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 is headed in the future.
The conversation quickly turned to the notion of living in an evolving world of employment and jobs, vastly different from the industrial revolution model of many hands make light work, gather together at 9 a.m. and leave at 5, come back tomorrow and do it all over again, do it till Friday, take the weekend off for family and religion and repeat again until 40 years have elapsed, to an evolving landscape of living to 120 working until we’re 80, having 6 careers and 14 jobs, working locally and digitally and living a life portfolio where we get paid for tasks rather than work.
In this world there are a continuum of employment and work opportunities, none better than the other,with where,when and how work is to done mandated by the nature of the work.
This revelation didn’t go down well with a number of callers, who have to work at a fixed time and place and couldn’t see how their circumstances could change. I am always reticent to argue this point, because there is no right or wrong the reality is that their work requires this, but that doesn’t mean it must be everyone’s norm from here on in and forever.
It’s never easy to live through a storm and that’s exactly what’s happening now in our workplaces.
At the other end we will come out of it with a more flexible work regime, one that is more closely aligned to the new order of work and one that hopefully allows us to maintain an income and sense of self-worth for those currently employed and also those yet to join the workforce, including the 2 billion yet unborn inhabitants of earth that we will see between now and 2050.
To make work relevant to all these new people, jobs, industries, demands and great unknowns we will have to evolve what work is, how and where it is done and why we do it.
A fascinating segment, great caller comments questions and a conversation we have to have ongoing, so listen now (17 minutes 27 seconds) and then share your thoughts on the workplace of tomorrow.
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.