What do you think are the main differences between the modern workforce and that of the last few decades.?

Question

I know we don't tend to spend as long in the same job as people used to. What other differences are there?

Answer 1

I know that in todays work force you have to be a can-do type of person with a positive attitude. You have to be able to multitask your efforts to produce a smooth result. You need to be effective and technically inclined to be an asset with any employer. To be computer literate is a basic need that you need to expand on not only for yourself, but also for your employer as well. Dress well for your position, be punctual even during times when weather becomes an obstacle. Let the employer call you off duty for inclement conditions if necessary instead of you calling them, within reason. Avoid other employees that try to include you in conversations that undermine or cause a negative output, these people are usually the ones being targeted for termination. Go above the call of duty, produce an accurate, timely result and you will see your career unfold in front of you. Does this happen everywhere? No, not really, but if it does you are better off for it and if not, be prepared to locate another employer while you are working with the present one. Once you establish yourself as a serious candidate, then you will see more positive results.

Answer 2

Loaded question but a good question. From a manager perspective - today's workforce (generally I mean to the readers of this answer - there are always those exceptions) tends to be more self-focused rather than team-focused, tends to be less committed to quality, less motivated to do more than collect a paycheck and so on. However, on the employer side of that question, employers expect more for less pay and in an economy that is rapidly progressing to the point of driving middle class incomes to lower class lifestyles - this in effect compounds the attitudes of the average workforce. Decades ago, the 40-year plan - i.e. get a good education, then a good job, work for the same company for 40 years and retire in style was a viable plan. Today, this plan is obsolete. However, for the most part we are still taught the 40-year plan mentality, even though the younger generation of adults has figured out that staying with the same company beyond 2-5 years is not going to give them the results they are seeking. There is no such thing as job security any more, adding to the morale issues of today's workforce.

That being said, the plan A approach - being employed, while necessary to initially derive an income, is not a long term solution for most in achieving the income and lifestyle we hope to achieve. That being said, it behooves us all to have a plan B - find a vehicle that "fits" that one can fit into their time while being employed with the goal of developing a residual income.

I went way beyond the scope of your question and realize that

Answer 3

The modern workforce requires most employees to have a pretty good educational background. Work in the last few decades consist of more warehouse and Mill jobs that did not require much education to start off with. It is a lot harder for someone without a GED to get a job in this day in age!

Answer 4

Responsibility, accountability and integrity on the part of the employer and the employee is shifting. A few decades ago employers would not force people out a few months before retirement but it is commonplace now.

I left a fortune 500 company to become self employed. The irony is that management was so poor in this area that they have spawned many successful entrepreneurs who would otherwise have retired from their company.

These companies want a quick turnover, they don't want the same employees. It is common for people to be terminated months before retirement for lack of work and be replaced by some bubble gum chewing kid who is willing to work for nothing.

Responsibility, accountability and integrity are missing.

Answer 5

One of the main differences is that you need to have skills to sell. It used to be that people were employed and they grew into a job gradually. There was a low turnover rate and employees were less mobile.

Now, you need to have a splendid resume, you must have talents and skills and qualifications, you must know where you fit in, and go in with all guns blazing, so to speak, and prove your worth in a fortnight or less.

You must dress the part, know all about the chain of command, respect all levels - above and below you - and be prepared to be promoted to a job you cannot do!

Keeping abreast of developments in whatever industry you happen to be involved in is vital. It used to be that you stayed in a job doing the same thing for years - now industries evolve under your nose and you are required to evolve with them, move to new spots and improve yourself, which is called professional development.

Industries are sometimes volatile and they have booms and busts that you need to know about. It used to be that things chugged on more or less in the same way for years.

You need to specialise! Everything - especially IT - is becoming very vast and complicated, so people have to be experts in very specific niches, and know everything there is to know about new stuff almost before it is even invented.

In some places, laws have evolved to favour business and the employer - rather than favour the employee - so industrial relations and their shifts and changes must be another thing to keep an eye on. It used to be that you joined the union and all would be well. Not any more - it is much easier to get sacked now, since a lot of countries have adopted labour laws that mirror those of the USA.

It used to be that you took a job in a factory and worked your way up. Not any more - you have to attend courses and go from company to company where your new skills are respected and you are greeted as an expert right away.

Those are the main differences. It's evolution, and cannot be stopped. Change is the only thing that shows you something is not dead. The labor market is not dead.

Answer 6

We have been taught in school to go to school -get a good job! But we were never taught how to be successful - but to always get a good job- working for someone else!
There is an opporunity out there to make a change and change your family tree - So What I am seeing the last few years is people are starting home base business' and are making more money than they ever have.
It doesn't matter the age bracket - 18 -60 years old.
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Answer 7

People and companies have forgotten loyalty, happiness, and hard work.

It has become a money hungry society and not only are workers and companies effected so are the children of those employees.

People need to work hard during their normal work day so they can spend time with their children. Money needs to come after happiness and not before. Loyalty a hard work needs to be reborn out of this market economy.

Years ago you worked at a company and got promoted through the ranks with knowledge and hard work. Now people jump from job to job seeking higher pay, or companies hire from outside the company instead of promoting their own employees that have busted their hump...

Answer 8

Well it has been the last few decades that companies have gone over board with screwing over their employees. Kids today do not have the work ethic of their older counterparts. We have made everything easier for them so it is taken for granted and now not enough workers believe in things like unions that are there to help them. The unions are only as strong as their members though and people are not willing to stand by them.

Answer 9

Industry drives the workforce and not the the way around so you can say one difference is that we have changed from primarily an industrial society to a information based society. The workforce has in turn changed from doing more physical labor to one that processes information.

Answer 10

There is greater focus on what is there for them than what they can do to earn their salary. A degree is looked at as having actual value to a company rather than a way to get the opportunity to learn about the profession. Too much emphasis on pay rather then opportunity.

A lot less willingness to "get their hands dirty", to learn from other disciplines and specialists (particularly craftsmen). Give them a nice office with a window, a high speed computer with web access and, in the case of guys, some good looking women (since secretaries are almost obsolete). Less capability to listen and communicate well and too much reliance on the computer rather than their own brains.