Millennials In The Workplace: Why They'll Never Retire

The meaning of "work" is changing, and with life expectancies growing, the gig economy taking hold and artificial intelligence taking plenty of people's jobs, millennials will have careers that are worlds away from those of their forebears, says Dr. Linda Sharkey, global managing director of the consulting firm Achieveblue Inc. Sharkey is the author of "The Future-Proof Workplace: Six Strategies to Accelerate Talent Development, Reshape Your Culture and Succeed with Purpose," co-written with Morag Barnett, the chief executive of the business management consultancy SkyeTeam. She talked to International Business Times about the prospects for 21st-century careers, the falling value of a four-year degree and the idea that a robot might be conducting this sort of question-and-answer article in the not-so-far-away future. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. One issue you touch on in your book is your expectation that retirement will cease to be a 21st century phenomenon, and that today's young workers are more likely to take sabbaticals than end their careers by their late sixties. Is this something you think will be born of choice -- a desire to work longer -- or a consequence of the unsustainability of Social Security as generations live longer and have fewer children?