Crisis point in the world of work

We are about to reach the crisis point in the world of work. The generation of digital natives who have joined the working population over the last decade are questioning fundamental assumptions about employment.

They are not prepared to simply do what they are told. They are asking questions about why we work the way we do, and are not satisfied with the answers. In the rest of their lives they use technology to free them from constraints of time and place, but their job is based on an assumption that these are fixed. They use social media to relate to friends at a distance but are expected to spend endless hours in office-based meetings as part of their jobs.

There is extensive evidence that people are choosing to move jobs in order to improve their work or life balance. No longer does a big pay packet bring satisfaction to employees with scarce skills. They recognise that time is as valuable an asset as money. So they will be attracted to work environments where people are expected to have a personal life and not have sacrificed their freedom in the name of career progression.

The new approach to work involves a shift in control from employer to employee. In the age of ‘smart’ working an individual is in control of their own time. They decide when and where to work and are trusted to do so by their boss. There is no assumption that work can only be done in the usual daytime shift at the usual workplace. Many people, particularly those employed for their creativity, do their best work outside of the traditional hours.

The biggest hurdle that managers have to jump is to stop measuring inputs hours worked and start measuring outputs achieving outcomes. If the basis of recognition for work is what is actually produced, then the time and place of the activity is almost irrelevant. This evolution from fixed working patterns to highly flexible work arrangements is a journey currently being undertaken by many employers.

The leaders are now introducing results-only measurement systems and autonomous working schemes where employees have high degrees of freedom. Others are following along behind with different degrees of ‘agility’ and varying levels of empowerment for their people. But, regardless of where they are in this journey, there is one clear direction in which they are all heading.

Now life is more complicated. Technology has freed work from the constraints of a fixed place and given the worker more choice over when to perform it. ‘Work’ is no longer a place to go to, it’s an activity for a purpose. It is a process for achieving results and it is the output that counts. Rewarding outcomes that contribute to the goals of the enterprise seems much more logical than rewarding effort that may contribute nothing towards business success.

We now have a generation of young people joining the workforce who have never known a world without the Internet. They expect to be able to communicate with their colleagues wherever they are and whenever they choose. They cannot understand the traditional boundaries between home and work life and the need to be tied to a fixed desk in order to get work done. They are questioning the long hour’s culture and the pattern of work that has been inherited from previous generations.

The management systems, leadership practices and communications processes that we use today were built during the Industrial Age of work. But the outdated approach to work does not fit with today’s values of equality, freedom, and flexibility.

Instead of converting work into a set of tasks to be performed by an employee it is being seen as a product that is paid by results. So to get a piece of work done it is quite practical to put out a request on the Internet and to offer it to an independent contractor or freelancer. In today’s connected world, work is becoming more of a tradable commodity.

Dr Anchan C K

The writer is an international adviser for business, economy and investments