Most employees, including in-house counsel, are hopeful about the future of the workplace as it relates to technology and innovation, a recent survey from Seyfarth Shaw found.

But 30 percent are outright fearful about potential shifts on the horizon.

In its inaugural Future Employer Outlook Survey, the Chicago-headquartered law firm found that businesses and in-house lawyers are split on how expansive the scope of changes will be for employers during the next five years.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said they believe the future of work will bring about massive changes, while 49 percent are expecting moderate changes.

"Business leaders, including corporate legal departments, are navigating a shifting landscape with a new presidential administration, evolving skill sets, talent management, and the ways in which their own roles will change in the next five years," said Laura Maechtlen, national vice chair of the labor and employment department at Seyfarth, in a press release.

According to the survey's more than 700 respondents working in legal and human resources roles, employers will be keeping a close eye on the regulatory landscape.

About 35 percent expect the U.S. Department of Labor will be the most aggressive employer watchdog for the next five years.

Some 26 percent believed that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would be the most aggressive, followed by 20 percent who cited the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 13 percent who cited the National Labor Relations Board, and 6 percent who cited the U.S. Department of Justice.

"Many respondents view the new administration as 'pro-employer' and expressed hope that labor regulations would shift in response," the report said. "Despite these expectations, they do not see the balance of power shifting among government watchdogs."

Meanwhile, 48 percent believe that the executive branch will have the greatest impact on the workplace in the future. Thirty-two percent think the judicial branch will most impact the workplace and 20 percent feel it will be the legislative branch.

Additionally, 68 percent of those surveyed expect there will be an increase in the next five years in employment cases that find their way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The other 32 percent did not anticipate a spike in employment cases.

"The rate at which employment law is both evolving at a federal level and fracturing on a state/local level, as well as the increase in litigation and class actions, makes it more difficult for national employers to remain in compliance," one anonymous survey respondent wrote.

Another mentioned, as an example, that there has been "only minor updating over the decades" to the federal wage-and-hour law originally passed in the 1930s: "As we move to a more independent workforce, federal and state legislation is not being updated to reflect the new economic reality."

Instant Insights /

Employers expecting moderate to massive workplace shift: survey

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