Last year, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) posted an interactive feature on its website called “ What We’ll Be Doing in 2022 .” The post discusses the industries projected to grow the most in the next decade and some of the economic and demographic trends shaping those developments.
Not surprisingly, one of the biggest factors in the changing business world in the next decade is the aging American population. HBR projects that the aging population will contribute to a growth of roughly 22 percent for health care practitioner and technical jobs and about 28 percent for health care support jobs.
Clearly, the aging population is something businesses will have to take into consideration in both their marketing and hiring decisions. But what about the other demographic changes our nation is likely to see in the next decade? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – also used as a source for the HBR interactive – predicts that the proportion of Asians in the U.S. workforce will increase by roughly 30 percent from 2010 to 2020, and the percentage of American workers of Hispanic origin will increase by around 34 percent during that same period, representing an overall trend in the diversification of the American population.
Companies hoping to stay competitive in this changing demographic landscape cannot overlook these changes. What is your business’s strategy to attract and keep a diverse workforce that represents the makeup of the American population? Do you have one? What does your company have in mind to cater to the increasing numbers of Hispanic-Americans when marketing your products and services? Have you thought about it?
The business environment in the next decade will almost certainly involve a great deal of change. While businesses create their long-term strategic goals and plans, they must consider future advances in technology and the challenges and opportunities created by an aging workforce and changing consumer market.
All of these changes demand inclusive leadership skills. Do you have them?