Work in the Future
 Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog |
 |
| The Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. |
 |
| Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group. |
What will the workplace look like in ten years?
That's a good question for Labor Day. The good news is that there have recently been two thou1ghtful posts about that very topic.
From John Hagel at the Harvard Business Review: Six Fundamental Shifts in the Way We Work
"We thought we would kick off our new postings by summarizing some of the ideas from Pull that resonated the most in our many conversations from the last few months."
From Gartner: The World of Work Will Witness 10 Changes During the Next 10 Years
"The world of today is dramatically different from 20 years ago and with the lines between work and non-work already badly frayed, Gartner, Inc. predicts that the nature of work will witness 10 key changes through 2020. Organizations will need to plan for increasingly chaotic environments that are out of their direct control, and adaptation must involve adjusting to all 10 of the trends."
Most forecasts like this turn out to be wrong in detail, so it's best to use them as a starting point for your thinking, not a ready-made conclusion. To help you make sense of them, here are my basic rules for making sense of forecasts.
Technology changes rapidly. Don't make the mistake of thinking that everything is changing as fast. Today's challenge isn't that things are changing so much faster than ever. It's that so many things are changing at once.
Habits and behaviors change slowly. Most significant change is generational. We don't change as rapidly as technology. Even if a change is inevitable, it may not be quick. Take the advice of eminent futurist Paul Saffo and "Never mistake a clear view for a short distance."
The basic laws of nature, human nature, and economics don't change. Beware any forecast that suggests otherwise.
Boss's Bottom Line
No matter what changes all around you, your basic job will stay the same. You will still be responsible for accomplishing the mission through your team. And you will still be responsible for caring for your team members.
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.
Categories: Work, future, Workplace, Forecasts, Predictions
Tags: Prediction Future
Technology changes rapidly while habits and behaviors change slowly ... too true.
I think more businesses will find themselves adopting Agile or Lean practices to deal with the change, while driving value, in a customer-connected way.
Reply to this
That would be good. But it seems to me that lean/agile principles are relatively unknown and unadopted outside of manufacturing.
Reply to this
Thank you another good post! Psychologists tell us that it usually takes us three weeks to get familiar with a task; it takes another three weeks before it becomes a routine/habit. I couldn’t agree with you more. No matter what changes that come to managers, their basic jobs remain the same; not only staying on track, but providing people with tools/coaching on "why/what we need to change and how to change" to accomplish goals.
Reply to this
Thanks, Annie. I think those basic jobs are critical, not matter what else is swirling around.
Reply to this
Basic laws of Human nature remain the same. Are you taking the Hegelian (idealist) view or the Marxist (materialist view).
Reply to this
Interesting question, Thomas. I don't have an answer for you. I'm coming from an anthropological perspective, not a philosophical one. There are behaviors and practices that appear across cultures, regardless of time or location. Those, following Melvin Konner, give us a good idea of what constitutes "human nature."
Reply to this
Gartner's artice is interesting. Three desciptions of the future of work sound like self employment. They are spontenaity, non-routine, and 24 hrs a day seven days a week. No office or desk tells me that workers will be independent contractors or consultants. Gov't will provide health care and pensions. Any one agree?
Reply to this
Thanks for adding to the conversation, Thomas. I'm sure contractors will be part of the mix, but there are an awful lot of workers now who work from home, from the road and from satellite locations.
Reply to this