Changing Nature of Work in the 21st Century

The report has thrown light on understanding and evaluating the different changes in the nature of the workforce in the 21st century. It has been analyzed and noticed that due to the changes in the workplace, there has been different challenges faced by employees and management which affected productivity of the workplace. However, with the help of proper recommendations, the situation can be enhanced which will be beneficial for the growth of the companies.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Executive Summary
The report has thrown light on understanding and evaluating the different changes in the
nature of the workforce in the 21st century. It has been analyzed and noticed that due to the
changes in the workplace, there has been different challenges faced by employees and
management which affected productivity of the workplace. However, with the help of proper
recommendations, the situation can be enhanced which will be beneficial for the growth of
the companies.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion on Changing Nature of Work..................................................................................3
a. Analysis of Other Changes for the Workplace in Next Five to Ten Years........................4
3. Critique on the implications of the changed workplace for Employees and Managers.........4
a. Identification of Strains, Dilemmas and Contradictions Faced by Management Education
................................................................................................................................................5
4. Analysis of Evaluative Conclusions and Recommendations.................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
In the present scenario, there are different kinds of technological advancement related
changes taking place in the companies which is affecting the nature of the work being
performed by the employees. The life of the current students is different with pattern of the
life which has been developed in existing education related system (Lyons, Ng and
Schweitzer 2014). It showcases the lack of the different concerns towards the skill as well as
knowledge which are required to understand the existing kind of perspective. In the past
scenario, the situation was different as the workplace was predominantly stable with different
staffs staying in company for a long span of time.
The main aim and purpose of the report is to understand the changing nature of the
work in the current scenario with analysis of the issues and importance of issues are required
to be identified appropriately. Moreover, there should be critique regarding the different
implications of the changed workplace for the different managers and employees. Lastly,
there should be inclusion of the evaluative conclusion and proper recommendations which
can be incorporated by manager to survive in the uncertain future.
Discussion on Changing Nature of Work
As commented by Leu et al. (2017), the technological change affects the nature of
work more than productivity, inequality of income and employment. As stated by Heaphy et
al. (2018), there are different issues involved in the changing workplace culture which
includes
low wage occupations are on rise. It has been forecasted that the low wage workers
earn less and they have less predictable schedules of the work. There is no access to the
different benefits which affects the job scenario negatively.

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Additionally, there is
more fissured workplace which means the few safeguards for
the different workers. The outsourcing has become one of the most common practice for
different companies in USA and due to which there are few workers who are classified as the
independent contractors and who do not enjoy similar kind of benefits such as health and
safety protections afforded to the full-time employees (Landy and Conte 2016).
a. Analysis of Other Changes for the Workplace in Next Five to Ten Years
As commented by Heaphy et al. (2018), there will be
inclusion of constant
upskilling which will be outweighing experience and tenure as the digital economy will be
requiring new ideas and new models of business which will expand in a continual manner.
Employees at center of the respective change needs to apply proper creativity as well as
critical thinking that can be challenging in nature.
Additionally, as commented by Burnett and Merchant (2015), the
extreme choices of
work will blur the boundaries and businesses as digital business are built on vast
ecosystems and networks and it will be increasing distribution network across different
communities which will be challenging for the different developing countries.
As stated by Bound, Chia and Karmel (2016), there will be work-
life challenges will
be revealing dark side as the different employees independently in remote locations will be
facing dilemma as they will be not be able to strive the simple work-life balance which
affects the growth of the company negatively.
3. Critique on the implications of the changed workplace for Employees and Managers
According to Barley, Bechky and Milliken (2017), there are different implications of
the changed workplace for the different managers and employees which includes the fact that
there is stress related to change as there can be chronic work stress leads to attrition among

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the employees. Furthermore, as stated by Alcover et al. (2017), there can be different issues
related to cynicism among the different employees which affects their motivation in
performing the different tasks, it has been seen that the different leaders often underestimate
the impact changes have on the different employees. From the various surveys, it has been
reported that more than 22% of employees are having low level of engagement at the
workplace and due to which it affects entire productivity of the company.
a. Identification of Strains, Dilemmas and Contradictions Faced by Management
Education
From the management education, there are different dilemmas or strains which can be
faced that includes the fact that there is inequality in the system which affects motivation
among employees. As commented by Alcover et al. (2017), the current management
education does not teach the students relating to the different strategies of facing the current
business environment. It does not focus on the challenges which arises out of rapid
technological aspects along with challenges involved in running a proper enterprise.
Moreover, as stated by Heaphy et al. (2018), there is lack of necessary guidance provided to
the students due to which it affects their growth and it creates huge pressure while they face
the real-world scenario.
4. Analysis of Evaluative Conclusions and Recommendations
From the analysis of the different challenges related to the workplace changes, it can
be seen that in the current era of changing workplace, it is essential to keep concurrent social
changes in mind. There should be inclusion of
transparency and diversity in the
workplace that will be enhancing the effectiveness of the workplace. Moreover, as stated by
Heaphy et al. (2018), the different innovative firms such as Google, Apple and Facebook are

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the different e-commerce companies which are playing influential role in driving change in
the work nature in 21st century.
For instance- Google, one of the largest multinational companies try to create
informal organizational structure which creates creative development of the processes of the
companies. From the respective instance, it can be identified that the different companies
need to make
arrangement for providing additional training such as core or orientation
training for increasing employability of employees suitably.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be inferred that the changes in workplace are creating different
opportunities as well as difficulties for the different employees and the management of the
company. Due to changed workplace, the earnings and wages have remained flat particularly
for the less educated and low wage workers. On the other hand, there are different advantages
which includes redefined compensation services along with products which facilitate the
dynamic type of collaboration within fluid structures of the teams. From the above, it can be
concluded that due to the workplace changes, it enhances the experience of different
employees which proved to be most effective approach for the employees and management to
perform better.

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References
Alcover, C.M., Rico, R., Turnley, W.H. and Bolino, M.C., 2017. Understanding the changing
nature of psychological contracts in 21st century organizations: A multiple-foci exchange
relationships approach and proposed framework. Organizational Psychology Review, 7(1),
pp.4-35.
Barley, S.R., Bechky, B.A. and Milliken, F.J., 2017. The changing nature of work: Careers,
identities, and work lives in the 21st century.
Bound, H., Chia, A. and Karmel, A., 2016. Assessment for the changing nature of work.
Burnett, C. and Merchant, G., 2015. The challenge of 21st century literacies.‐ Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59(3), pp.271-274.
Heaphy, E.D., Byron, K., Ballinger, G.A., Gittell, J.H., Leana, C. and Sluss, D.M., 2018.
Introduction to Special Topic Forum: The Changing Nature of Work Relationships. Academy
of Management Review, 43(4), pp.558-569.
Landy, F.J. and Conte, J.M., 2016. Work in the 21st century, Binder ready version: An
introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
Leu, D.J., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J., Castek, J. and Henry, L.A., 2017. New literacies: A dual-
level theory of the changing nature of literacy, instruction, and assessment. Journal of
Education, 197(2), pp.1-18.
Lyons, S.T., Ng, E.S. and Schweitzer, L., 2014. Changing demographics and the shifting
nature of careers: Implications for research and human resource development. Human
Resource Development Review, 13(2), pp.181-206.