The 21st century workforce is radically different from that of the 1980s, and even the 1990s. Ecomonic patterns, business final goals, employee career aspirations, and technology developments and applications begun in the 1970 and 1980s, and fueled in the 1990s have given rise to the global economy, the dramatically new distributed business enterprise, the networked knowledge worker, and global workforce. Today's work environment is more complex and demanding.
For many, particularly those with higher paying positions, the workplace is not confined to 4 office walls, or the company building.
1. The entire world is one's potential market.
2. The business arena is highly competitive, and unyielding. Having the largest portion of the market share while spending the least amount of money is the goal, and strategy.
3. Work has become a primary focus for many workers, particularly executives and managers. Others, because of having low paying jobs, must hold multiple jobs. Both often work 24/7 with health, families and society paying the cost.
4. Business' are information-driven, with work moving from manual labor focused, to knowledge based. Even "blue collar" employees have to know how to locate and process information. Work is about processing information, and locating, sharing, analyzing, generating, and applying knowledge innovatively to problems and situations.
5. Being comfortable with technology, and skilled at how to use it creatively is now a required job skill.
6. Work stability comes with being in control of one's own employment. It is not about having one job or place of employment, but a portfolio of jobs and employers that one works with on an as needed basis. It is not about employment, but employability.
7. Speed and productivity are core characteristics of today's notion of work. More and more employees, though at times nervous about their future, are stepping into lower paying positions to have meaningful, fulling and personally purposeful work.
8. Technology, particularly information and communication systems (ICS), the business enterprise, management, teams, and employees are intimately connected and can never be separated again.
The nature of work is changing. How would you describe the current notion of work?
Chuck Piazza
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The notion of work today relates to being flexible and innovative as to what one will do. Work takes on a new identity one that is all that was mentioned in the blog. interestingly what was mentioned in the blog such concepts as flexible, collaborative, global etc are not commonly understood or practiced. Therefore work today also means, in addition to task, goal, or project accomplishment to be prepared and that is by understanding and being able to effectively participate in the emerging work styles.
I describe the current notion of work as a hungry lion looking for prey in the Savannah. If a successful manager falls asleep on his laurels due to old accomplishments, he will be eaten alive by his competitors. If a worker does not react quickly enough to the changes of the needs of the market, he will become obsolete. And if a company employs managers and workers like these, it will be forced to exit the market. In the Savannah, employees have to sleep with their eyes open if they want to survive.
For many, the notion of work is that of a game of survival--a means to a end. It is simply a way to keep food on the table and a roof over your head. As companies downsize, employees are forced to take on more duties. Many workers are probably looking for a way out but feel trapped due to the responsibilities of paying the bills and taking care of the family. I think many are just trying to survive their current work situation until the economy gets better and they feel there are more employment opportunities available.
The current notion of work is; work 24/7/365. If you don’t you will be left standing in the dust while your competitors are sprinting towards the finish line to grab the brass ring. We have been conditioned to believe that work doesn’t sleep. If you could work 24/7/365 without the need for sleep, food, family, etc. you would never run out of things to do. We all need to develop a more realistic definition of what work is and apply the tools and knowledge we have in order to accomplish our goals and objectives using those said tools and knowledge. If we don’t have the tools or knowledge to execute our jobs then we need to go out and acquire it.
The current notion of work is different than what it has meant in the past. This is largely due to technology and the accessibility of work 24/7. Workers are becoming accustomed to having separate phones that they can be reached on at all times. I describe the current notion of work as a drag! People are expected to do too much with too little resources and time. Expectations are high and results waver. Many employees are just trying to kill the day so that they can move on to the next thing. Even when people love what they do, which is a gift, they are often overworked and overstressed. But I still have hope!!
The current notion of work is life. There is no personal freedom anymore with today's technology, and the constant threat of layoffs. There is so much talent waiting in the wings, an email response to a nonemergency email at 3 am is common, and is becoming the norm. It is unfortunately trickling down the pipes. All of this hard work, and earnings for no reward. Loyalty is no longer a given, work has become survival of the fittest, and most sleep deprived.
My current notion of work is of a fast paced environment where I am continually looking at ways I can be engaged and effective. I see work as more than a job but an ongoing profession that is ever changing and one that I want to be prepared for at all times.
I personally enjoy working in a challenging environment and am always looking at ways to expand my knowledge base. Our current economic crisis has forced us all to see that we need to keep our skill set sharp and relevant.
Many people are working harder and getting paid less. The majority of todays workforce is shifting from the idea of one company for a lifetime of employment to several, smaller carreers. The speed of business is mirroring the speed of technology as the business tools become cheaper and more available. Work today means more dependence on technology. If you do not continue grow your understanding of it, you will be left behind.
For a brief period - roughly the same period as the "baby boomer" birth period between WWII and Vietnam - the notion of "work" was one where a person (usually a man) went to work in an office for 8 hours, while someone (usually a woman) cared for the home and any children (including pets :-)
Before and after that period, work was something that you did all the time, whether it was because you lived in housing that the company owned, or carried your office in your pocket, in the form of a Blackberry that your company owns.
In physics, "work" is energy. This seems like the best definition, because
money is energy
sweat is energy
power is energy
progress is energy
food is energy
..."Work" is actually a natural cycle, and we are ALL in the currents of this cycle. It is extremely difficult to "see," and so we try to locate something firm like a "task" or "job description," and call that "work."
Work is not so much what we do as what we ARE.
(Whoa... I can see the lava lamp moving even as I type that....)
The current notion of work is survival of the fittest. People worry about layoffs so are more protective of what they know. They are fearful of the outsourced worker who they only know by webcast. The work world should be getting exciting with the opportunities that technolgy and diversity provide. Until the economy can turn around a little, and people can focus on the opportunity in their jobs instead of focusing on trying to save it, companies will not be as productive and competitive as they want to be. The good news is the economy has taught companies how to be leaner so that they can be more effective per employee than in the past.
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