The Industrial Age workplace is over
The Industrial Age workplace is over and has been replaced by the Protean workplace. There are no jobs or careers for life and no job security. Businesses and organizations can no longer rest on their laurels, if they don’t improve and keep up with constant change; they’ll be overtaken by competitors that will.
The Protean workplace is the new everyday workplace; and it’s here to stay. It is one where individuals, businesses, managers, and employees must take personal responsibility, anticipate the future (and future trends), and act in consequence to adapt to the future they foresee.
Protean employees: 4 tips to thrive in the new Protean workplace
Protean employees can no longer depend on companies or the government for their livelihood; they must depend on themselves. Below are 4 strategic tips for Protean employees to take advantage of that will lead to greater job security and a better future.
1) Become an intrapreneur (entrepreneurial employee) and approach your job as if it’s your own enterprise. Arrive earlier, work harder, smarter, and stay a bit longer. Always go the extra mile and give more than what’s expected or required.
2) Bring more value to your job everyday. Before you turn on the television, turn on your mind. Invest 30-60 minutes everyday reading a book or an article that will benefit your employer tomorrow. Get online and seek out strategies, processes, ideas, and tools that will help your employer grow, perform more efficiently, and thrive. If you don’t bring more value to your job everyday, you could become worthless to your employer over time; and place your job and your future in jeopardy.
3) Be responsible for your own self development and your own professional training. Never begrudge the investment you make in your own personal and professional development. Don’t depend on the company to provide training; depend on yourself. Take courses, attend seminars and workshops, and invest in skill and qualification enhancement. It will benefit your employer and it will benefit your future as well.
4) Adjust your attitude and arrive at work everyday with positive energy and an abundance of enthusiasm. Employers state that ‘poor attitudes’ represent the most significant skill gap and performance deterrent over any other specific skill. Thomas Jefferson said:
“Nothing can stop a person with the right mental attitude from achieving his and her goal; but nothing on earth can help the person with the wrong mental attitude.”
Today, the only job security that employees can depend on is the job security they provide for themselves. All employees in all sectors of the workplace (private, non profit, federal, etc.) must accept that many variables have created an uncertain, complex, and volatile workplace. Technology and outsourcing are replacing our jobs.
American companies are experiencing global competition from formidable rivals; and must do whatever is necessary to compete and survive. America is no longer the superpower of manufacturing and is no longer the only economic superpower. China, South Korea, India, Japan, the European Economic Community, and now – developing nations have become real economic powers to be reckoned with.