Five Predictions For How We’ll Work In 2010 & Beyond (Part One Of A Two Part Series)

Five Predictions For How We’ll Work In 2010 & Beyond (Part One Of A Two Part Series)

In a recent Harvard Business Review blog, “Predictions for 2010: Five Changes in the Way We Work,” author Tammy Erickson reflects upon the 2008/2009 recession’s impact on workers to predict the evolution of work in 2010 and beyond. She contends that these trends began in the 1981 recession with its extensive use of layoffs in the workplace. And this most recent, severe downturn resulted not only in millions of jobs lost, but also saw many employers using pay cuts and furloughs in the workplace to mitigate further job eliminations.

Following are Ms. Erickson’s five predictions for the evolution of work in 2010 and beyond. My italicized comments follow each prediction.

1).”Two-job norm- More people will maintain two sources of income than ever before. Instead of relying on the onetime holy grail of employment – a salaried job with full benefits – workers will create a series of backup options. For many, especially those in creative or knowledge-based work, this is likely to include becoming entrepreneurs. A second job or even a small entrepreneurial venture provides a safety net, giving workers a small measure of control over their fate in an increasingly unstable environment.

This prediction has come true already. How many of us are already multiple job holders or know friends and family members who work more than one job to support themselves?
Earlier this month, Careerbuilder.compublished results from a survey on job satisfaction and company loyalty taken by more than 5,200 workers in November, 2009. One of the key findings was that 8% of workers took on a second job in 2009 to supplement their income. That trend is expected to grow in 2010, with 19% of employees planning to find a second job this year. Clearly, results from this survey show that employees are feeling more insecure about their jobs. It shows that they’re taking steps to become more independent, gain more skills or educational advancements, or switch industries to strengthen their employment prospects and options.

2). “Less “off hours” work - Recession-management approaches that made full-time employees take a day a week “off” planted some new questions in the minds of employees who had been working virtually 24X7. What is a “day?” Eight hours? Twenty percent of the time I normally work each week? For many, these questions lead inevitably to: If they only want me to work four days a week, why am I working more than 32 hours? ….I would expect to see more push back this year – in part because many individuals will be spending time advancing their second work option.”

The line between work and home is getting blurrier as time goes on. No matter whether you’re working full-time for an employer, starting your own business, doing community volunteer work, networking, getting advanced certifications and/or degrees, it’s all WORK. And then you come home to your second job…. The only trouble I see is the burnout factor. There are only 24 hours in each day…

Timothy Ferriss’ newly expanded bestselling book shows countless corporate refugees who seek an alternative work life just how to accomplish that. In “The 4 Hour Work Week,” he outlines a business and action plan that enables entrepreneurs to become “digital nomads,” accountable to only themselves and their customers, independent, and able to work wherever they choose.

3). “Competition for discretionary energy - Engagement has been a hot topic in talent management circles for the past decade. But its benefits have focused primarily on attracting and retaining employees. Increasingly, managers’ focus will shift to competing for an employee’s discretionary energy – competing with other priorities in the employee’s life, including other options for work – but also competing against employees who are only “going through the motions.” More and more of the work in today’s economy cannot be done remotely – success requires a spark of extra effort, creativity, collaboration, and innovation.”

I have mixed feelings on this prediction. First of all, are there any poor performers left working in corporate America? I can’t imagine that there are many still employed who are just “going through the motions.”

Moving on to her next point, there’s more to life than work, as we all know. While we all need to work to earn a living, we have other demands on our time, energy, and interests. So yes, we should work with passion and dedication in a field that’s meaningful and satisfying, but we need to balance work with our other life demands over decades of our careers as our lives evolve.

If anything, employees are less loyal now than they were even two years ago before the recession began. Layoffs, reductions in merit budgets, cutbacks to benefits, furloughs, and increased workloads have all contributed to a reduction in employer loyalty. And it’s affected the family of those who were directly impacted by these practices, with our youth questioning and challenging the traditional employment relationship.

The balance in the employment relationship has to be restored in order for loyalty to return. And that balance differs by employee in every company in America, based upon their individual experience particularly over the past few years.

Stay tuned for Part II in the Series for Ms. Erickson’s final two predictions for how we’ll work in 2010 and beyond….

Copyright 2010