Getting your player ready...
The changing nature of work and the new American workplace have been reported on frequently over the past decade. We have moved from an expectation of having one or two jobs over the course of our lifetime to an uncertain landscape that our parents would scarcely recognize. The economic and workplace shifts occurring during the last 5-10 years have been cataclysmic, and many workers are still numbed by recent shockwaves as they attempt to adapt.
Looking at the workplace of the past, we can see that the “old normal” typically included a single place of work with fixed hours, a steady paycheck, benefits, and sometimes a career path and mentor. Oftentimes, work meant climbing a defined career ladder. For many workers, the old normal included lengthy tenure, a funded retirement plan, and a predictable retirement date. It is increasingly commonplace for today’s workforce to be dispersed and remotely located. Hours are often flexible, and work is based on milestones achieved, versus hours worked. Communication and project tracking is enabled through web-based tools. Retirement may be postponed indefinitely. Three trends to watch. Reshoring: A movement is taking hold to recapture jobs by returning manufacturing to the U.S., wherever practical. Experts in the manufacturing industry cite increased labor costs abroad, innovation in the U.S., and export demand as some of the drivers of this trend. According to The Boston Consulting Group, rising exports and reshoring are projected to create 2.5 million to 5 million U.S. jobs by 2020. Crowd-sourced funding: This is an alternative source to bank-based lending that came about as a result of tight credit markets. These funding engines give inventors, entrepreneurs and artists alternative funding for their projects and businesses. The Maker Movement: For over a decade, the maker movement has been growing and gaining momentum. This community places the ability to invent and make ingenious new things in the hands of the individual. Many small businesses are sprouting up around solo invention of items such as crafts, technology, woodworking and electronics, to name a few. Significant partnerships have been formed by individual inventors and major retailers, spurring small business growth. What do these trends have in common? Each signals a return to innovation, invention and the creation of small business, all engines of economic growth. In some cases, a beloved project was the inspiration, and the creation of the business was an afterthought, while in others innovation was spurred by the necessity of solving a problem. While much of the daily news points to the real downside produced by uncertainty and high unemployment, there are exciting opportunities in the new world of work. There is inspiration and practical information here. The seeds of a new product, start-up business or job are waiting to be found, if only you look. – Kathleen Winsor-Games is the principal of The Winsor Group, a Denver-based boutique firm offering career coaching and transition advice for professionals and executives. www.thewinsorgroup.com.
