The future of work
Aparna Kalra -
Thursday, August 20, 2009 1:16 PM
This is what it will be, according to staffing expert Kevin Wheeler, and The Future of Talent Institute:
1. More women at the workplace.
2. People will take on roles, not positions.
3. More independent contractors instead of full-time employees.
4. Offices will use less, conserve more.
All the above are true, if you look around you. At the company which owns Mint, HT Media Ltd, 52% workers are women. They have changed, and are changing, workplace rules and according to Wheeler, the way offices look, feel and function.
A friend I spoke to (who now heads a huge company) told me a while ago that he views jobs as projects. You complete one, and you move on. So the talk about roles, not positions, makes sense. Also, because companies are so fluid now and are more interested in what you do well, rather than titles and designations.
Independent contractors are already flooding an area of work I am familiar with, journalism. The domination of web-based news means more media companies, especially those headquartered outside India, are looking for freelance staff instead of full-time reporters.
Conserve, yes. All of us will have to. Use both sides of a paper while printing, keep re-usable water bottles on tables, cut down on plastic, turn-off computers, and rely on natural light, when possible.