http://workforce.com/wpmu/bizmgmt/2008/05/21/future_of_work/ All about the issues that arise when workforce issues converge with business management. Sun, 8 Nov 2009 05:25:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.2.3-2.2.1 http://workforce.com/wpmu/bizmgmt/2008/05/21/future_of_work/#comment-22461 Ted Coombs Thu, 22 May 2008 15:22:49 +0000 http://workforce.com/wpmu/bizmgmt/2008/05/21/future_of_work/#comment-22461 I agree that the list is quite unimpressive. What is even more unimpressive is the adoption of flex work or just plain telecommuting. The workforce is still dominated by a punch clock mentality, even in the most technological trades where work at home would not only improve worker productivity by eliminating the commute, it also greatly lowers employer costs by lowering the cost of creating a physical workplace in the employer's plant. Many people believed that the Internet, and the VPN (Virtual Private Network) would create a remote workforce. But this just hasn't happened. It's true that not everyone works well in an environment that requires a great deal of self motivation and an ability to overcome the distractions of the home, but these are exactly the issues that the workforce of tomorrow will see changing. Many of the technical details about working remotely have been overcome. Now it's time to think futuristically about the social side of a remote workforce. How do you replace the social comradeship of the workplace? How do you manage and motivate remote workers? I agree that the list is quite unimpressive. What is even more unimpressive is the adoption of flex work or just plain telecommuting. The workforce is still dominated by a punch clock mentality, even in the most technological trades where work at home would not only improve worker productivity by eliminating the commute, it also greatly lowers employer costs by lowering the cost of creating a physical workplace in the employer’s plant.
Many people believed that the Internet, and the VPN (Virtual Private Network) would create a remote workforce. But this just hasn’t happened. It’s true that not everyone works well in an environment that requires a great deal of self motivation and an ability to overcome the distractions of the home, but these are exactly the issues that the workforce of tomorrow will see changing.
Many of the technical details about working remotely have been overcome. Now it’s time to think futuristically about the social side of a remote workforce. How do you replace the social comradeship of the workplace? How do you manage and motivate remote workers?

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