Work is going to hell in a futurist’s hand basket / ABC Sydney Afternoons with James Valentine
The decline in people working a traditional 9-5 work week, the rise of people working on weekends and non traditional hours and the 5.00 p.m. closing of ABC Sydney’s afternoon broadcaster James Valentine’s local bakery was enough to spark an on-air conversation about where work i.
The shift around Work is going to hell in a futurist’s hand basket / is not purely structural. It changes what capabilities organisations value, how people find meaning in their roles, and what conditions make good work possible. Leaders who understand this early retain the talent they need and build cultures that attract it.
The most important question is not whether Work is going to hell in a futurist’s hand basket / will matter, but how quickly it will matter in your specific context. Leaders benefit most from mapping the ripple effects early — not just the direct impact but the second and third-order consequences that arrive later and hit harder. That is the practical work of foresight.
One comment
I agree, current business models are still based on what worked best in the industrial age – even though we have been operating in the information age for the past decade.
The 9-5, Monday to Friday model is outdated. I personally don’t believe there is any reason people should get paid more to work on Saturday – it would make more sense to offer more per hour for hours worked beyond an agreed ‘norm’ per week. Why should it matter which day of the week we work. We all have different ideals for our lives – I prefer to work Saturday and Sunday, so I can engage in certain activities during the week. I still work a full week – but I work when I feel effective, and take a break when I need to attend to a personal matter or I simply feel I need to renew my energy, my mind etc.