The Charter Leadership Forum is a roundup of guidance from the greatest minds in talent. For each edition, Charter’s research team asks expert practitioners to share their insights around the biggest questions shaping the changing world of work.
The pace of change is challenging long-held assumptions about career paths, job quality, and organizational loyalty. We asked experts what will define a “good job” in the decade ahead, how leaders can keep roles relevant as technology evolves, and what it will take to ensure that work remains meaningful, not just productive. Responses have been lightly edited for space and clarity.
As automation and new skills reshape work, how can leaders help employees evolve their roles rather than outgrow them?
Brigid Schulte, director of the Better Life Lab, New America: Leaders could choose to continue the decades-long American business model of prioritizing short-term returns; deploy[ing] AI as a tool not just to boost productivity, but to slash people and thereby juice quarterly profits.
But there is a different, more hopeful future leaders could begin shaping today. In that future, AI doesn’t just replace jobs, it enables jobs to change in ways that will require more skill, flexibility, and creativity. When ATMs were first introduced, experts predicted the demise of human bank tellers, a job that had helped many workers step into stability and a middle-class life. But instead of being wiped out, teller jobs changed. As MIT economist David Autor has recounted, they leaned into their higher-order human skills of relationship-building and communicating and began working with clients. That better, more humane future is possible. But it’s a choice, and it’s one that leaders need to—and can—begin choosing today.
Susan Chapman Hughes, founder and managing partner, Acumentus: The call to leadership in the age of automation, AI, societal change, and a whole host of other factors is not an easy one. But those leaders who focus on leading with empathy, curiosity, and determination will help their companies—and most importantly, their people—navigate through change in a way that supports shared goals and positive outcomes for [their] stakeholders. The playbook has changed. Leaders should:
- Make time to truly connect with [your] people authentically. Your teams will know when you are being genuine.
- Set clear goals that all can see themselves [and ensure] each member has clarity on their part in the organization’s success.
- Ensure their teams have the tools to succeed, [such as] training, role clarity, partnerships, [and] shared accountability.
- Listen early and often. Communicate often. Make the call for change.
- Lead by example.
Carly Roszkowski, vice president of financial resilience, AARP: Leaders should invest in continuous upskilling and reskilling, making learning part of the organizational culture. By mapping skills to evolving roles and providing pathways for growth, employees can adapt rather than be displaced. AARP research emphasizes the importance of age-inclusive policies and flexible career paths, ensuring that workers of all ages can find meaningful, relevant roles as technology advances.
How is the employer and employee contract changing and what replaces loyalty when stability fades?
Brigid Schulte, director of the Better Life Lab, New America: We need to completely rethink the social contract between business leaders, workers, and the government. Clearly the post World War II-era contract of decades-long stable employment, with gold watches rewarded upon retirement, businesses willing to work with the government, and unions to set living wages is long gone. Now, unions, despite recent gains, have little power. The federal government hasn’t raised the minimum wage since 2009, even as the cost of living has soared, and businesses, really, hold most of the cards. Today, you can work full-time in America and qualify for public benefits, or have to sleep in your car because you can’t afford a place to live. Read Brian Goldstone’s brilliant new book, There is No Place for Us, if you don’t believe me.
The “contract” we have now reflects that power imbalance: employees overworking to prove their worth in increasingly unstable workplaces; employees staying in jobs they no longer want to do but can’t leave because they’d lose health care; and workers in the low-wage workforce constantly churning in and out of not-so-great jobs [that don’t provide living wages, predictable schedules, and the like].
We can do better than this.
Carly Roszkowski, vice president of financial resilience, AARP: The traditional contract of lifelong loyalty is giving way to a focus on purpose, flexibility, and mutual growth. Employees seek meaningful work, autonomy, and opportunities to learn. Employers must offer transparent communication, support for career development, and benefits that address diverse needs. Loyalty is now built on trust, shared values, and the organization’s commitment to employee well-being and growth.
How are leaders rethinking what makes a “good job” in an era defined by change?
Susan Chapman Hughes, founder and managing partner, Acumentus: There’s an old saying that if you live long enough, you will see and go through some things. Simply put, change is constant. What was a “good job” is now changing. Jobs will continue to evolve and change. Business leaders have to be clear on the organization’s needs and ensure they have the right talent to meet those needs.
Leaders now have to build with a playbook that will manage people and AI agents to success. Today they are largely managed separately. The future means that agents will perform jobs that people used to do and people will need to adapt and change to incorporate and manage agents in their quest to deliver results.…Adapting tools and resources to meet this need is something leaders should be thinking about now and building into their plans over the next several years.
Brigid Schulte, director of the Better Life Lab, New America: Although this is an era of rapid change and uncertainty, a “good job” now and into the future has a few key components: They get the basics right, offering fair treatment, good pay and benefits that enable workers to pay bills, and stable schedules that give workers the flexibility they need to live life and attend to care responsibilities. They offer a promising future, creating the ability for workers to grow, build skills, and progress. They ensure workers have the ability to share ideas and feel heard and respected. And they focus on performance and output rather than long hours or face time, while making worker well-being a metric they track.
Edna Kane-Williams, executive vice president and chief diversity officer, AARP: A “good job” today means more than pay and stability—it’s about meaning, flexibility, and opportunities for growth. AARP research shows that older workers prioritize meaningful work, work-life balance, and autonomy. Leaders are redefining jobs to include flexible arrangements, continuous learning, and supportive cultures that value every generation’s contribution. This approach ensures work remains fulfilling and productive for all.