About the course
This course has been designed as a starting point for understanding the future of work. The course has been authored by faculty at Aalto University and offers you a curated collection of academic insight on the future of work in an easily accessible course format.
We are amid a revolution of work, which started already long before the pandemic. Making sense of the future of work can feel tricky in the middle of a constant information overflow. This course is supported with academic research and references packaged in a way that is easy to access. In this course, we will look at how the roles of the individual, organisations and society have changed and how it affects how we work today and in the future.
At a glance
- Subject: Business and Management
- Level: Introductory
- Prerequisites: None
- Language: English
- Course code: MNGT-C1003
Enrolment options
For life-wide learners: Register here to create an account. After logging in, click on Future of Work, and press ‘Take this Course’ on the left. After successfully completing the course you can download an official Aalto University course Certificate with a unique verification code.
For Aalto University degree students: In order to receive 2 ECTS and a course Certificate, first enrol on the course Future of Work MNGT-C1003 on Sisu. If you only want to have the Certificate without ECTS, don’t enrol on Sisu. Then, register here to create an account using your Aalto email. After logging in, click on Future of Work, and press ‘Take this Course’ on the left.
For students from other Finnish universities/higher education institutes (HEIs) and UNITE! network universities: We have stopped giving out official study transcripts for free as of December 1st 2023. You can ask your home university whether they accept the certificate for credit transfer.
How to complete the course
This course consists of five chapters and each chapter has multiple sections. After each section, there is either a quiz or a reflection assignment so that you can reflect on what you have learned. You can choose between reading the course content or listening to it in a podcast format on Spotify or SoundCloud. Each chapter has a “must read” and a “good read” reading list. In order to complete the course, you will have to complete all the quizzes and reflection assignments. You will need to study the “must read” reading list in order to complete the quizzes.
After successfully completing the course you can download an official Aalto University course Certificate with a unique verification code from the My Courses tab or the front page of each course on the Future of Work platform.
You can share your course certificates in the Certifications section of your LinkedIn profile, on printed resumes, CVs, or other documents.
Read more about the Certificates.
What you will learn
- To understand and to be able to historically contextualise the main elements of change in relation to white-collar paid employment on individual, organisational and societal levels.
- To understand how work is gradually disconnecting from time, place and employment, and to be able to systematically analyse the individual-level implications of these changes.
- Understand how megatrends like digitalisation, and ecological and social sustainability are transforming how contemporary organizations operate.
- Understand how organizational paradigms and cultures have evolved over the years and how contemporary organizations are embracing and integrating multiple organizational paradigms and cultures.
- Understand vertical, distributed and hybrid organizational structures, what are their strengths, and how they relate to organizational culture and leadership. We also discuss why contemporary organizations are shifting more towards distributed and hybrid structures.
- Understand the basic leadership concepts and how contemporary leadership looks like and how it is aligned with organizational culture and design.
Student support
Student support answers all your questions regarding the course futurework@aalto.fi (Finnish, Swedish and English).
About the authors
Hertta Vuorenmaa is Research Director in the Future of work research project at Aalto University. Her current research focuses on the changing nature of work and changing people management, HRM in public and private organizations, digitalization, gender and qualitative research methods including ethnography. Hertta is an experienced researcher and trainer. She has been working as a researcher in several large Academy of Finland funded research projects focusing on for example well being at work, people management and its various roles and gender inequalities.
Kristiina Mäkelä is a Professor of International Business at Aalto University School of Business and the Provost of Aalto University. Her research focuses on people management issues in large, multinational organizations, including both the future of work – i.e. technology-driven changes in how people work – and human resource management. In her Provost role, she is also interested in leadership issues more generally, and the future of higher education.
Juha Äkräs is Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Hintsa Performance. Additionally, he works as Executive in Residence in Aalto University, School of Business, Department of Management. He is co-leading a research program called “The Exponential Work Project: Cascading Wellbeing Climate & Organizational Performance” – a joint research project by Aalto University, Hintsa Performance and Ilmarinen. Juha has worked as Executive Vice President, Human Resources at Nokia Oyj, member of Nokia Executive Board and Nokia Siemens Networks Board of Directors. Before these, he worked in multiple business manager roles, e.g. Senior Vice President of Core Networks, Nokia Networks. Moreover, he has had multiple positions of trust in business and non-profit organizations.
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Contributors
Read more about the Contributors.