Workers demand to be seen more as 'humans' than human 'resources'.
In the Op-Ed section of the New York Times a while back, Farhad Manjoo writes a compelling piece about the concept of antiwork - a trend that is rapidly gaining traction across the world. This is partly because the pandemic upended our daily lives and has highlighted the need for significant social change.
Working from home has given us the opportunity to reflect on how we had been spending our time, pre-pandemic, commuting day in, day out, hustling for that next promotion and possibly also suffering some level of harassment by bullying bosses along the way.
We finally had time to think about this and the reflection turned up some undeniable truths, such as that:
The 'rat race' isn't confined to rats. The 'hamster on a wheel' metaphor doesn't only concern hamsters. And negative stress is undermining our health and wellbeing.
Clearly time for a change.
And so, the concept of antiwork was conceived and is rapidly taking hold.
The term 'antiwork' though, is a bit of a misnomer. The trend isn't really about turning our backs on the concept of work altogether. It's about finding a way to have work that works for us rather than against us.
Having a job that is fulfilling and that provides us with a sense of satisfaction, while leaving ample time for other activities, such as nurturing ourselves and our personal relationships with others.
Basically, it's about being truly human.
It's almost unbelievable that it took a pandemic to shake things up. Couldn't we have implemented a workstyle evolution in line with technological developments? Wasn't it obvious, years ago, that automation would offer us enormous opportunities for freedom from the worst elements of work - those dull, boring - and sometimes even dangerous - tasks that some jobs involved?
In fairness to the experts, a re-evaluation of work has been ongoing for several years. For example, in their highly interesting book: 'What to do when machines do everything', co-authors Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig and Ben Pring offer compelling insights. The authors are thought leaders at Cognizant, one of the world's leading technology companies, whose business includes the Center for The Future of Work. In the book, they propose fascinating scenarios about the changing nature of work itself. They also express optimism about the potential that AI brings to the work environment, to economic development and, by inference, to the entire spectrum of human existence.
In the main, employees have been waiting for a workplace 'evolution' to happen as a natural progression in the 21st century. A well-thought through innovative process, instigated by the experts and implemented by employers.
The evolution hasn't happened fast enough, though. So, thanks to events of the last eighteen months, a process of mass reflection has been enabled and a work revolution - rather than evolution - is now on the cards.
Having had the time to reflect and catching the wind of the work-life balance favoring the 'antiwork' movement, workers are no longer prepared to accept whatever they deem 'unacceptable' about how they earn a living and live their lives.
It's time to be considered more as 'humans' than human 'resources'.
That's a reasonable demand. After all, business is all about people and if employers cannot attract, engage, and retain the best talent, they will lose them to the competition. So, it makes sense to get involved with the workplace revolution and make it work. For all.
However, there's a shadow side to the antiwork movement. And that is that if workers are overly seduced by the euphoria of quitting their jobs and possibly taking extended time off to 'find themselves' without having a plan for what to do afterwards, the anxiety they felt in the workplace of the past will very likely be replaced by a new anxiety in the near future about being unemployed and unable to fend for themselves. Therefore, 'antiwork' needs to be redefined by each individual for themselves. I suggest that this begins with a structured approach, to include:
· Proper reflection – Ask yourself: What kind of life do I want to live?
· Set an objective that fits your life purpose
· Invite feedback from trusted family and friends regarding your strengths and weakness, talents, and aptitudes (you will need to bring your personal circle into the picture because you will need their support to help you implement your plan later – possibly providing you with resources, advice, understanding etc.)
· Evaluate the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in five years
· List the resources you will need to bridge that gap and get you on track, such as financial resources for retraining, further training, a total career change etc.
· Make a plan but keep it flexible. Allow for stray birds (unexpected opportunities) to fly into your flight path along the way.
· Stay optimistic. There's a great adventure up ahead!
Tip: My online course is the perfect guide for your journey to a more fulfilled life. It contains lots of insights, tips, and advice from my global experience as a leadership coach and personal development mentor. The course contains a very practical toolkit for a structured approach to setting yourself up to succeed in your life. You can access the course via the link below:
https://www.isle-of-us.com/self-awarenesstoolbox
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