The Future of Work

November 3, 1:26 PMOklahoma City Job Search ExaminerJessica Miller-Merrell

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One of my favorite fellow bloggers is Chris Wilson who is also located in Oklahoma City.  While his blog focuses on digital marketing strategies for businesses, many of his posts are relevant to those in the job hunt as well as the human resource industry.  A recent post of his discusses, a revealing Slide Share presentation by Jeff Brenman of Apollo Ideas discussing  the future of the workplace.

With Chris and Jeff’s posts in mind, it is important for us to understand that how we as the employer and employees view and see the workplace is changing.  And because of this what companies are looking for in candidates is also changing.  How will you as a job seeker and me as a human resource business professional adapt?

• Transparency. Your activities both inside and outside of the office will be tracked. Everything you do and say both online and offline can and will effect your company’s future success.  For businesses, this is certainly scary stuff which is why having a clear vision of who you are, your company is, and what the rules are is especially important.
• Flat. Your work location won’t matter.  Offices for the most part will become the thing of the past.  Skype, Videoconferencing, and streaming video will be the future of the way in which we work.  If your company has an office space, it will most likely be shared, a term called coworking where creative people often outside of your company work in a shared workspace.  Working from home will be the norm.
• ROWE with me. Companies like Best Buy have been using the ROWE for years with great success.  ROWE stands for Results Oriented Work Environment.  Environments like these are ideal for the global world we live in and offer flexible hours, employee satisfaction, and a focus on results.  Imagine taking Wednesday off to attend your child’s school play and spending that evening in the virtual office without having to take a vacation day or feeling guilty if you didn’t.
• On demand. One of the down sides to this new world of work is that because work is flexible and results based it is also always changing.  Employees and businesses will have to learn to quickly make solid business decisions while also understanding that because change is constant so will the work load and hours required to do your job.  Employees will begin to work on a more contract and consultancy basis to allow businesses to better adapt to the changing needs of the business world and marketplace.