Understanding 21st Century Work Environment PDF
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This document explores the changing modern work environment. It discusses factors influencing future jobs and the evolution of work environments over the years. It also examines various flexible work arrangements.
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Chapter 1: Understanding 21st Century Work Environment Objectives; Explain the factors influencing jobs in the future. Describe the evolution of the work environment. over the years. Draw out lessons and insight on how to keep abreast with the...
Chapter 1: Understanding 21st Century Work Environment Objectives; Explain the factors influencing jobs in the future. Describe the evolution of the work environment. over the years. Draw out lessons and insight on how to keep abreast with the changing times. If you will ask people in their 40s or 50s about their experience at work, they will tell you big difference between the time they started working and at present. MODERN TRADITIONAL The 21st century is characterized by rapid change and innovation. The fast stream of information and sharing of ideas produced several products and services which, in turn, influenced our way of life. Changes in the work environment move at warp speed. If you notice, some business establishments have extended their hours of operation and are accessible anytime to cater to the needs of their customers who live in a 24/7, well- connected environment. Almost all institutions are open beyond the usual time from Monday to Friday and on weekends. Example Banking, Foods and Shopping even in Government services are also made accessible in public any time and day. Example. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Land Transportation Office (LTO) and others. Forces in the External Environment shape the course of any businesses or companies Positively or Negatively. Example; Traffic, Changing Weather, Calamities, Travelling within and outside the country and Technological Advances. Transformation of the Work Environment “The Future of Work: Attract New Talent, Build Better Leader and Create a Competitive Organization”, John Morgan (2014) Described how the Work Environment Evolved over the years. *From Hierarchical to Flatter Organization *From Fixed to Flexible work arrangement *From Hoarded to Shared information *From Fear-based to Inspiring leadership *From On-premise to Cloud computing, email as primary to secondary form of communication *From Climbing to Creating the corporate ladder *From Siloed and Fragmented to Connected and Engaged employees *From Working in the office to Anywhere His study addressed the structure of modern organizations in the context of necessary shift to a new paradigm which is currently taking place in the way organizational view themselves and their intended organizational outcomes. This change has involved a shift from the usual vertical to the flat organizational structure. FLAT VERTICAL A flat organizational structure means that an organization has few (if any) levels of management between the workforce and the highest-level managers. The absence of middle managers places more authority, such as decision-making functions, at the worker FLAT VERTICAL Several companies in the Philippines are now adopting a learner structure to allow their members to interact with anyone else. Boundaries are broken to enable active engagement of people across work units. Collaboration is highly encouraged, thus, making decisions and actions faster and more meaningful. Example of Flat organization is GOOGLE Philippines following a highly cross-functional or matrix structure. Headed by Country Manager, Google Philippines uses functions as basis for grouping employees such as Engineering and Design, Sales Operations, Product Management, among others. These groups are managed by team leaders who can directly report to the country manager. Google structure is defined by its organizational culture; open, innovative, smart with emphasis on excellence, hands- on and support small-company-family rapport as can be seen in the ambiance and design of their headquarters in Taguig City. Flexible Work Arrangements There is no reason why companies need to force employees to work from 8hrs to 5hrs because some jobs can be done anytime, anywhere and on any device. Besides, some employees are having difficulties in balancing their family obligations and work. They can set their own work schedule provided that they fulfill their duties and responsibilities and they produce the expected outputs and, in some cases, meet the total number of hours required by the employer, job sharing, partial retirement, phased retirement and work and family programs. In the Compressed Work Week Program, the standard number of working days is less than five days a week. Some companies implement 12-hours/day or schedules of 9 or 10 hours work over two weeks and are paid with an extra day or two of time off during that period. Expanded Leave provides employees more flexibility in terms of requesting extended periods of time away from the office but still enjoy the same rights and privileges as employees. This type of flexi program can be granted either paid or unpaid and can be applied for variety of reasons like further studies, sabbaticals, seeking medical care, attending to domestic issues, among other valid reasons. Flextime – is a system wherein employees choose their time to start and end working from a range of available hours. Take note that different work modalities. Some are productive in a particular time of the day. Others have difficulties in waking up early. Job Sharing – is an arrangement wherein two people voluntarily share the duties and responsibilities of a full-time job, with compensation and benefits are prorated between the two employees. Partial Retirement – is a program allow older employees to continue working on a part-time basis with no established end date. Phased Retirement – both employer and employee agree to a schedule wherein the employee can enjoy a gradual reduction of full-time work commitment over a period of months or years. Work and Family Programs – provides assistance to employees and their dependents such as childcare and eldercare. Some multinational companies in the Philippines and abroad are providing in-house facilities to cater to the needs of the dependents. Breastfeeding stations and play areas for kids are also present in offices. Work Sharing – allows organizations to cut the number of work schedule and salaries for a portion of the work force while keeping the existing number of employees for the time being. It is practice by companies avoiding mass layoffs. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued Guidelines on the Adaption of Flexible Work Arrangement (Department Advisory No. 2, s. 2009). Companies are allowed to enter into any of the following arrangement with their employees: 1. Compressed Workweek: The normal work week is reduced to less than six days but the total number of hours per week is still 48 hours. Each day may have more than 8 hours but not more than 12 hours with no overtime pay. 2. Reduction of Workdays: Employees may be required only to report for a few days each week for maximum of 6 months. 3. Job Rotation: employees may be rotated or allowed to work alternately within the workweek. 4. Force Leave: Employees may be required to go on leave for several days or weeks consuming their leave credits. 5. Broken-Time Schedule: The work schedule is not continuing but the total work hours within the week is just the same. 6. Flexi Holidays: Employees agree to avail of the holidays at some other days as long as this arrangement does not result in a diminution of benefits. Companies are allowed to implement any of the above arrangements to cope financial difficulties or other adverse situations while reducing the impact on employees. Any flexible work arrangement is valid provided that the concerned employees voluntarily agree to the terms and conditions and that prior notice has been submitted to and approved by DOLE Regional Office. These arrangements are beneficial to both employees and employer. Why do you think? Why do you need to know about flexible arrangement this early? Before, information was always INFORMATION stored in silos (storage system) and SHARING seldom shared among other members of the organization because of its proprietary, non- portable format or inability to import and export data. Information sharing refers to the exchange of data between people (such INFORMATION as videos or photos shared of FB and SHARING Instagram), organizations (such as feed of an online weather update by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA) and technologies (such as Internet Protocol (IP) Address of available network nodes). The enormous growth of global information sharing is fueled by the advent of wide distributed networks, intranets, cross-platform compatibility, application porting and standardization of IP protocols. Information sharing is increasing as more networks and organizations connect and it has since been easier to share across the cyberspace. However, applicable laws in each country are enforced concerning personal information. It is a criminal offense in the US and European countries to share any unauthorized personal information. 10173 or the "Data Privacy Act of 2012" was enacted to protect individual personal information in information and communications (ICT) systems in the government and the private sector.... Notably, it defined "cybersecurity" as the information of security measures to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. Using information sharing wisely has proven a more effective way of managing government or private organizations. Information sharing is essential to many businesses as it helps meet the needs of customers faster and provides greater access to them. It reduces cost, improving overall accuracy of public data and allowing organizations and individuals to freely access much needed information and entertainment that they want to experience. Inspirational Leadership Gone are the days when leaders were so strict and controlling and when subordinates do their job out of fear. What works now is an inspiring head of organizations that draws genuine support from people. Inspirational leadership is a leadership style that drives a high sense of direction and purpose for members of an organization, setting an excitement and momentum for positive change. That is smart leadership. Morgan (2014) wrote that smart leaders understand the concept of following from the front, removing hurdles from the paths of employees to help them become successful. Instilling fear does not help. Scaring employees into doing what the boss wants is a disastrous style of leading people. Good thing companies learned. An inspiring leader is born out of the progressive view of engaging people and motivating them to give their best. Indeed, an inspired employee is productive. Skills Required in the 21st Century Work Environment The Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21), a coalition of renowned business and education champions based in the US, define 21st Century skills as Higher-Order Skills and Abilities required for success in the 21st Society and Work Environment. Three Main Categories of 21st Century Skills 1. Learning and Innovation Skills 2. Digital Literacy Skills 3. Career and Life Skills Learning and Innovation Skills Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. Communication and Collaboration Creative and Innovation Digital Literacy Skills Information Literacy Media Literacy Information and communication technology Literacy (ICT) Career and Life Skills Flexibility and Adaptability Initiative and Self-direction Social and Cross-Cultural Interaction Productivity and Accountability