According to the ONS’s press release Labour Market Statistics on the 18th December 2013 the employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for August to October 2013 was 72.0%, up 0.4 percentage points from May to July 2013 in the UK. There were 30.09 million people in employment aged 16 and over, up 250,000 from May to July 2013.
Aside from the natural concern about employment levels the media headlines and highlights about the workplace have included: working 5 to 9, Lean In, Zero in-box parties, polarisation of wages, building capability, Civil Service banning 30 phrases, employee ownership, Yahoo going into the office, co-creation, Linked-In endorsements and more.
The future work place is being shaped by the take-off of consumers using smartphones and tablets in and out of the office. According to BT Global Service’s research – The Collaboration Paradox – 35% would like to use their own smartphone, iPad or tablet at work. More organisations are collaborating and consulting with people outside their organisation, often their customers, to support innovation of product development and services.
As we move towards greater improvements in innovation for differentiated goods or services, greater efficiencies in collaboration will follow. As co-creation and/or collaboration with colleagues, suppliers and customers increases in 2014 and beyond both UK and global executives are also forecasting that email, IM, video and social media communication will continue to grow significantly in the next 3 years.
Furthermore, employees are often working all hours, 48% agree I often work extra hours at home, or at weekends, so I expect to be able to deal with some personal affairs during normal working hours. Multi-tasking on comms, homing from work and working from home, will gather momentum due to the uptake of devices and the shift to digital transactions, experiences and relationships.
With employee engagement and emotional connection to brands being prized in the future workplace, Herb Horschild says that “Up to half of jobs have substantial demands for emotional labour” – suggesting new capabilities are required. However, after lecturing a new intake of graduates at a City bank, journalist Lucy Kellaway from FT.com observed that some elements of the workplace will remain the same. She explains “Instead, what they wanted to know was entirely familiar. How to get ahead? Is it luck, skill or politics? And was it wise to disagree with your boss? These questions have not changed and neither have the answers. This is how it is and how it will be in 2043”.