Getting your player ready...
The world of work has changed in the past decade, with change accelerating to a furious pace in the past four years. The Great Recession of 2008 created a seismic shift in how we work, how we search for work and what we expect from work.
Going to work once meant a full-time job, health care, a retirement plan, centralized work places, climbing a career ladder and a sense of job security. On the downside, job security sometimes meant mind-numbing routine, little autonomy or creativity, unbearably long hours and accompanying levels of stress. Today, many in the market are seeking only to replace their previous job and are running into the brick wall of the current economy and the changing face of work. That is why it pays to rethink your assumptions about work. Creating the mind shift. With four generations of workers in the workplace today, each with varying worldviews, work values and expectations, we face a sea change in how we work. Given the recent economic downturn and the accompanying drain of full-time jobs, a sound strategy may be to broaden your definition of work beyond replacing your previous position. Instead, consider embracing some of the emerging trends in the work place. These include job sharing, flexible hours, remote work and knowledge-expanding contract opportunities. In many cases, success is defined not by climbing a ladder or working 60 hours a week, but instead by gaining leading-edge skills or attaining work-life balance. Granted, these perks come with some trade-offs. Flexible work can mean forgoing benefits, which are undeniably important to many. In some ways, society hasn’t caught up to the new realities of work, specifically when it comes to creating viable options for portable health care and retirement plans that travel as readily as our portable skills. Keys to navigating the future of work. For anyone who has endured long-term unemployment while diligently searching for work, it can be hard to see upside. Nevertheless, individuals affected by past recessions have consistently driven innovation and, out of necessity, have created new industries, products and opportunities. That is one important message to take from the current economy, when full-time positions occupy a smaller percentage of available work opportunities than in the past. For now and the near future, a wise course is to plan your work and career to meet the future of work proactively, following these steps:
