Forces Changing the Workplace Today

Hi all. Thanks for the interesting posts and questions reflecting on Meister and Willyerd (2010) chapter one. You confirmed and demonstrated from your own experience that the ten forces identified by Meister and Willyerd are indeed changing the workplace.

Malcolm helped us out by grounding our discussion with am definition of the 2020 workplace: "An organizational environment that provides an intensely personalized, social experience to attract, develop, and engage employees across all generations and geographies." (Meister & Willyerd, 2010, p. 3). This definition is captures the breadth of the challenge that faces contemporary managers and business owners. This isn't simply a definition of the kind of workplace we would like to have, but the kind of workplace workers will demand and gravitate towards. And this isn't just something that will be happening in the future, but is happening today. And the companies embracing the 2020 workplace today are creating competitive advantage.

Your posts reflected many of the 2020 workplace elements, particularly the social aspects facilitated (or not) by digital/mobile technology and connectivity. Andrew R. illustrated how these issues have altered the way his company does business with customers and suppliers. The key for us in our HRM study is to consider how these technologies are shaping what we do inside the organization as well. Kayln helps us with this as she discusses how digital tools facilitate learning on-the-job. Kyle N. takes this a step further observing the social nature of peer-to-peer learning in his own life. Austin and Mitchell highlight the importance of tacit skills in today's knowledge economy.

Importantly, many of you asked insightful questions about the potential downsides of these forces shaping the workplace.The near-term impact of globalization on local jobs (Katie, Kayln & Ryan), the distraction that can come with ubiquitous mobile technology and connectivity (Ayana, Andrew & Jair), and a lament about the loss hard-copy books to digital and audio formats (Kyle & Kyle -- this position was a surprise to me!).

Central to all of this conversation are age demographics. Today for the first time we have four generations working side-by-side in the American workforce. This creates all kinds of challenges and opportunities for managers and leaders. And the recent recession has overlaid another layer of complexity on the picture (see Katie and Junior's posts about hiring older workers). Going back to the definition of a 2020 workplace, winning companies will be those that figure our how to create a personal yet social experience for each employee in the midst of all this change. See Andrew B.'s post for a nice illustration of how the ten forces can both facilitate and detract from the personal and social nature of work.

Take a few minutes to each the video interview with Jeanne Meister above. She touches on many of the points from chapter one, and gives us a preview of some important concepts to come later in the semester.

Welcome to the wonderful world of HRM! We'll be considering these forces and their impact on our work as people managers and leaders throughout the semester!

Reference

Meister, J.C. & Willyerd, K. (2010). The 2020 workplace: How innovative companies attract, develop and keep tomorrow's employees today. New York: Harper-Collins.