I suggest that our lives, workforces and choices are steadily becoming far more individual, far less stereotyped. In the process we need constant support and guidance like never before – a sensible resource, not a sign of weakness, meaning that the following issues will need addressing in the future:
‘Vertical transitions’
We are steadily moving to a new view of the life-course – ending the idea of lifetimes split horizontally by the end of education in our 20s and of work in our 60s to lives comprising multiple ‘vertical’ transitions – between work, caring, parenting, voluntary work, leisure etc. The great difference is that increasingly the transitions are determined by us, not imposed by other people, and are less and less dependent on our age.
People as individuals
The wise employer thinks about individual employees not in categories (older, younger, skilled, male etc) but as a set of individuals, each with his/her own set of characteristics and needs. Assumptions about them based on thinking in categories will miss out on engaging people’s talents and helping them to give of their best.
More older people
There will be more older people in our population, and therefore in our workforces – driven by greater longevity, better health care – and more people wanting to, or needing to work for longer. In spite of the credit crunch we are still witnessing severe shortages of skill. Employers will need to look beyond traditional sources of recruitment (especially young people) to help meet their needs – for example to immigrants, to people currently on the edge of the labour market, and especially to older people. But the pace of this change is still influenced by deeply embedded age discrimination, whose elimination will be driven more by economic pressures (‘we are missing out’) than by moral or legal pressures.
Flexible working
Forecasts that we would steadily move to widespread changes in types of employment contract (much more portfolio, part-time, and temporary working and more self-employment) have not been realised – at least yet. Permanent full time employment remains the norm for the vast majority of workers. But the big changes are in how people work rather than how they are employed: more delegation, more trust, more readiness to switch jobs, greater discretion, less command and control, innovation and creativity bottom upwards rather than top down
Flexibility demands come from two very different sources – from employers needing to provide a 24/7 service and individuals seeking to match their working lives with their private roles. The wise employer works at managing the tension between those two very different demands.
Personalisation, choice and guidance
The consumer revolution has taught us to expect products and services to ‘fit-me-exactly’ –as technology has enabled businesses to offer consumer choice without sacrificing economy of scale. The resultant ‘it-must-fit-me exactly’ mindset spills over into other aspects of our lives – education , health, even party politics – ‘I expect to be able to pick and choose’. Choice (except for the very poorest, who have virtually no choice at all) is taken for granted and can for many be a source of stress. How do I choose? Might I be missing out? How do I find my way through? If I choose one thing, I can’t have another.
As a result, we all need help and guidance, not just when we are in crisis but throughout our lives – and the good employer needs to be one of the guidance providers – through good HR policies of appraisal and career guidance but also in the everyday relationship between manager and employee. Are you a rung on your boss’s ladder to his progress, or is your boss the provider of a ladder for yours?
To access GLIMPSES of tomorrow, The Tomorrow Project’s online database of emerging trends, click here
To join the Tomorrow Network (free of charge) for briefings and invitations to events, email Richard
Richard
I suggest that our lives, workforces and choices are steadily becoming far more individual, far less stereotyped. In the process we need constant support and guidance like never before – a sensible resource, not a sign of weakness, meaning that the following issues will need addressing in the future:
‘Vertical transitions’
We are steadily moving to a new view of the life-course – ending the idea of lifetimes split horizontally by the end of education in our 20s and of work in our 60s to lives comprising multiple ‘vertical’ transitions – between work, caring, parenting, voluntary work, leisure etc. The great difference is that increasingly the transitions are determined by us, not imposed by other people, and are less and less dependent on our age.
People as individuals
The wise employer thinks about individual employees not in categories (older, younger, skilled, male etc) but as a set of individuals, each with his/her own set of characteristics and needs. Assumptions about them based on thinking in categories will miss out on engaging people’s talents and helping them to give of their best.
More older people
There will be more older people in our population, and therefore in our workforces – driven by greater longevity, better health care – and more people wanting to, or needing to work for longer. In spite of the credit crunch we are still witnessing severe shortages of skill. Employers will need to look beyond traditional sources of recruitment (especially young people) to help meet their needs – for example to immigrants, to people currently on the edge of the labour market, and especially to older people. But the pace of this change is still influenced by deeply embedded age discrimination, whose elimination will be driven more by economic pressures (‘we are missing out’) than by moral or legal pressures.
Flexible working
Forecasts that we would steadily move to widespread changes in types of employment contract (much more portfolio, part-time, and temporary working and more self-employment) have not been realised – at least yet. Permanent full time employment remains the norm for the vast majority of workers. But the big changes are in how people work rather than how they are employed: more delegation, more trust, more readiness to switch jobs, greater discretion, less command and control, innovation and creativity bottom upwards rather than top down
Flexibility demands come from two very different sources – from employers needing to provide a 24/7 service and individuals seeking to match their working lives with their private roles. The wise employer works at managing the tension between those two very different demands.
Personalisation, choice and guidance
The consumer revolution has taught us to expect products and services to ‘fit-me-exactly’ –as technology has enabled businesses to offer consumer choice without sacrificing economy of scale. The resultant ‘it-must-fit-me exactly’ mindset spills over into other aspects of our lives – education , health, even party politics – ‘I expect to be able to pick and choose’. Choice (except for the very poorest, who have virtually no choice at all) is taken for granted and can for many be a source of stress. How do I choose? Might I be missing out? How do I find my way through? If I choose one thing, I can’t have another.
As a result, we all need help and guidance, not just when we are in crisis but throughout our lives – and the good employer needs to be one of the guidance providers – through good HR policies of appraisal and career guidance but also in the everyday relationship between manager and employee. Are you a rung on your boss’s ladder to his progress, or is your boss the provider of a ladder for yours?
To access GLIMPSES of tomorrow, The Tomorrow Project’s online database of emerging trends, click here
To join the Tomorrow Network (free of charge) for briefings and invitations to events, email Richard