The future of work hinges on a fundamental shift in perspective—seeing employees not as inputs to production, but as customers who subscribe to the experience of work, writes Dart Lindsley.
The current model of workforce management, which often treats employees as assets, is centered on maximizing return on investment (ROI) through two basic mechanisms: buying talent effectively and maintaining it to avoid burnout. This approach is fundamentally extractive, drawing as much as possible from employees without necessarily expending effort to understand what employees really want.
The end result is that many companies set their sights low. Their framing often seems to be, “We’re going to burn you out. How can we help you recover?” Avoiding burnout is a baseline, not a goal. Not being burned out is an incredibly low bar for what should define a sustainable and thriving workforce.
But what if we flipped this model? What if we began treating employees not as inputs to a system, but as customers of the work experience?
When we see employees as customers, the conversation changes. We’re not just looking at a salary benchmark and paying employees the market rate. Instead, we must ask: "What do you want from the product we’re offering you—work?" and “what does that product cost you?” This shift allows for a more holistic understanding of the workforce and recognizes that employees seek more from their jobs than just a paycheck.
Research suggests that many employees seek purpose, autonomy, and a sense of mastery. This isn’t wrong, but is incomplete, and far too high-level if companies hope to design work that each employee finds rewarding. “Purpose” means different things to different people. By viewing work as a product to be co-created with employees, we open the door to a more sustainable and fulfilling work experience. In the old model, all the value flows from the employee to the company, but in the new model, it becomes bi-directional. Employees are no longer just being “bought” or worked harder; they become active participants in a relationship where their needs are considered.
Employers, especially at the line manager level, need to understand and adapt to their employees' unique needs. That’s where work allocation becomes key—matching the right tasks to the right people based on what they find most rewarding.
The way work is delivered today is often like walking into a shoe store, being handed a random box of shoes without any regard for your size, style, or preferences. The only thing the store cares about is how much money you have, and if shoe stores really operated this way, they'd go out of business. If, however, the shoe store took the time to understand your individual preferences, matching the right shoe to the right person, customers would walk out happy and satisfied.
This same principle applies to work allocation. If every employee in a company wanted the exact same thing, there’d be no need to optimize how work is distributed. But the truth is, people have different needs, strengths, and motivations, and this variation is not a problem—it’s an untapped opportunity. Today, most organizations allocate work without paying attention to what employees actually find rewarding, and that’s a missed chance to maximize engagement and productivity.
Just as companies create product lines to meet diverse consumer needs, organizations can design lines of work experiences to cater to employees' unique preferences. For example, Toyota offers different vehicles for different purposes, and the same approach can be applied to work. Instead of a one-size-fits-all model, companies can recognize and adapt to individual employee desires, optimizing engagement and productivity. Tailoring work experiences isn't impractical—businesses already do this with products. The variation in employee preferences is an opportunity, not a challenge, to better align tasks with individual strengths and desires.
Naturally, this shift isn’t without its challenges. HR professionals often push back with statements like, "Leadership only cares about the bottom line." While it’s true that some leaders prioritize profits over people, this generalization oversimplifies the issue. There’s plenty of evidence that both sides exist—there are leaders driven solely by profit, just as there are employees who lack motivation. But many leaders care about more than money, as seen with over 8,000 B-Corporations globally. Likewise, employees pursue personal projects and challenges outside work, not for financial gain, but for fulfillment, showing that both groups can are often driven by more than just profit.
Another common objection is that businesses should focus on external customers, not employees. But employees are not "inside" the company. They are subscribers to the work experience, free to leave if their needs aren’t met. Employees exchange their time and effort, which are essential for a company's survival. While executives may understand the importance of employees as assets, recognizing them as customers is key to building a sustainable workforce.
For many leaders, the workforce is often viewed as numbers, not individuals. To create lasting change, we must shift decision-making from distant, top-down approaches to engaging employees directly, co-creating the work experiences they encounter daily. Traditionally, HR has been positioned as a strategic consultant, translating leadership’s needs into workforce plans, while automating our outsourcing employee-facing services for efficiency. This has unintentionally led to an oversimplified and often inaccurate view of the workforce, similar to how distance can distort perceptions of places or people.
The message to HR is clear: when employees are treated as customers and work is seen as the product, HR should be at the forefront, driving value creation rather than just serving leadership. What’s truly needed is a dedicated function focused on designing and delivering the employee experience —viewing it as a critical service system that impacts business success.
Workforce sustainability goes beyond reducing burnout or turnover. It’s about fostering an environment where employees are valued and actively involved in shaping their work experience. By co-creating these experiences, organizations can build a resilient workforce ready for future challenges. If we don’t reshape the future of work now, we risk falling back into old habits—hiring fast, firing faster, and missing out on the incredible potential of a truly sustainable workforce.