Changing trends in the workforce are presenting new challenges for job seekers and those who employ them. What are those trends and what do they mean to you? At the turn of the 21st century, the Association of Career Professional’s Future Focus Committee, composed of career management specialists from many countries, issued a report on “Trends and Issues Affecting Career Management.”
The report noted major trends relating to changes in the world of work and the quality of life. Here are some of the key findings about today’s typical workplace environment:
∑ In the “information age” workplace, two challenging factors, rapidity and complexity, are coming together. People are being asked to work at a faster pace within increasingly complex situations.
∑ People must now work more quickly in a more complex workplace and market environment. More work is being done faster and sometimes with fewer people. It is becoming more and more difficult for people to keep up with the flow and complexity of information. There is a greater need for a rational, analytical approach to organizational issues, which forces people to use higher levels of thinking.
∑ People are challenged to think independently, yet work as a team.
∑ In today’s workplace, people are looking for a style of leadership that includes integrity, an inspiring vision and a compelling business strategy.
The second major trend highlighted in ACP’s report was the emergence of “quality of life” issues. Highlights:
∑ Many people are assessing the way they use their time and energy. They want a better balance between their work lives and personal lives.
∑ More workers leave jobs in search of a simpler and more fulfilling way of life. Many are looking for different options including self-employment, more relaxed work environments, or flexible situations.
According to the report, successful employees in today’s workplace:
∑ Understand the current dynamics of jobs and careers, not merely what jobs and careers used to be like.
∑ Quickly learn new work roles, beyond the roles they played in their former jobs.
∑ Understand and accept new organizational structures.
∑ Quickly become familiar with new structures of the workplace.
∑ Assume positive new attitudes and views of jobs and careers.
What skills are necessary for successful employment? The report found that “both technical and interpersonal skills will be required.”
What attitudes will be necessary for successful employment? “Being open to change, being able to manage ambiguity, being willing to multi-task and being more self-directed and self-managing.”
Personal contact continues to be the key to managing the dramatic changes which are taking place in the world of employment. As ACP’s report noted, despite the many technological advancements that have been made over the past quarter century, “making connections with individuals still remains the number one technique for getting back to work or shifting how and where work is done.”
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