Leading the Future of Work

The world of work has changed significantly, as have the needs of the modern workforce. Today, employees and business leaders face unprecedented challenges in the workplace, with a labor market that’s affected by trends such as globalization, automation, artificial intelligence, growing wealth inequality, and climate change. The rate of this transformation has also outpaced many of the public policies, business strategies, and organizational practices that were previously designed to govern work, pay, and employment relations.

Leading the Future of Work aims to prepare you, and your organization, for an evolving workplace as it investigates its impact on social, legal, and economic policy. Over six weeks, you’ll explore the reasons why workplace advancements require a new, updated social contract — the mutual expectations and obligations workers, employers, and society have for work relationships — so that the quality of jobs can be improved, inequalities can be addressed, and everyone can prosper. You’ll also develop the tools and strategies to create this new social contract, examine the role of technology and automation in work, and learn how to empower both your employees and shareholders alike.

This executive program integrates rich interactive media—such as videos, infographics, and e-learning activities—as well as traditional didactic components such as written study guides (course notes). There are opportunities for collaborative learning through discussion forums.

The program begins with an Orientation to welcome you to the Online Campus. During Orientation, you will explore your analysis environment, become comfortable with your new online classroom, meet your Success Team, and get to know your fellow classmates. Watch the video about the online campus experience.

After Orientation, the course is broken down into six manageable, weekly modules, designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse learning activities:

• Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
• Interact with your peers and learning facilitators through weekly class-wide forums and small group discussions
• Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, live polls, and more
• Investigate rich, real-world case studies
• Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and ongoing project submissions

Each module is released weekly, allowing a flexible but structured approach to learning. You’ll be supported as you engage in individual activities and group discussions, ensuring you feel confident to submit your best work at each weekly deadline. 

Learn more about the self-paced online experience.

Learn more about GetSmarter technical requirements.

The recommended weekly time commitment for core content is 4-5 hours, taking into account the busy lifestyles of working professionals, with an additional 2-3 hours recommended for non-compulsory weekly extension activities, should you have the time. Each module is released weekly, allowing a flexible but structured approach to learning. You’ll be supported as you engage in individual activities and group discussions, ensuring you feel confident to submit your best work at each weekly deadline.

Upon successful completion of your course, you will earn a certificate of completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management. This course may also count toward MIT Sloan Executive Certificate requirements.

This program is designed to provide you with a deeper understanding of how the evolving workplace affects businesses and individuals, as well as the role technology and automation plays in influencing and speeding up organizational change. You’ll address the misconceptions about the increasing impact of technology advancements and learn to see automation as a valuable tool developed to achieve objectives rather than replace jobs.

Throughout the program, you’ll be exposed to a new way of thinking based on ideas from Thomas Kochan’s book, Shaping the Future of Work, and learn to apply a new social contract suitable for today’s economy and workforce. You’ll also explore ways to empower your employees’ voice and discover how it can benefit the business.

On completion of the program, you’ll have the knowledge and skill set to develop organizational strategies, which prioritize good working practices, as well as create value for shareholders.

This program is designed for anyone interested in understanding the future of work and its implications for their careers, organizations, and broader society. This includes business leaders, as well as mid, senior and top-level managers such as C-suites and policymakers in both the public and private sector. Decision makers will gain the expertise to effectively implement strategic process changes that lead their business forward. Professionals involved in HR transformation, organizational design, and change management will learn more about new developments and how they can prepare their relevant workforces for change. Additionally, those in the public sector will benefit from learning to identify opportunities in order to positively impact labor policies at a business level.

GetSmarter™, a brand of 2U, Inc., partners with the world's leading universities to select, design and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.

Technology meets academic rigor in our people-mediated model which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.