Critical Analysis Essay: Reflection on Changing Nature of Work

This essay provides a critical analysis of the changing nature of work, examining the shift from traditional employment models to more flexible arrangements. It explores the implications of these changes on workplace skills and management education, highlighting the impact of technological advancements and the rise of diverse workforce compositions. The essay discusses the need for managers to adapt to new organizational structures and employee expectations, including the adoption of new technologies and the development of soft skills. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the changing dynamics of the workplace and the need for managers to develop new skill sets, including the ability to understand the changing needs of the employees. The essay also references the impact of digital disruption and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of management education in preparing individuals for the uncertain future. The author uses various research articles to support their analysis and discusses the implications of these changes on both workers and managers.

Running head: REFLECTION ON CHANGING NATURE OF WORK
Reflection on Changing Nature of Work
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1REFLECTION ON CHANGING NATURE OF WORK
In the present age, machines have been responsible for replacing the workers for
performing various kinds of tasks. The technology has been instrumental in creating more jobs
that has worked for the benefit of the people. The technological progress has been successful in
changing the living standards of the people. This essay throws light on the issues that have arisen
owing to the changing nature of the work in the modern age. This essay talks about the
consequences of the changing workplace and its effect on the workers along with the managers.
This essay also elaborates on the area of improving the workplace skills that can help a person in
surviving in the uncertain future. The essay talks about the significance of management
education in the present era.
Australian Institute’s Center for Future Work has found that there has been a dramatic
rise in the “insecure” work in the last years and the employees are missing out on various kinds
of benefits like the paid holidays along with the sick leave (Abc.net.au 2019). It has been
brought out that the paid employment that is on the full-time basis has dropped to that of 49.97
that has raised concerns in the present age. It has been found on the other hand that the part-time
work has risen to that of 31.7 per cent of the total employment and rest of workforce is
comprised of the casual and the underemployed workers. Insecure work has emerged to become
the new norm in the present age. The digital disruption is an important phenomenon that would
change the workplace within the next 10 years. There are various kinds of technologies like the
mobile internet along with the cloud technology that would attain the mainstream adoption in the
near future (Barley, Bechky and Milliken 2017). There would be automation of the knowledge
that would create a strong impact within the timeframe of the next five years. Fourth Industrial
Revolution would bring about various kinds of technological breakthroughs like the Artificial
intelligence and the Block chain. An important workplace trend of the 21st century is collapse of

2REFLECTION ON CHANGING NATURE OF WORK
the corporate ladder in which the loyal employees used to climb the higher echelons of the
management with the help of the promotions. Composition of workforce would become diverse
in the future. The new diversity alongside with the technological advances would create the
demand for a collaborative working environment (Harris 2015).
In my opinion, the changing workplace would have implications on the workers along
with the managers. The employees in the future would look for more amount of freedom that can
raise challenges for the managers. The present age prefers the flat organizational structure and
the companies in the future would reconsider role of the managers. I think that the millennials
want to give away idea of the traditional employee-manager hierarchy and they would prefer to
work with the companies that have less layers of the management (Kuron et al. 2015). The
millennials want the managers who can easily be approached and would take their opinions
while making the decisions in a company. The young people in the present age favour the open
work spaces in which the CEO’s, employees and the managers work together. This can create
strains in the path of management in a company.
The traditional approaches of the management focused on the individuals and the
organizations having the clear-cut needs and the progress taking place owing to the monitoring
of the performance of the employees. There are new management theories that deny capability of
organizations of developing. I think that the new models downplay role of the individual actors
along with their interpretation. The institutional approaches focus on the fact that the
organizational process is more political instead of being functional (Tulgan 2017). The
organizations would not only have to focus on tasks of core business but they would be driven by
the expectations arising from organizational environment. On the basis of the new management
theories, the organizations would be developed with the help of politically-generated decisions

3REFLECTION ON CHANGING NATURE OF WORK
instead of the decisions that are taken on the rational grounds. This can give rise to dilemmas in
the future in the path of management education as it would raise confusion for the students of the
management studies.
There are certain things that the managers should know that can help them in surviving
the uncertain future. In my view, the integrated business models of the future would pave the
path for the reshaping of the skill sets. The managers in the present time spend a large amount of
time on the administrative tasks but the artificial intelligence robots would carry out these tasks
and the managers would have to spend time on the challenging business endeavors in the future
(Tarafdar 2016). The managers would have to improve the skill set so that they can survive the
competitive environment. I think that the managers should educate themselves on the new kinds
of the operating systems that can empower them in the future. The managers have to embrace the
new technologies and they have to become skilled in the workplace dynamics that can help them
in thriving in the future (Bartz 2017). The managers would have to improve themselves in the
area of the soft skills that can help them in developing themselves. The managers would need the
soft skills that can help them in understanding the employees along with their learning process.
In my opinion, the automated tools can help the managers in building the long-term success that
can help them in evolving as a successful professional (Hillmann et al. 2018).
There has been rise in “insecure” work that makes the employees lose out on different
kinds of benefits. The number of people having the paid employment have decreased that has
raised concerns for the young people of the modern age. The employees would want more
freedom in the future which can give rise to challenges for the managers of a company. Flat
organizational structure is preferred by people in the present age and the organizations in the
long term would involve themselves in reconsidering role that is played by the managers. The

4REFLECTION ON CHANGING NATURE OF WORK
managers should learn regarding the new kinds of the operating system which can provide them
with empowerment. The managers would have to learn about new technologies that can help
them serve a useful purpose in the organization in the coming years.

5REFLECTION ON CHANGING NATURE OF WORK
References
Abc.net.au (2019). Looking for a full-time job? Statistically it's never been harder. [online] ABC
News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-07/full-time-job-rate-hits-new-low-
as-casual-work-takes-over-report/9840064 [Accessed 17 Aug. 2019].
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.
Bartz, D.E., 2017. Communication, feedback, and coaching skills for managers to use with staff
members during the performance appraisal process. International Journal of Business and Social
Science, 8(6), pp.1-5.
Harris, R., 2015. The changing nature of the workplace and the future of office space. Journal of
Property Investment & Finance, 33(5), pp.424-435.
Hillmann, J., Duchek, S., Meyr, J. and Guenther, E., 2018. Educating Future Managers for
Developing Resilient Organizations: The Role of Scenario Planning. Journal of Management
Education, 42(4), pp.461-495.
Kuron, L.K., Lyons, S.T., Schweitzer, L. and Ng, E.S., 2015. Millennials’ work values:
Differences across the school to work transition. Personnel Review, 44(6), pp.991-1009.
Tarafdar, M., 2016. The three new skills managers need. MIT Sloan Management Review, 58(1),
p.24.
Tulgan, B., 2017. The Changing Nature of Employment: What Will Be the Successful
Organization of the Future?. Employment Relations Today, 44(2), pp.5-11.