Eight in ten in the U.S. are experiencing disruption.
Gallup
In Working it: Disruption Rules, we describe Future of Work (FOW) in terms of paradigm shifts or changing work 1. Rules; 2. Boundary conditions; 3. Tools; and 4. Expectations.
You think you know your work rules, because they were presented to you in a policy manual, workshop, or personal one-on-one. It was something like ‘to get along, play along’. These policies and instructions worked for you. You knew what was expected, learned how to do what was expected, and rewarded for going the extra step.
Until a few years ago, the boundary conditions (BC) for almost all businesses were the four walls in which work was conducted. It may have been the office, factory, restaurant, or some other workplace. In COVID time with the virtual office, the workplace may be corporate headquarters, home, no office, or an automobile anywhere in the world. Boundary conditions may also include time, principles, practices, culture and context of work.
Do you know your work rules? If not, you may be walking into crocodile jaws
The tools of the workplace a few years ago were pens and mechanical devices. Now, workplace tools are digital including smart phones, radio frequency identification (RFID), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), Internet Of Things (IOT), 3-D printers, voice recognition, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and big data.
Finally expectations: a VUCAN entering the workplace twenty or even ten years ago expected loyalty to a company was rewarded with lifetime work. No longer! Employers make us responsible for our employability to develop value-adding skills.
Work Lesson Earned: In the age of disruption, me-too, identity politics, and work tribes, do you really know your present work, career, and job rules; what is expected of you; what can be or can’t be done; what can be discussed and said to whom and when; and what are the known and unspoken enhancers, enforcers, and forbidden rules at work?
Ask yourself: What FOW rules, boundary conditions, tools, and expectations have changed and impacted you the most? Do you know your company’s or boss’s working @ home expectations? Are you current with the new tools of your profession?