March 26, 2025 • 10 mins
How can businesses navigate economic turbulence to emerge stronger? In this episode of Work Week, Dr. Kelly Monahan, Managing Director of The Upwork Research Institute, unpacks findings from Upwork’s Work Innovator Research to explore how agility, flexible talent strategies, and a people-first culture can help organizations thrive in uncertain times. We’ll discuss why forward-thinking companies rely on on-demand experts, upskilling, and adaptable structures to remain resilient. Plus, we’ll outline practical steps leaders can take to assess and enhance their workforce strategies. If you’re a business leader looking for innovative ways to stay competitive amid economic headwinds, this episode is for you. Tune in and discover how embracing change can spark new opportunities for growth.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(gentle music)
- Hello, and welcome to Workweek,
the podcast where we tackleone big question each week
about our rapidly evolving workplace.
I'm Dr. Kelly Monahan,
managing director of theUpwork Research Institute.
(00:20):
As always in this podcast,
what you'll hear todayare my thoughts and ideas
guided by insights fromthe Research Institute
and brought to you by adigital proxy of my voice
that was created by ourteam with the help of AI.
Our goal with this podcast
is to help our listeners stay abreast
of the rapid changes in the labor market.
In recent years, AI has helpeddrive many of those changes
(00:44):
and using AI to help produce this podcast
helps show that while, yes,how work gets done is changing,
embracing those changes opensup new worlds of opportunity.
And that brings us to today's topic.
How can we steer our organizations
through challenging economic headwinds
and come out stronger?
Economic slowdowns,inflation, market disruptions,
(01:07):
and shifting consumer demands,
all these challenges can test
even the most established businesses,
but they also highlight a crucial truth.
The way we work matters.
Whether that's adopting new technologies,
embracing flexible hiringmodels and hybrid work,
or forging new partnerships,
leaders often need torethink traditional methods
(01:29):
just to stay afloat.
And that's the focus of today's episode.
What practical steps canleaders take right now
to remain agile,productive, and innovative
when budgets tighten?
I'll look to insights fromUpwork's Work Innovator Research,
our annual research
surveying thousands ofglobal business leaders
(01:50):
to see how forward-thinkingcompanies adapt
during challenging times.
In this research, we'veidentified a minority of companies
that all have a few similar traits
that help them optimizeoperations, improve cash flow,
and enhance efficiency.
We call these companies Work Innovators.
In our most recent Work Innovators Report,
(02:10):
one question we askedwas how business leaders
plan to navigate the increasing complexity
surrounding their businesses.
And we found that manyplan to play it safe
in the coming year.
30% plan to pursue astrategy of maintenance
and keeping business operations steady,
and an additional 17% plan tolook for places to cut costs.
(02:31):
But just over a quarter ofthe respondents to our survey,
26% of business leaders,
believe they have the resilience they need
to meet this moment withinnovation, creativity, and change.
And this resilience is fundamental
to pushing through economic headwinds.
Our Work Innovator Research tells us
resilience isn't justabout having deep pockets
(02:53):
or rigid structures.
Our study found that top tiercompanies facing tough times
use agility to pivot and even thrive.
And agility in this contextreally means three things.
First, these companies wereable to rapidly assemble
the right talent for projects.
This required more thanknowing their people.
(03:14):
It meant being able to quickly assess
the skills a project needed
and knowing where to sourcethose skills quickly.
Second, in order to accessthe skills they needed,
these top-performing companies
used flexible workforce strategies
to scale teams up and down.
In the past, it was enough tothrow overtime at a project
to get things done.
(03:34):
But today, the range of skills needed
for many projects makes that impractical.
Companies simply can't affordto keep on their payroll
all of the specialists they might need
for limited windows of time.
Instead, companies have to find ways
to access the rightskills at the right time.
And third, these agile companies
were able to iterate quickly on ideas
(03:56):
and avoid bureaucratic roadblocks.
In an environment of rapidlyshifting consumer demands
and frequent market upheavals,
companies need thecapacity to pivot, repost,
and if needed, pivot again.
Becoming overly entrenched in an idea,
especially one that themarket quickly passes by
(04:16):
while you're still trying to cut red tape,
risks losing valuable time and money
to the sunk cost fallacy.
Leaders who see uncertaintyas a catalyst for change
often come out ahead.
They use these momentsto revamp processes,
bring the right teams together
and even double down on innovation.
One standout theme fromthe Work Innovator Research
(04:38):
is flexible talent,
freelancers, consultants,and specialized contractors.
Instead of relying only ona fixed in-house roster,
forward-thinking companiesbring in experts on demand
for key initiatives or product launches.
Especially in a shaky economy,
hiring full-time in-house talent
(04:58):
carries unnecessary risks and expenses.
A more flexible approachlike hiring on-demand
freelance talent lets youtap into niche skill sets
and spin up a project quicklywhile keeping overhead low.
More than that, this flexible approach
broadens your creative capacity.
Full-time employees are importantfor maintaining continuity
(05:18):
and institutionalized knowledge,
but can become entrenchedand set in their ways.
Outside experts bring freshperspectives and insights,
as well as new-to-you best practices.
Our research showed that92% of work innovators
say they wanna work with the best talent
regardless of wherethat talent comes from,
within their four walls orthrough a freelance platform.
(05:42):
And by bringing this talent in,their entire team is exposed
to new ways of looking atand addressing challenges.
In line with this finding fromour research is how and why
highly adaptive companiesprioritize upskilling
and cross-training, especiallywhen budgets are tight.
In an unpredictable climate,having employees who can pivot
(06:03):
or take on new roles is a game changer.
Bringing in outside talentenables your full-time staff
to quickly learn new ways to work
or new technologies like AI.
Not only does it make yourteam more agile and resilient,
but leaders who carve out resources
for professional development
also often see higher engagementand stronger retention.
(06:26):
People feel more secure knowingthey're learning new skills.
That makes navigating suddenchanges far less chaotic,
especially in stressful economic times.
Organizations with apeople-first mentality,
those that offer serviceslike mental health resources
and flexible schedules,
or that simply havetransparent communication,
(06:47):
tend to stay stronger
and bounce back fasterthan their competitors
that fail to meet these metrics.
Supporting employees by encouraging breaks
and offering remote workoptions and flexible hours
can help maintain productivitywithout burning people out.
In rough times,
a supportive culture isoften your best defense
(07:09):
against losing talented team members.
Leading through tough economic times
is about more than simplyputting new products
and services on the market tobring in additional revenue
or cutting costs to make up for shortfall.
When times are tough,
many work innovators rethinktheir entire work process,
like going asynchronous across time zones
(07:30):
or adopting a fail fastpilot project system.
The lesson?
Hard times can sparkthe best transformations
if leadership is open-mindedand ready to experiment.
When everyone's forcedto do more with less,
it can prompt creativity youwouldn't tap into otherwise
and can sometimes yieldthe biggest breakthroughs.
(07:55):
And to help you sparkyour next breakthrough,
we like to wrap things upon Workweek with one action
or reflection you can bringback to your workplace.
This week's action step for leaders:
Perform a resilience audit.
To do this, you'll wannafocus on three things.
First, look at your talent mix.
Are you suffering fromskills gaps in key areas?
(08:17):
Can you afford the time toretrain your full-time employees?
Or are there areas where flexible
or freelance specialists couldspark immediate innovation?
Second, ask if your organizationis adaptable enough.
Does your organizational structure
let employees pivot if priorities shift?
Often, leaders are stillworking too closely
(08:38):
to org charts and job titles
and not rapidly respondingto on-the-ground needs.
Finally, consider howyour teams communicate.
Are you fostering transparencyand quick decision-making?
This can be especiallychallenging in remote environments
where open communicationtakes more intentionality.
These three points can help you see
where you can strengthenyour organization's agility,
(09:01):
reduce costs, or tap into new ideas,
especially importantwhen the economy wobbles.
Ask yourself, how can weturn economic uncertainties
into chances for growth?
If you're a leader, createroom for brainstorming,
cost saving, or innovative ideas.
If you're on a team,where can you step up?
Could you learn a new skill
(09:21):
or propose a cross-department project?
Seeing challenges as opportunities
can transform the conversationfrom panic to possibility.
And if you'd like to learn more
about how leaders canhelp guide their teams
through challenging economic times,
I'd encourage you to check outmy recent book "Essential."
"Essential" provides theresearch and actions leaders need
in order to make these mindsetshifts about the workforce.
(09:46):
And that's it for today'sepisode of Workweek.
We looked at how leaders cansteer their organizations
through economic headwinds.
Using insights from Upwork'sWork Innovator Research,
we've seen that agility,flexible talent strategies,
continuous learning, anda people-first culture
can help companies not only survive,
but thrive when times are tough.
(10:08):
If you found value here,consider sharing this episode
with a colleague or a friend
who could use a little inspiration,
and be sure to subscribe
for more evolving insightsinto the future of work.
I'm Kelly Monahan,
reminding you that challenging times
can spark the bestinnovations if you let them.
(gentle music)
- Hello, and welcome to Workweek,
the podcast where we tackleone big question each week
about our rapidly evolving workplace.
I'm Dr. Kelly Monahan,
managing director of theUpwork Research Institute.
(00:20):
As always in this podcast,
what you'll hear todayare my thoughts and ideas
guided by insights fromthe Research Institute
and brought to you by adigital proxy of my voice
that was created by ourteam with the help of AI.
Our goal with this podcast
is to help our listeners stay abreast
of the rapid changes in the labor market.
In recent years, AI has helpeddrive many of those changes
(00:44):
and using AI to help produce this podcast
helps show that while, yes,how work gets done is changing,
embracing those changes opensup new worlds of opportunity.
And that brings us to today's topic.
How can we steer our organizations
through challenging economic headwinds
and come out stronger?
Economic slowdowns,inflation, market disruptions,
(01:07):
and shifting consumer demands,
all these challenges can test
even the most established businesses,
but they also highlight a crucial truth.
The way we work matters.
Whether that's adopting new technologies,
embracing flexible hiringmodels and hybrid work,
or forging new partnerships,
leaders often need torethink traditional methods
(01:29):
just to stay afloat.
And that's the focus of today's episode.
What practical steps canleaders take right now
to remain agile,productive, and innovative
when budgets tighten?
I'll look to insights fromUpwork's Work Innovator Research,
our annual research
surveying thousands ofglobal business leaders
(01:50):
to see how forward-thinkingcompanies adapt
during challenging times.
In this research, we'veidentified a minority of companies
that all have a few similar traits
that help them optimizeoperations, improve cash flow,
and enhance efficiency.
We call these companies Work Innovators.
In our most recent Work Innovators Report,
(02:10):
one question we askedwas how business leaders
plan to navigate the increasing complexity
surrounding their businesses.
And we found that manyplan to play it safe
in the coming year.
30% plan to pursue astrategy of maintenance
and keeping business operations steady,
and an additional 17% plan tolook for places to cut costs.
(02:31):
But just over a quarter ofthe respondents to our survey,
26% of business leaders,
believe they have the resilience they need
to meet this moment withinnovation, creativity, and change.
And this resilience is fundamental
to pushing through economic headwinds.
Our Work Innovator Research tells us
resilience isn't justabout having deep pockets
(02:53):
or rigid structures.
Our study found that top tiercompanies facing tough times
use agility to pivot and even thrive.
And agility in this contextreally means three things.
First, these companies wereable to rapidly assemble
the right talent for projects.
This required more thanknowing their people.
(03:14):
It meant being able to quickly assess
the skills a project needed
and knowing where to sourcethose skills quickly.
Second, in order to accessthe skills they needed,
these top-performing companies
used flexible workforce strategies
to scale teams up and down.
In the past, it was enough tothrow overtime at a project
to get things done.
(03:34):
But today, the range of skills needed
for many projects makes that impractical.
Companies simply can't affordto keep on their payroll
all of the specialists they might need
for limited windows of time.
Instead, companies have to find ways
to access the rightskills at the right time.
And third, these agile companies
were able to iterate quickly on ideas
(03:56):
and avoid bureaucratic roadblocks.
In an environment of rapidlyshifting consumer demands
and frequent market upheavals,
companies need thecapacity to pivot, repost,
and if needed, pivot again.
Becoming overly entrenched in an idea,
especially one that themarket quickly passes by
(04:16):
while you're still trying to cut red tape,
risks losing valuable time and money
to the sunk cost fallacy.
Leaders who see uncertaintyas a catalyst for change
often come out ahead.
They use these momentsto revamp processes,
bring the right teams together
and even double down on innovation.
One standout theme fromthe Work Innovator Research
(04:38):
is flexible talent,
freelancers, consultants,and specialized contractors.
Instead of relying only ona fixed in-house roster,
forward-thinking companiesbring in experts on demand
for key initiatives or product launches.
Especially in a shaky economy,
hiring full-time in-house talent
(04:58):
carries unnecessary risks and expenses.
A more flexible approachlike hiring on-demand
freelance talent lets youtap into niche skill sets
and spin up a project quicklywhile keeping overhead low.
More than that, this flexible approach
broadens your creative capacity.
Full-time employees are importantfor maintaining continuity
(05:18):
and institutionalized knowledge,
but can become entrenchedand set in their ways.
Outside experts bring freshperspectives and insights,
as well as new-to-you best practices.
Our research showed that92% of work innovators
say they wanna work with the best talent
regardless of wherethat talent comes from,
within their four walls orthrough a freelance platform.
(05:42):
And by bringing this talent in,their entire team is exposed
to new ways of looking atand addressing challenges.
In line with this finding fromour research is how and why
highly adaptive companiesprioritize upskilling
and cross-training, especiallywhen budgets are tight.
In an unpredictable climate,having employees who can pivot
(06:03):
or take on new roles is a game changer.
Bringing in outside talentenables your full-time staff
to quickly learn new ways to work
or new technologies like AI.
Not only does it make yourteam more agile and resilient,
but leaders who carve out resources
for professional development
also often see higher engagementand stronger retention.
(06:26):
People feel more secure knowingthey're learning new skills.
That makes navigating suddenchanges far less chaotic,
especially in stressful economic times.
Organizations with apeople-first mentality,
those that offer serviceslike mental health resources
and flexible schedules,
or that simply havetransparent communication,
(06:47):
tend to stay stronger
and bounce back fasterthan their competitors
that fail to meet these metrics.
Supporting employees by encouraging breaks
and offering remote workoptions and flexible hours
can help maintain productivitywithout burning people out.
In rough times,
a supportive culture isoften your best defense
(07:09):
against losing talented team members.
Leading through tough economic times
is about more than simplyputting new products
and services on the market tobring in additional revenue
or cutting costs to make up for shortfall.
When times are tough,
many work innovators rethinktheir entire work process,
like going asynchronous across time zones
(07:30):
or adopting a fail fastpilot project system.
The lesson?
Hard times can sparkthe best transformations
if leadership is open-mindedand ready to experiment.
When everyone's forcedto do more with less,
it can prompt creativity youwouldn't tap into otherwise
and can sometimes yieldthe biggest breakthroughs.
(07:55):
And to help you sparkyour next breakthrough,
we like to wrap things upon Workweek with one action
or reflection you can bringback to your workplace.
This week's action step for leaders:
Perform a resilience audit.
To do this, you'll wannafocus on three things.
First, look at your talent mix.
Are you suffering fromskills gaps in key areas?
(08:17):
Can you afford the time toretrain your full-time employees?
Or are there areas where flexible
or freelance specialists couldspark immediate innovation?
Second, ask if your organizationis adaptable enough.
Does your organizational structure
let employees pivot if priorities shift?
Often, leaders are stillworking too closely
(08:38):
to org charts and job titles
and not rapidly respondingto on-the-ground needs.
Finally, consider howyour teams communicate.
Are you fostering transparencyand quick decision-making?
This can be especiallychallenging in remote environments
where open communicationtakes more intentionality.
These three points can help you see
where you can strengthenyour organization's agility,
(09:01):
reduce costs, or tap into new ideas,
especially importantwhen the economy wobbles.
Ask yourself, how can weturn economic uncertainties
into chances for growth?
If you're a leader, createroom for brainstorming,
cost saving, or innovative ideas.
If you're on a team,where can you step up?
Could you learn a new skill
(09:21):
or propose a cross-department project?
Seeing challenges as opportunities
can transform the conversationfrom panic to possibility.
And if you'd like to learn more
about how leaders canhelp guide their teams
through challenging economic times,
I'd encourage you to check outmy recent book "Essential."
"Essential" provides theresearch and actions leaders need
in order to make these mindsetshifts about the workforce.
(09:46):
And that's it for today'sepisode of Workweek.
We looked at how leaders cansteer their organizations
through economic headwinds.
Using insights from Upwork'sWork Innovator Research,
we've seen that agility,flexible talent strategies,
continuous learning, anda people-first culture
can help companies not only survive,
but thrive when times are tough.
(10:08):
If you found value here,consider sharing this episode
with a colleague or a friend
who could use a little inspiration,
and be sure to subscribe
for more evolving insightsinto the future of work.
I'm Kelly Monahan,
reminding you that challenging times
can spark the bestinnovations if you let them.
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