2017’s ever-changing Workplace
2017 belongs to the contractors and freelancers. It is their virtual world now.
E
veryone
knows that 2017 is going to continue to astound us with continued
developments in technology. You can see these changes everywhere
you look. There are advances in artificial intelligence,
medicine, and wearable devices. These advances are wonderful for
us all, but has anyone given much thought as to how all these advances
in technology are shaping our executives and workplaces?
I was talking with
a couple of friends about the fact that Millennials are now at the age
where they are getting promoted to management and executive
roles. Now, these are people who were young teens when the
technology boom hit. They were raised with laptops and
cellphones, and they are not fans of the traditional 9-5 workday.
They saw their parents embracing mobile technologies as they logged on
to their laptops at nine at night to get “caught up” on sorting through
their stuffed inboxes.
They understand
that while the recent advances in technology have extreme benefits,
they also know that there are worries of being trapped into the demands
of a 24 and 7 work week. As these Millennials start making
changes to the traditional workplace, we can expect to see more of a
non-traditional workplace.
Here are some of the top trends that you can expect to see if you are looking to change, or start, a career in 2017.
- Flexible Hours and Working Remote:
In
the early 2000’s it was almost mandated by a company that I was working
at to get online around nine at night and clean out your email
box. This meant that the traditional 7.5-hour work day was
looking a little more like a 10-11-hour day. Millennial’s who are now
management are implementing flexible work schedules to accommodate a
better work/life balance. Flex days, and working from home, are
becoming more and more common to promote enhanced maternity/paternity
and family benefits. The overall theory that I have read about is that
a decreased work week equates to more productivity during the hours
that are actually worked as the employee is not as fatigued; working
fewer hours per week to be more productive.
- Blended Workforces:
The
rise of the freelancer is upon us. More and more companies are choosing
to reduce their overhead by keeping full-time employees to a minimum
and are hiring more freelancers and contractors. Contract
employees can be added to the team as the work requires. What
this is doing for companies is giving them employees for a limited
period who want to work hard on a project and then depart for the next
project when their contract is up. No social costs, medical costs, or
tax issues. The freelancers/contractors love this concept as they
can truly control their work/life balance. They work hard when
they want to, and take time off when they want to.
- Virtualized Workforces:
With the invention of collaboration platforms like Slack and Teamwork,
technology driven business’ are no longer reliant on a local workforce
to create digital or software based projects happen. Companies
who produce software, cloud-based solutions, or websites, can employ
talented contract employees from all over the globe to work on their
projects. Slack and Teamwork enable constant communication
between project managers and developers to keep projects from missing
critical milestones. As the work is project-based the contractors
assigned to it are free to complete the work whenever they want during
the day. The only timetable that must be met is the one set by
the project managers. If the work gets done between the hours of
7 pm and 3 am, then that is when it happens.
-
Performance Reviews Become Project Feedback Sessions:
In the past employees were used to quarterly and yearly performance
reviews to determine professional development plans, wage increases,
and promotions. In the age of the Millennials and Generation Z
where the trend of instant information gratification reigns supreme; a
more frequent schedule of feedback needs to be adopted. Employers
are holding job performance appraisals more frequently to ensure that a
constant flow of information as to employee/ contractor performance is
provided. This provides employers with the ability to reward
exceptional performance quickly, and correct performance that is going
too far off track.
2017 will no doubt
continue to be a year of advances. The workplace continues to
evolve into not a place where someone goes to work, but more toward
hours and moments when someone works. Physical location is no
longer a limiting factor as to where you can be employed. It now
comes down to what skills someone possesses and how they can manage
their own time, and projects. Contractors and freelancers are
increasing in numbers, and are at no loss for opportunities to work
when they want to, how they want to, and wherever they can get an
internet connection.
That person at
Starbucks who is sipping a venti latte while working on their laptop
may not just be surfing the internet. They may be writing code for a
subroutine for the first manned mission to Mars. These days you just
never know who is working when.
footer
[Click Banner To Learn More]
[Home Page]
[The
Automator]
[About]
[
Subscribe
]
[Contact
Us]