Skip to main content

The nature of work in 2010

Feb 07 2006 by Brian Amble
Print This Article

Thought-provoking stuff, as ever, from Charlie Grantham and Jim Ware in the Future of Work Agenda.

While their focus is on the United States, the same will be true for the UK and elsewhere – particularly their prediction that "sometime before 2010 we're going to see an utter collapse of the pension system for public sector employees; that will open the floodgates and erase any doubt that this sacred perk of white collar work is gone for good."

We are convinced that sometime before 2010 there will be a major transformation in the way white collar knowledge workers in the United States conduct their business activities.

The current relationship between these kinds of "workers" and their employers is as outdated as the apprenticeship model of office workers was in England during the early industrial revolution. Those relationships changed radically with the advent of child labor laws, safety regulations, and the re-emergence of professional guilds and liberal educational programs.

The Future of Work | [PDF] Transforming the Business of Work

Latest book reviews

MORE BOOK REVIEWS

The Voice-Driven Leader

The Voice-Driven Leader

Steve Cockram and Jeremie Kubicek

How can managers and organisations create an environment in which every voice is genuinely heard, valued and deployed to maximum effect? This book offers some practical ways to meet this challenge.

Hone - How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift

Hone - How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift

Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach

In a business landscape obsessed with transformation and disruption, Hone offers a refreshingly counterintuitive approach to today's organisational challenges.

Lead Like Julius Caesar

Lead Like Julius Caesar

Paul Vanderbroeck

What can Julius Caesar's imperfect story - his spectacular failures as well as his success - tell us about contemporary leadership challenges?