May 19th, 2009 | 
Author: The Future of Work
I was excited when I saw the cover story of Time magazines May 25, 2009 issue. “The Future of Work: Throw away the briefcase …” As I read the enclosed series of articles, my excitement waned. This was old news!
Some of the topics they did cover that I agree are an integral part of future work include:
- Doing what you want instead of following a standardized path: career customization
- More high-end talent and less commodity-type folks
- Returning professionalism to business schools (ya think?!)
- The inevitability of age diversity in the workplace
- Women’s transformational leadership style – engaged, motivational, more collaborative, less hierarchical
- Creating employee freedom as a compelling business strategy – work flexibility is key to a flexible workforce
- Green jobs – working on things and in ways that sustain the planet
- Collaborative decision making with culturally diverse people
- The end of perks like health care coverage and retirement
- The end of the career ladder
- The end of the cubicle life – telecommuting is a way to save
Yawn. Yawn. Yawn! All of this is true, and where are the new edgy ideas? I wanted to see something much more inspiring …
For example, I say:
The future of work is about asking the right questions, not about having the right answers.
Like:
- How do we thrive in constant change?
- How do we create less hierarchical and more collaborative groups?
- How do we work with people who are culturally different than us and love it?
- How do we create systems and structures that are more fluid, that support a more fluid workplace?
- How do we develop skills that allow us to be flexible, adaptable, and open?
- How do we create people and businesses that are more healthy and sustainable?
- How do we create a sense of safety and security when traditional ways of doing this are crumbling?
- How do we shift from standard career paths to personally customized careers?
- How do we work in more personally satisfying ways, while at the same time discovering ways to better serve others?
I could go on. And I’m wondering:
What questions do you have about the future of your work?
What answers do you have to some of these questions?
What do you find inspiring when you think about the future of your work?
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What inspires me is imagining a work world that is more integrated with my whole life, where I don’t feel beholden to work a certain number of hours or put in “face time” or sit through uninspiring meetings, but where I work when I have the energy to bring my best and be my most productive. I am inspired by the thought of transcending geographical boundaries and collaborating with people all over the world. And I look forward to a future where we are free from the cubicle.
Vote:Shannon,
Vote:I love the vision you’ve shared here. Its interesting for me to see all of the office buildings that are still going up in our area. I keep wondering who is going to want to work in them? There are many sitting empty and that’s sort of sad, but then my future world doesn’t need a lot of those office buildings!