the depictions of the metaverse in novels and film, today’s metaverse provides an exciting glimpse of what’s on the horizon for virtual engagement and the Future of Work.

Metaverse Defined

What is the metaverse? Simply stated, it is a virtual world(s) where people interact as 3D avatars, gaming, socializing, and working. That immersive experience is made possible by several technologies. Virtual reality and head-mounted displays, coupled with spatial technology and augmented reality bring the immersion to life. Other technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning act as the brains for the metaverse, enriching the virtual environment through automated transactions, decision-making, and world-building.

The metaverse ecosystem is a vast network of hundreds of companies from a variety of industries all working toward developing specific metaverse attributes — infrastructure, economy, user experience, etc. And there are many metaverse platforms (e.g., Decentraland, The Sandbox, etc.) to put your virtual stake in the ground as no one owns the metaverse (yet).

Transition from Gaming to Business

Much of the metaverse is rooted in gaming. Unsurprisingly, children (and adults) are well-versed with virtual worlds through Minecraft (140 million monthly players), Fortnite (250 million-plus active users), and Roblox (30 million daily players). This bodes well for future generations adapting to the virtual world of work.

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Optimize Your CWM Strategy with AI

Contingent Workforce Direct Sourcing Solution Providers Talent Talent Acquisition Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 02/20/2025

Artificial intelligence is becoming a permanent fixture as part of today’s enterprise operations and talent management approaches, serving as an essential technology for contingent workforce management (CWM) strategies that streamline candidate pairings with operational needs while increasing transparency of available skillsets and workforce contributions. Whether shoring up talent gaps or scaling needs, AI provides external workforce insights invaluable to HR and recruitment professionals and business leaders. The evolution of artificial intelligence will mean the emergence of more CWM opportunities.

Enterprises and HR executives who are not at least exploring the possibilities of AI’s impact on CWM will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage when sourcing talent and executing extended workforce strategies. Beeline stated that the “effects of AI in extended workforce management are just beginning and can be seen shaping how jobs are described, how candidates are evaluated, and how contracts are written. AI will soon be employed for more strategic outcomes like workforce planning, workforce optimization, and total workforce management.”

AI Paves Several Paths for CWM

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Develop Your Soft Skills with AI-Powered Training

Business Leadership General Insights HR Talent Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 02/13/2025

The Future of Work encompasses many characteristics. However, attributes like communication, collaboration, and community contribute greatly to enterprise success. There is an elicited sense of interconnectedness between leaders and their workforce and among employees themselves. At the heart of those dynamics is soft skills that help drive workforce interactions and business outcomes. In today’s world where artificial intelligence permeates nearly every area of the workplace, AI is coming into its own as a tool to enhance soft skill development.

Think soft skills are only a recent workforce concentration? Not quite. In 1918, the Carnegie Foundation published Charles Riborg Mann’s A Study of Engineering Education, which cited that 85% of a person’s job success is a product of soft skills and that only 15% of success is based on technical knowledge. Even more than 100 years ago, the criticality of workplace soft skills was being emphasized. However, the pandemic helped bring soft skills into sharper focus as other Future of Work elements (e.g., flexibility, remote work, empathetic leadership) became mainstream concepts and areas of importance.

Now with artificial intelligence leading the way in technology utilization, enterprises have an opportunity to leverage AI for greater workforce enablement — particularly around soft skills.

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AI Redefines Talent Upskilling

Business Leadership General Insights HR Talent Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 02/06/2025

The Future of Work paradigm is being redefined by technologies complementing talent acquisition and workforce strategies. Undoubtedly, artificial intelligence (AI) is the driving technology most enterprises are trying to harness. While AI and its subsets, such as machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP), are utilized across industry sectors, what does this mean for the current and future workforce? Undoubtedly, the automation derived from AI has created employee apprehension, when, in fact, there lies an opportunity to leverage the technology for strengthening workforce skillsets through upskilling. Most experts agree that automation will transform some jobs, leading to a greater focus on upskilling as workers strive to remain relevant and competitive in their career fields.

Upskilling is akin to learning new skills to better perform your job — not to be confused with reskilling, which is investing in skills for a different job. This leads to a key question: How critical is upskilling? According to the World Economic Forum, the U.S. could add $800 billion to its GDP by 2030 through upskilling efforts alone. Artificial intelligence can help execute upskilling initiatives and deliver on those economic estimates.

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The 2025 MSP Playbook, Part II

Contingent Workforce Events by John Yuva on 01/30/2025

This week is part two of my discussion recap with Brad Martin, Chief Revenue Officer for Atrium, during our recent exclusive webcast where we focused not only on the 2025 trends that will shape the Future of Work, but also the impact of the Managed Service Provider (MSP) model on those areas in the months ahead.

As businesses face the challenges of a fast-evolving workforce landscape, the intersection of innovation in technology and hiring initiatives has become a critical area of focus. My conversation with Brad shed light on key trends shaping the future of workforce management, from cutting-edge tech stacks to achieving meaningful talent goals.

Innovating Talent Technology: The Rise of Specialized Tech Stacks

Today’s talent technology stacks have an increasing role in driving efficiency and agility for businesses. The tools available today, such as direct sourcing platforms, artificial intelligence, and compliance technologies, have surpassed those of just five or six years ago. These advancements allow companies to manage their workforce more comprehensively, extending beyond traditional staffing to include freelancers, contractors, and other non-employee talent.

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The Unheard Voice in the Workplace

Business Leadership General Insights Talent by John Yuva on 01/23/2025

“Introverts are more effective leaders of proactive employees. When you have a creative, energetic workforce, an introvert is going to draw out that energy better.” –Laurie Helgoe, American psychologist and author of Introvert Power

When it comes to workforce personalities, most workers identify as an extrovert or introvert. And while many people assume extroverts are the majority, data from The Myers-Briggs Company indicates that introverts account for 57% of the global population. This is significant for a few reasons. First, more of our work colleagues are introverts than we probably realize. Second, it brings into question how enterprise communication and collaboration occur and whether those methods benefit or hinder introversion. Third, a remote or hybrid work model could encourage a healthier, more productive workforce.

Understand the Introvert Workplace Dynamic

The COVID-19 pandemic propelled introverts into a remote work environment that catered to their professional strengths and preferences. Overnight, introverts were working out of their own homes and communicating extensively through chat and video — no longer facing large, in-person group projects and meetings. Many introverts welcomed the independence and empowerment that also came with remote work. Like a Freaky Friday moment, suddenly extroverts lacked dominance within the new solitary, virtual environment.

Today, as some companies pivot away from remote work models, it’s critical to understand how introverts navigate the workplace dynamic. The term “introvert” is often associated with inaccurate characteristics and conditions. For example, an introvert is not someone who:

Cannot collaborate with colleagues.
Suffers from shyness or social anxiety.
Fears verbal communication.
Wants to be left alone.
Is unable to think strategically.

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Mental Health Steps Out of the Workforce Shadows

Contingent Workforce HR by John Yuva on 01/16/2025

Today’s remote and in-person workforce is doing more with fewer people, which is putting renewed focus on a critical Future of Work topic — employee mental health. When left untreated, mental health concerns can lead to substantial costs for enterprises — $60,000 annually for one organization and $105 billion nationwide — according to the Center for Prevention and Health Services. The COVID-19 pandemic helped bring the issue of employee mental health further into the forefront. However, HR and workplace leaders must do more to recognize and address what has historically been a stigma-plagued health issue. Ignoring the effects of workplace stress, anxiety, and burnout often leads to productivity and performance decline as well as employee satisfaction and retention challenges.

A Prevalent Health Issue

In its “2025 Workforce Mental Health Trends Forecast,” report, Lyra cites stress as the “common denominator” most affecting workplace mental health where “more than 1 in 3 HR and benefits leaders identified work-related stress and burnout as the most common challenge impacting employees, citing ‘excessive workload’ as the main work-related factor negatively affecting mental health.”

Among the report statistics:

50% of respondents reported that stress and anxiety impact their workers throughout the past year
39% of HR and benefit leaders cite financial stress as a top-three factor affecting workforce mental health (more than doubling last year’s 18%)
24% ranked managerial stress as the third-leader workplace stressor by HR and benefit leaders
22% cited incivility and unruly behavior at work as negatively impacting their mental health.

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How Does Your Definition of “Team” Align With Today’s Future Of Work-Led World?

Business Leadership General Insights Talent Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 01/09/2025

What does the concept of “team” mean for today’s remote and hybrid enterprises? Many workplaces now operate with dispersed teams. With the criticality of teamwork to execute company initiatives and projects, how teams function in the evolving Future of Work environment will likely have lasting implications on work culture and business success. Thus, it is imperative that organizations consider how their teams are designed and how collaboration occurs. Coupling team systematics with technologies that facilitate and encourage collaboration helps unify remote and in-person team members. Let’s take a closer look at what that means.

A Growth in Interdependence and Unity

The pandemic helped propel a shift in how employees work together and collaborate. With most people working from home for more than two years now, there was a need to almost over-communicate. Workers found themselves frequently video conferencing with team members whom they had only exchanged emails with in the past. Yet, despite the circumstances, teams accomplished their projects successfully and executed their goals.

A byproduct of this experience was greater team interdependence and cohesion. There was a feeling of “we’re all in this together” — a necessity for today’s dispersed teams post-pandemic. However, it is one thing when nearly everyone in the company is remote, compared to being one of a few working virtually. Without that sense of team interdependence and belonging, it can feel as if you’re working on an island. Companies and business leaders must recognize that the Future of Work means maintaining team unity regardless of where members are located.

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Five Things You Must Know About the Future of Work (Revisited)

Business Leadership General Insights Talent Talent Acquisition Uncategorized by John Yuva on 12/19/2024

As we reach the end of 2024, now is a good time to look back at the Five Things You Must Know About the Future of Work. The Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) and Ardent Partners hosted this complimentary webinar, The Five Things You MUST KNOW About the Future of Work, discussing the critical capabilities that enterprises can unlock to truly optimize the way they address talent acquisition, extended workforce management, and, most importantly, work optimization. What follows revisits the five critical FOW areas.

#1 The Evolution of Talent and the Future of Work

When it comes to the Future of Work, one of the first things to know is the evolution of talent and talent acquisition. And this idea of the “evolution of talent” can be ambiguous. Talent is always evolving and has been for a long time. The way that businesses perceive their talent is also evolving. And, the way that those businesses get connected to talent, and vice versa, continues to evolve. It’s also being innovated through technology and new strategies and new programs.

The fact is nearly half of our workforce today is comprised of extended workers or contingent workers. We have aspects like direct sourcing and digital staffing that are making it much easier for businesses to find the talent they need to get work done to address those mission-critical projects and fill the appropriate roles. FOWX and Ardent research has been focused historically on the extended workforce and contingent workforce, but we’re talking about all types of talent.

Thus, talent acquisition as a function and as a series of processes has also progressed. We need to consider aspects like the candidate experience, and the way that our culture and our brand attract new talent into our organization. Many business leaders think of the Future of Work as being centered around technology, revolving around the idea that technology drives the Future of Work. And we wouldn’t necessarily disagree with that; technology is a critical piece. And for some aspects and attributes of the Future of Work, technology and innovation are the nexus of those areas.

Technology is a Future of Work Centerpiece

Talent and the growth of the extended workforce represent the first leg of the stool with such things as skills and candidate experience, but also digital staffing, direct sourcing, online talent marketplaces, and core workforce management solutions (such as MSPs and VMS platforms) These technologies are helping us to redefine the way we think about work. We’re living in a world where even though we don’t want to hear the word “pandemic” anymore, the pandemic really did shape what we think about the Future of Work.

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