Canadian Lawyer

www.canadianlawyermag.com 31 ledge economy, people may still be able to work if they have physical ailments, but people are impaired in their work if they are not mentally fit. The fact that people hold multiple jobs across different careers will only be acceler- ated in the future. Additionally, the retire- ment age is pushing into the 70s. To run such a work marathon, and run it well, means people must be both physically and holistically well — which embraces social, relational, mental, financial, vocational and spiritual aspects. Mental health and well- being are just as, if not more, important than physical wellbeing when it comes to thriving in the future world of work. will have, on average, 18 different jobs over six distinct careers. As students today consider their career options, there are jobs available in entirely new industries such as nanotechnology, cyber security and virtual reality. The jobs of the future will come not only from technological change but also demographic change. The ageing population is creating new opportun- ities, not just in the aged care sector but also for retirement services agents. The speed of change highlights the need to observe the global, technological and social trends, and to be innovative, adaptive and proactive in upskilling in order to remain relevant. Why wellbeing is the key to future-proofing careers With the realities of massive change facing individuals, organisations and sectors, many are thinking about how they can future- proof their careers. Often the conversation becomes very technical in terms of the jobs that will exist and the skills people will need in order to thrive in times of change. While this is an important topic, the bigger issue around future-proofing careers is wellbeing. In our worker survey, we asked the question: 'How big an impact do you think the following will have on the future of work?' 'Mental health and stress of workers' was identified as having the biggest impact, with 62% saying it would have a significant or large impact. This was followed by demo- graphic trends (55%), the physical work- space and where work will be done (55%), sectors disappearing (52%), computerisation of robotics (52%), global workforce trends (46%) and the gig economy (41%). For many workers today, the biggest wellbeing impediments are mental, not physical. These include toxic feedback, stress, unreasonable deadlines, juggling multiple priorities, the increasing expectations of customers and people needing to deliver more with less. These have the potential to create mental hazards and physical impacts. In the know- Mark McCrindle is a sought-after speaker, social researcher and the principal at McCrindle. He is the co-author of Work Wellbeing: Leading Thriving Teams in Changing Times.

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