Across the web: A collection of leading future of work research and reports from around the web

This Accenture report explores five trends that will shape how organisations create value as work changes. It covers the changing nature and economics of work, jobs and expertise, employee experience, operating models and leadership. It also looks at the choices leaders can make to build better work and stronger business performance.

As AI adoption accelerates, a growing gap is emerging between technological ambition and organisations’ ability to translate it into meaningful change. Bridging this gap requires leaders to look beyond efficiency and technological capability, reconsidering how work is organised, how trust is built and how human expertise is developed. The choices they make will shape both the value organisations derive from AI and the future of work itself.

The World Economic Forum’s Longevity Economy Playbook explores what it means to live a longer life, and how young people can prepare now, given that their generation may live longer than any before it.

This Policy Paper sets out the government’s Jobs Plans, addressing the workforce needs in each of the eight growth-driving sectors.

This OECD report reveals persistent and widespread skill imbalances across labour markets, with shortages concentrated in high-skill occupations.

The government’s 2026 annual skills report identifies five key challenges in the skills system: addressing skills shortages, maximising investment in training, responding to accelerated AI adoption, supporting young people’s employability and the need to build a more responsive, locally integrated skills system. 

This Tony Blair Institute report explores the breakdown of Britain’s “opportunity bargain” with young people. It finds that one in ten are economically inactive rather than unemployed, with long-term sickness, driven primarily by mental health, now the dominant reason for inactivity.

This World Economic Forum report benchmarks the current state of gender parity across 145 economies. It reveals that, while gender parity has reached its highest level to date, significant gaps persist in economic participation and political empowerment.

This Deloitte survey reveals that generative AI use is widespread but still shallow, with most workers using it for familiar tasks rather than rethinking how work gets done.

This CIPD’s latest Good Work Index highlights the strong link between job quality and organisational performance and productivity.

McKinsey’s latest survey finds that, while AI is becoming embedded across organisations and is boosting productivity for most employees, many businesses are struggling to translate this into measurable financial gains, with the share of respondents reporting enterprise-level financial impact from AI use remaining unchanged from a year ago, at 37%.

The CIPD’s Summer 2026 Labour Market Outlook report reveals that UK employer confidence remains close to record lows outside of the pandemic and has shown no signs of recovery since spring 2025.

This ProAge and Ciphr report explores how organisations are responding to a workforce where people are working for longer, careers are becoming less linear, and four or five generations are working side by side. 

The OECD’s 2026 Employment Outlook report highlights the impact of geography on employment opportunities, career progression and living standards, finding substantial regional disparities in employment, unemployment and disposable incomes across OECD countries.

Drawing on insights from 8,800 business leaders and employees across four markets, Employment Hero’s latest report finds that AI-focused businesses are hiring more, not less, with 62% of AI-core firms growing their entry-level headcount over the past two years - more than double the rate of non-adaptors.