Already, more than a third of workers have left corporate America and are working for themselves. These numbers will continue to rise, especially if companies continue to fall short in offering what employees want. It is easier than ever for people to work as solopreneurs or to start their own businesses, and the payoff for doing so many times outweighs that of working for an organization.
What can professionals and organizations do? I want to bring awareness to organizations about the need to change, and to unsatisfied professionals that there are other options. And I want to help you outline a path to get there.
The data is clear: the gap between what people want and what they are getting is freedom and flexibility. This is not just true for millennials – it’s true for all of us. According to a study by PWC, employees of all generations value flexibility in their jobs. Flexibility includes when they work, where they work, and how they work. Mercer’s 2018 Talent Trends Report study found the same thing, and they are calling it “permanent flexibility.”
The whole world of work is shifting, but organizations have yet to catch up. I believe this is why half the S&P 500 has disappeared in the last decade. At the current rate, a predicted 75% of the current S&P 500 will be replaced over the next eight years!
Where, when, how and why we work has changed. What we work on has changed.
Where we work
Because of excellent connectivity, we can work from anywhere, and we do. We work in the car, on the train, on a plane, laying poolside, at home, at coffee shops, at our kids’ 3-hour long sporting events, waiting in long lines at Disney, you name it. Work hasn’t been contained to the office in years, but now more than ever, having to be in an office is restrictive and doesn’t fit the demands of the rest of people’s lives.
When we work
We don’t track when we start and when we stop working because we are always available by phone, text, instant message, and social media. We don’t shut off. We are working during the day, evening, on the weekends, during our vacations, during what used to be our “family time.” Work is no longer contained between the hours of 8 and 5.
What Work Is
The work that’s being done has shifted. Robots are building things. Technology is taking the place of customer service, sales, analysis, investments, decision making and other things. Business process outsourcing has brought a different type of work into their client’s businesses.
How we work
We have access to more data, research, knowledge and information than we ever have. We can learn in five minutes on You Tube what used to take a full semester in college. Technology has sped things up, so expectations for delivery of projects and products have sped up. Business strategy is no longer done once a year and in a vacuum. There are new tools, new market strategies, new people and relationships and employees are adapting the way they work to make it work.
Why we work
This has probably changed the most. It used to be a simple transaction – people go to work, and in return their company gives them a paycheck, paid vacation, benefits and retirement. It was the American Dream. They bought homes, cars, supported their family, sent their kids to college, and retired at age 55 on the company’s dime. The transaction made sense. Now, employers are expecting employees’ end of that bargain to remain the same while what they’re offering has completely changed. That doesn’t add up, and people know it. Another dynamic changing our reasons for working is the awakening of all of civilization to a bigger world. Connectivity has made the world smaller, and it’s made our views of the world much larger. Our lives before digital connectivity were limited to our family, our community, local gathering places and our workplace. Now, we have access to anyone, anything, anywhere within seconds. People have grown more aware, more curious and capable and desirous of contributing more – all people. Not just those who had the luxury of going off to University for four years and studying abroad. There is a whole world out there, people have discovered it, and they want the freedom and flexibility to experience it and make an impactful contribution to it.
Boundaries on work have expanded, access to the world has expanded, knowledge has expanded, capabilities have expanded. Why then, are organizations still managing their people in the same narrow ways? Outdated mindsets, systems, rules, policies, procedures, and ecosystems are not working in the new world of work.
My purpose here is to help both professionals and organizations broaden their views on what’s possible.
For professionals, you have options. You may be frustrated and unfulfilled. You may feel lost, unsure, unappreciated, or just miserable in a job you hate. If any of these are the case, consider your options. You don’t have to make a drastic career change yet. Begin by realizing nothing is holding you back but your fear. Then answer these questions:
- What are my passions and unique talents or gifts? At the intersection of these two things you’ll find some good starting points for what could be your .
- What do you like to do, even if you’re not getting paid to do it?
- What were some of your childhood dreams?
- If you could do anything and take a pay cut, what would it be? You may have to adjust your financial goals or your personal lifestyle or situation for a time.
- What obstacles are in the way of you pursuing your Glorywork? How could you remove them?
- Could you make changes in your current role that would utilize your special talents and passions?
For business leaders and organizations, be honest in your assessment of whether you need to change how you or your company manage employees. Here are some tips:
- Allow flexibility in when, how, and where people work, and what they work on.
- Teach your leaders to manage with this flexibility in mind.
- Be flexible when offering flexibility. It may be your first thought to implement a “policy” regarding flexible work schedules or remote work. Resist this at all costs. This perpetuates old mindsets. It will be impossible to implement a one-size-fits all approach and achieve “flexibility” at the same time. That in it’s very nature is inflexible!
- Every employee has a unique set of gifts, talents, and desires. Managers must have a deep understanding of what these are, and allow their people to work in their area of unique talent while giving them what they desire. If you’re not able to give them what they desire, ask yourself why and challenge your thinking.
- If things aren’t working out, make changes and include your employees in these decisions.
- Managing is customized for every employee, and must be managed by the leaders directly over their employees. It must not be micromanaged by leaders above those managers.
- This will require a realistic span of control, and will require managers’ job to solely be the management of their people (i.e. scrap the idea of “working manager”).
- Empower your managers to manage their team as individuals, and arm them with the training, coaching and knowledge to do so.
It’s a lot to think about, and it you may find it difficult to prioritize this work or to achieve clarity on where to start. If you need help, that happens to be my area of unique gifts and passion 😊, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
