Reimagine the art of the possible with Work Design
Organizations are navigating a perfect storm.
Technological innovation is occurring at lightspeed, largely driven by Gen AI, and is rapidly shifting skill requirements. Coupled with the volatility of change in the global economy and economic uncertainty estimated by the International Monetary Fund to be higher than during the COVID-19 pandemic, these conditions put leaders under pressure to:
- Reduce costs: 28% of executives name cost reduction or containment programs among their top three business priorities for 2025
- Boost productivity: 84% of leaders want their workforce to focus on efficiency to do more with less
- Enhance agility: 79% believe their organizations need to improve talent agility to fulfill their growth agendas
- Develop new skills: The half-life of skills averages less than five years; to keep up with evolving business needs, continuous workforce skill development must be encouraged by leaders
With the rate of change often outpacing an organization’s ability to adapt, executives fear they are not moving fast enough to deploy solutions and risk falling behind the competition. Equally, employees are concerned they, too, are falling behind in the race to stay employable. With AI estimated to change almost a quarter of all jobs within five years and 44% of workers’ core skills getting disrupted, according to the World Economic Forum, employees are anxious to up/reskill to stay relevant.
This environment demands an unprecedented level of agility to maintain a sustainable workforce. Improving workforce agility (such as with talent marketplaces or a contingent workforce) is among executives’ top three business priorities in 2025. Simultaneously, leaders of all levels must keep one eye on the horizon; 81% struggle to balance long-term strategic planning with immediate operational needs. This relentless pace of change is compounded by a demographic challenge that sees five generations coexisting in the workplace, each with distinct digital fluency, expectations and skill sets.
Overcoming these challenges hinges on the underlying design of work. To respond more swiftly to market fluctuations, organizations need greater flexibility, collaborative decision-making and continuous up/reskilling baked into the work itself.
It’s time to leave outdated work models behind
Many organizations continue to rely on outdated job structures to define and connect talent to work. These traditional frameworks limit the potential impact of AI and automation and hinder the fluid deployment of talent and skills to work.
Many of today’s tasks will no longer be required in the future and many others will be augmented by AI. But new work will also be created. That's going to change how, what, who and where work is done and pave the way for a radical transformation of work.
The organizations that are not merely surviving but thriving see this disruption as an opportunity to reset this ecosystem and rewrite the rules of work for the Intelligent Age.
A ‘work backwards’ philosophy
By fundamentally rethinking the architecture of work, businesses can move beyond fixed roles and reimagine work as a set of tasks and skills — flexible, dynamic and ready to evolve.
This 'work backwards' philosophy prioritizes human-centric design over a purely 'tech forward' mindset. In simple terms, flip the script — start with the work itself (instead of the traditional approach of leading with the technology). This involves intentionally deconstructing, redeploying and reconstructing how work gets done.
Such a strategic deconstruction and reconstruction helps organizations determine the right mix of people, automation and AI. In many cases, this will free up resources, giving employees the opportunity to reinvest the time gained into tasks that add the highest value to the business, or focus on their skills development to future-proof their employability.
Striking the right balance of human and tech leverages the potential of various kinds of AI and automation to augment human skills, reduce inefficiencies, streamline processes and optimize talent distribution at scale. Some innovative work design approaches have seen results as high as a 30% rise in productivity, cost savings of 40% and increased swiftness in talent mobilization to fill supply gaps.[1]
The three phases of Mercer Work Design
- 1 Deconstruct jobs
- 2 Redeploy tasks
- 3 Reconstruct workflows
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Deconstruct jobsShift the focus from “who does this job?” to “what work is being/needs to be done?” By breaking jobs into tasks and projects, organizations gain clarity on the work involved, its significance and the skills required. This step shines a light on redundant processes, critical capabilities and future skill needs — all essential for identifying where transformation should start.
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Redeploy tasksWith a clear understanding of tasks, organizations can assess how each can be best executed. What can be substituted by automation, augmented by AI, performed by gig workers or outsourced? This step unlocks nontraditional talent pools and alternative work arrangements, leading to smarter decisions regarding cost, capability and risk management.
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Reconstruct workThe final step is to strategically reassemble the work, creating new jobs and workflows that leverage current tools, talent and business priorities. This process fosters adaptive ways of working, leading to new roles, leaner teams and scalable workflows. Rooted in flexibility and sustainability, this approach can evolve alongside technological advancements and changing workforce preferences.
Benefits of effective work design
So, what’s the prize?
With effective work design, organizations can:
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Improve productivity and drive growth
Well-designed jobs enable employees to perform more efficiently by eliminating redundant tasks and optimizing workflows. Intentionally aligning tasks with the right people and technologies streamlines processes and boosts overall productivity. In fact, 88% of organizations that self-rated as world-class in work redesign report increased productivity.
Leading organizations focusing on work design are 2.7x more likely to achieve productivity gains.
As part of broader work design efforts, generative AI can help to eliminate manual work or improve workforce productivity. Executives believe this will have the biggest impact on cost optimization this year. It’s not just about efficiency; leveraging AI in the right areas can also transform the customer experience or bring new innovations to market. Over half (54%) of executives identify AI as an opportunity to create new products or revenue streams.
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Develop agility with skills-powered talent and reward practices
With Gen AI already augmenting jobs at the task level and demanding a shift in skillsets, a new debate around how best to measure, reward and cultivate human contribution has emerged.
The work design process helps organizations identify necessary skills, address gaps, discover skills adjacencies and design internal talent marketplaces for dynamic allocation of talent. In turn, companies can develop future rewards strategies and determine skills premiums for business-critical skills. With 41% of executives anticipating challenges in meeting customer demand with their current talent models, many see skills as the key to unlocking enterprise-wide agility.
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Bolster innovation and creativityBy structuring jobs to allow for autonomy and creative problem-solving, organizations can foster a culture of innovation. Employees who are empowered to experiment and take initiative are more likely to contribute innovative ideas, drive business growth and understand the skills needed to advance in their careers. This level of agency also benefits job satisfaction and output in the long term.
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Protect employee well-beingBurnout is often a symptom of poor work design. Busy work, too many interruptions, ineffective organizational structures and unsustainable workloads prevent employees from being productive, or can even lead to burnout. Addressing poorly constructed jobs through purposeful redesign and creating flexible work arrangements can mitigate burnout, tackle productivity loss and improve the employee experience.
Re-writing the rules of work
Work design isn’t just a trend or a one-time fix. It’s a strategic capability that empowers organizations to adapt faster, operate smarter and create work that actually works — for the benefit of people and performance.
This is quickly becoming clear to leaders. Our Global Talent Trends research shows that over half (54%) of organizations are already progressing well with work design. Executives who treat work design as a core business strategy (rather than an HR function) unlock efficiency gains, reduce costs, and improve alignment between workforce capability and business transformation goals.
Whether you’re addressing burnout, skills gaps, cost pressures or transformation fatigue, rethinking the architecture of work can help you move forward with clarity and control.
The future is already here.
The question is: Is your work design ready?
Senior Partner, Global Transformation Services Leader
Global Program Lead, Work and Skills
