Work has played a key role in shaping our identities and sense of self. By 2050, that single identity will have gone, replaced by a series of avatars: the representations of ourselves we mix and edit for different situations. We will be represented, not present. What does that mean for us, for our employers?

In this episode, Marissa is joined by one of Forbes Top 50 Female Futurists, Professor Tracey Follows. Tracey is Visiting Professor of Digital Futures and Identity at Staffordshire University, a consultant to global businesses and a fellow podcaster with her series The Future of You. So, what is the future of you? A single human employee with a single job or a wardrobe of avatars shape-shifting for multiple different roles?

Will praise replace pay checks in a future? There’s evidence we put more value on how we are appreciated at work than on our financial reward. Listen to the evidence behind this trend and what it will mean for the employer of 2050.

In this episode, Marissa is joined by Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and New York Times best-selling author Dan Ariely. His seven-year study of the Fortune 1,000 holds surprising insights into the prize for actively valuing employees more.

Falling birth rates in developed economies are no longer just a social or political issue, they’re a huge a corporate one. Combined with the greatest transfer of wealth in human history, we are entering an age of inheritocracy where it is what you inherit – not how hard you work – that makes for success.

In this episode, Marissa is joined by writer, speaker and consultant Eliza Filby to explore the demographic disruptions of an ageing workforce and wealth transference that will shape the world of work in 2050.

The world has legislated for a fairer workplace and companies have promoted their contribution to a fairer world for years. But has much really changed? By 2050, fairness and purpose will look completely different, and employers will have to adapt to new demands from employees.

In this episode, Marissa is joined by Yale- and Stanford-educated Aubrey Blanche, a consultant for equitable organizational design to explore how to hardwire fairness into our businesses.

The future will see companies turning what they know about us as consumers into hyper-personalized, super-responsive experiences. Employees will demand that same personalized, flexible and immersive experience from work.

We talk today a lot about candidate experience. The reality though is we often know more about our consumers than our own employees. In this episode, Marissa is joined by Bob Toohey, former EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at US insurer Allstate, to look at the future demands of employees as career consumers.

Experience says we tend to overestimate the short-term impact of a new technology, but underestimate its impact long-term. In all the AI hype of today, are we underestimating the seismic shift it will bring to the workplace of 2050?

In this episode, Marissa is joined by advisor, author and co-founder of the London Futurists Calum Chace to explore the longer-term impact of AI on work and society, and what it means for our sense of purpose and identity.

For decades, society has adapted itself to meet the needs of work. By 2050, it’s work that will have to adapt itself to the needs of society. Successful businesses will be those who understand this are reshape their offer to employees.

In this episode, Marissa is joined by anthropologist Dr. Tulsi Menon who uses ethnography to understand this changing contract between societies, work and individuals.

Established professionals have one view of the future of work. The generation who will be living and working in that future have a very different one. They will be the leaders in 2050, so what do they want from employers and how will they shape work to meet their expectations?

In this episode, Marissa hears from three of these voices: college students and grads at the start of their careers. Shradha Godishala, Jonathan David and Juan Lopez. Between them they’re studying mathematics, biology, business administration, entrepreneurship IT management and finance. They’re also all participants in Fuse, the Milwaukee Tech Hub’s summer AI bootcamp.

We’ve spent decades valuing our input into work: the toil; the hours; the expertise. In the future, the focus will be on results: outputs not these inputs. With AI disrupting the process of work, the skill will lie in knowing how to delegate and orchestrate work. Today’s technical specialist will be replaced by the creative generalist who brings imagination to the use these new resources.

In this episode, Marissa is joined by founder of innovation consultancy Signal and Cipher Ian Beacraft to discuss a world where creativity replaces toil and technical know-how as the currency of work.

What will work demand from us in 2050? And what does that mean for us now?

Marissa Geist, CEO at Cielo, introduces a new season of her podcast "The talent time machine" exploring the trends, possibilities and new realities for talent. As business leaders and talent professionals, the further forward we look, the clearer our next steps become.