How important is equity, inclusion and skills to the workforce of the future?
Rent the Runway’s Stephanus Meiring discusses the workforce of the future and what it will take to be productive and sustainable.
For Stephanus Meiring, vice president of engineering, managing director and site leader at Rent the Runway, the biggest challenge facing the workplace and the workforce of the future is the pace of change.
He said, “Things are moving faster than most organizations and people are familiar with and that creates uncertainty. But the opportunity is real. The people who tend to do well in these times are those who are willing to learn, adapt and engage rather than dismiss change as hype.
“In my field – software engineering and delivery – AI is already changing the way work is done. I think that pattern will play out in many industries in different ways.”
What role does diversity and inclusion play in shaping the workforce of the future?
The most important thing. As technology becomes a bigger part of how work is done, different perspectives that shape the tools, decisions and guard lines around them are needed. Inclusion will also mean making sure people have access to learning and the opportunity to build new skills, not just access to jobs. If that part is missed, the benefits of the change will not be shared equally.
Work-life balance is undoubtedly central to job satisfaction – can this be achieved with a future-oriented mindset?
It can be, but only if companies approach it the right way. Technology should help eliminate repetitive work, reduce some manual grinding and give people more time for the parts of the job that really require judgment and creativity. If used properly, that should improve work-life balance. But if companies simply adopt new tools to expect more output without rethinking workloads and priorities, it can create a different kind of pressure.
We have recently seen an increase in income, especially in technology. Do you think the future of work will bring other types of non-wage benefits?
Yes, definitely. Salary will always be important, but I think other benefits will be even more important. Flexibility, opportunities to learn, time to develop skills, access to solid tools, good leadership and work that feels meaningful will all be very important. In a rapidly changing environment, helping people stay relevant and grow their skills is a real benefit in itself.
We’re looking at an automated future, so how do you think this will affect roles in your field?
In software engineering, delivery and support, the nature of work is already changing. The art of sitting and typing code all day is changing rapidly. But writing code wasn’t really all of the work, and it was rarely a single big bottleneck. The hard part has always been understanding the problem correctly, making good decisions, and delivering something reliable, secure and useful.
AI can now help a lot with those parts too, which is exciting, but it also means human judgement, critical thinking and accountability are more important, not less.
What new jobs do you think will emerge?
I think we’ll see more roles and responsibilities emerge around AI management, automation oversight, quality control, platform enablement, model risk, and tasks where people need to integrate the depth of technology with a business context. But more than that, I think some of the most important jobs of the future may be ones that we can’t fully describe yet.
The role a few years from now may look less like someone who does one small task all day, and more like someone who directs systems, validates outputs, makes judgment calls, and brings intelligence and context that machines don’t have. In many cases, jobs may not disappear as they change. Much of what follows is still speculation, so the best answer is to get involved, keep learning and be ready for change.
What will companies need to do to attract and sustain the best talent?
They will need to create environments where people can learn quickly, use modern tools and feel supported and trusted. The best talent wants room to grow, but also clarity and direction. Companies that combine ambition with reasonable oversight will be in a much stronger position. People are more likely to stay where they feel they are growing, where the leadership is clear and where the company helps them prepare for what’s next rather than being left to fend for themselves.
In your opinion and experience, what can companies do today to prepare for the work of tomorrow?
Get started now. Encourage people to learn, explore safely and build confidence with new tools. Review your ways of working, not just your technology. Over the next year, I think the biggest change will be for teams to quickly bring AI into everyday work.
In five years, I expect we will see many roles reshaped in terms of judgment, oversight, intelligence and decision-making far beyond the norm. Companies that prepare early, invest in people and build the right practices now will have a real advantage.
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