Global logistics hub will impact jobs and work of the future - Pt 1

Dr Fritz Pinnock, Contributor

Against a backdrop of uncertainty, economic turmoil and unprecedented change, a new picture is emerging of the skills and traits for success (and, perhaps, even simply survival) in the modern era. At the heart of this essential skill set for the future lies creativity.

A raft of recent research studies demonstrate that creativity is vital from the shop floor to the boardroom, and at the level of the individual to the organisation as a whole. What is more, our economic fortunes at a societal level probably rest on creativity, too.

But a key fact among all the change is that jobs and work are being transformed at unprecedented rates. Some of the key drivers are:

1. Globalisation

2. Escalating technological innovation

3. The flattening of organisational hierarchies

4. Increasing use of teams

5. Internationalisation

6. Rising numbers of temporary and contract workers

The speed of technology diffusion has increased significantly. New kinds of collaborative technology and collaborative platforms seem to be appearing all the time. The worldwide shortage of skilled, knowledgable workers is becoming more severe. And more examples of real-world experiments in shared work environments, and distributed work programs are regularly coming on stream.

The global competition between different countries is leading whole industries to migrate. Dramatic changes are happening to terms of employment. Also, the concept of a 'lifelong job' has disappeared. Increasingly, the individual needs to take personal responsibility for his or her own job and career.

The new economy is here, whether we like it or not

Work is no longer as it used to be. The impact of technology, communication and knowledge has resulted in the rise of the new economy. And what are the pillars of the new economy? Essentially, the undeniable drivers are: knowledge, creativity and innovation.

Forces that will shape future jobs and work will include the need for companies, organisations and institutions to be flexible and nimble to meet the challenges head-on. Flexibility will be extreme, by today's standards. Things will be done, and undone, at breakneck speed. Information will be available more rapidly, therefore, decisions will be faster than ever before. Challenges will include chaotic markets which will move with complete unpredictability. Resources and supplies will be equally unpredictable.

In big companies, people willing to take carefully evaluated risks and those having an entrepreneurial spirit will be sought to maintain competitiveness in a globally turbulent world.

Big changes for the individual

Central to the future of jobs and work is the growing importance of individual development. Training and learning can no longer be viewed as a need that occurs when a new system is introduced or when a new job is begun.

Personal development will be viewed as a continuous process to meet tomorrow's challenges. Training programmes will continue to be important, but because of constant changes in work opportunities, individuals will need to manage their own development. People will need to regularly update and expand their skills to prepare for future job demands.

For employers, greater investment in training will mean that the selection process will become even more important. The selection of employees and retention of talent will become more complex, as employers will demand the best and will be highly selective in their choice of candidates. In many businesses, there will be fewer people, but a higher percentage of top people to ease the chaotic nature of the world of work.

For roles requiring judgement and decision making, recruitment of better-developed employees will be an imperative for the future. More and more, mechanistic work, and work that can be substantially automated or digitised will be consigned to low-cost workforces, technology-driven factories or service centres.

Apart from personal development and training, individuals will also face the issue of control of their work. There will be more control than ever before. Individual workers will have a large measure of control over where, when, and what they do to produce value.

As the future gets closer, employees will have more opportunities to determine what they do, when they do it, where they do it, and - most importantly - how they do it.

The old work style involved going to a corporate office because that's where all the relevant files were kept. There were company resources there, and that's where meetings took place. In the future, that sort of work style will be less and less visible.

For knowledge workers especially, in the future there will be more blurring of the boundaries between professional and personal lives. With greater personal autonomy, workers will be more likely to take their PDA's and other hand-held technology with them wherever they go.

Equally, because they can keep in touch, there will be no problem about visiting a friend in hospital or picking up a child from school during the traditional workday. An individual may do his most important work between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., because it suits him or because he can communicate most conveniently with an associate in another time zone.

In the years ahead, knowledge workers will absolutely take control of their work and non-work life.

As a result of all this, there will be significant changes for managers. After all, it will be a very different challenge, managing a worker with so much mobility, flexibility and autonomy. A different type of person with a different set of skills will be required for managing. And such people will have to be carefully selected.

- To be continued next week.