This week we have focused a bit more on The future of work. Three critical components need to be understood when it comes to the future of work.

• Understanding the rapid changes that are happening at the Society level
• Multi-Generational Workforce and the sentiments in which it operates
• Job Role Commoditization – what can you expect from the next wave of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence – A term all HR leaders should understand in depth)

We have focused on the first two components and we will look into about Job Role Commoditization next week

Post the pandemic, the Japanese government produced a comprehensive Digital Transformation vision called Society 5.0.  In this vision, the plan outlines action around the merging of cyberspace and physical space.  As per the Japanese government literature, Society 5.0 should be one that, “through the high degree of merging between cyberspace and physical space, will be able to balance economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by providing goods and services that granularly address latent manifold needs regardless of locale, age, sex, or language.” The vision of Society 5.0 requires us to reframe two kinds of relationships: the relationship between technology and society and the technology-mediated relationship between individuals and society. So essentially, what the plan calls for is a transformation from an information age to meaningful integration of Physical and Cyberspace. 

 At Draup, we looked at this concept to map how Organizations (especially Recruitment and HR organizations) can transform.  Let us look at the following schematic around this concept.  In the information age, the systems collected the data, but the strategies derived from the data were not put into action frequently. ( not a good artist, but you will see a gap between physical and cyberspace in the left side of the diagram, which is merged on the right side) 

We know that many of the technical conferences are now virtual.  We recommended a different strategy for one of the large Fortune 1000 companies that sponsored a few events for recruiting technical talent. Compiled a global list of all key tech events that are virtual.  Through this digital cyberspace, they can cast a wider net.  (Conventionally, the company sponsored a few events but did not have the means to change quickly even after 18 months of online events!).  This integration between Cyber and Physical requires a rapid understanding of data.  There are many similar examples – targeting Recruiter Twitter feeds to broadcast the values of an enterprise – for example.  This method also applies in learning – how can we deliver byte-sized information to leaders in the organization to rally them towards digital transformation)

A lot has been written about the Multi-Generational Workforce, so the objective is not to bring all those aspects, but the pandemic proved that different Generations react differently.  Global Workforce in 2020 consists of three primary working generations: baby boomers, those born between 1944 and 1960, Generation X (GenXers) who were born between 1961 and 1980, and millennials, born between 1981 and 2001 (also known as generation Y or GenY) (Al-Asfour & Lettau, 2014). Even though this research has been around for a while, the importance of Adaptive Leadership that integrates all generations is still an evolving competency.  There are some convergences and divergences between what Millenials and GenX want from a workplace/organization.

As a Recruiter, it is essential to understand the following attributes to be effective in your pitch.  Though the overall goals regarding job satisfaction and work-life balance converge across generations (FYI -all are humans), some unique differences are critical to understand for effective hiring.  Courses around Adaptive Leadership are beneficial for Recruiters

We came across an exciting Dissertation titled The Influence of Impersonal Trust on employee engagement among virtual team members as moderated by generational cohort by Nichole Dreighton at Capella University.  The author summarizes the following aspects, which we subsequently verified with the original research cited. 

• Millennials want their real-life needs to be met and understood-millennials want to work for organizations that will support them in getting ahead. Organizations that offer incentives to bring value to their life overall are more attractive to millennials Fishman, 2016; Jerome et al., 2014).
• Millennials want a profession that has meaning, and purpose-millennials want to engage in careers that are charitable in nature. Millennials like giving back as it coincides with their culture of wanting to save the world (Fishman, 2016; Jerome et al., 2014; Stewart et al., 2017).
• Millennials like togetherness-being part of a group are important to millennials. Millennials are team-oriented and thrive in organizations that offer opportunities to work alongside other individuals instead of working alone. Volunteering as a team and team-driven projects excite and entice millennials (Fishman, 2016).
• Millennials like instant gratification. Millennials like feedback and praise. However, waiting long periods between accomplishing goals seems unfathomable to millennials (Fishman, 2016; Jerome et al., 2014).
• Millennials are technology literate. Millennials were born into the digital era and are incredibly comfortable working with and from digital platforms (Fishman, 2016; Jerome et al., 2014).