Our keynote speaker Margaret Heffernan shares a short, insightful pre-event blog with us ahead of the main event on 25 May 2021.
Nature of work is changing
We all know that the nature of work is changing. But it would be a mistake to assume that the social contract between employer and employee remains the same. What does ‘a job’ mean today? When it can be anything from a zero-hours contract, with pervasive surveillance, trust doesn’t exist and neither does a sense of common purpose. At the opposite end of the spectrum, where the relationship between a firm and an employee may last decades, mutual reliance and trust have time and reason to develop, along with evolving understanding around rights and responsibility. In between these extremes (neither of which is simple) confusion reigns. What is work for? Who serves whom? And what about society, which a company might serve and on which it depends?
What work means
At this event, Margaret Heffernan will explore what work means, and could mean, today. How far are the interests of employer and employee aligned? Do they need to be? Engagement surveys at many firms show low to middling levels, but what do these really mean. 61% of workers say that they would change jobs in exchange for more flexibility; is that about travel times and family pressures, or is it really about autonomy? How do you know?
Shifting expectations of different generations
Much of the discussion around the future of work has focused on technology, productivity and efficiency. But these are tactical issues. Underneath them lie the shifting expectations of different generations whose relationship to work is unstable. What are the key issues and questions that need to be addressed by firms, if they want the talent and commitment that high quality productivity demands?