The Future of Work, the Great Reshuffle, and What it Means for You
The world of work is changing at a faster rate than ever before, and so too is what workers want out of their careers.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us had to adapt to drastic changes in the way we worked. Now, as we collectively try to face what’s next, the broader workforce and particularly a lot of the millennial generation, are pushing back against the traditional way of doing things.
Mind you these changes had been coming. However, the pandemic has acted as a catalyst and accelerant for this shift. Now companies are struggling to deal with the Great Resignation, or as some are calling it, the Great Reshuffle.
Causes of the Great Resignation
And what is the driver behind this trend? A change in mindset based on a deeper reflection of what workers really want and need out of their professional and personal lives. Employees are leaving their jobs in record numbers. In fact, in April of this year, there were 4 million who exited their roles in light of the pandemic.
While I believe the mindset change was happening before Covid 19, it was a slow trickle which has now become a raging river. This catastrophic event has forced people to consider if they are truly happy and fulfilled in their careers. There is this desire to align their profession with higher order goals in an environment that will fit them going forward.
A mindset shift in the workforce is nothing new. In fact, I have been studying work trends for the past decade and have seen, and experienced, the evolution in thinking AND doing first hand.
Ten years ago I was fortunate enough to work with an amazing consultant who was the former CMO of a major software company. Although he was well on the way to reach what many in the business world would say is the pinnacle of career achievement - a CEO position - he realized that wasn’t what he wanted. So, he decided to take a year off to spend time with his kids and really think about where he was in his career and where he wanted to go. After that year passed he had come to a realization. He did not want to retake his place on the corporate ladder. He wanted something more.
When I met him he had established his own research and consulting firm, which studied the future of small business and the gig economy. He shared fascinating insights, trends and predictions in those area as part of the work he did for the company I was at. Looking back, he was the catalyst in getting me to research and understand how work was going to change as a result of the rapidly evolving technology landscape. I was hooked. And before long his career journey didn’t seem as unique as it once had. I too took a leap of faith and left the path of climbing the corporate ladder to found my consultancy Flywheel Associates, and later the Strategic Momentum Podcast.
The podcast was fundamentally predicated off of understanding how people were breaking through the business and personal inertia they faced to create the momentum they needed in order to help their organization (or others) succeed. I wanted to interview people across all different disciplines. What was fascinating is that once I started interviewing these people, patterns were emerging.
These progressive leaders all came from different walks of life. While they ended up in different industries, there were commonalities between them. I could see that they all thought differently about how to work and what they wanted out of doing that work.
Analyzing all of these professionals meant I could connect the dots in what made them successful and fulfilled. It also meant I could see the gaps where many others were struggling to find the right fit because of this shift in work-life perspectives.
What does the modern worker want post-pandemic?
It is not just success that the modern worker strives for, they want to bring their whole selves to work as the professional and the personal start to blend. The solution, as I outline in my book, is to create a career mashup by Building the Business of You.
The world of work will continue to evolve and at times it can seem overwhelming, but with a fluid plan you can start to take control of your own career destiny. Next week I will share an article about fluidity in your career and the career mashup.
For now, if you are struggling in your career here is a piece of advice to think about: Examine how you define success. Has it shifted because of the pandemic? Was it changing even before then? Once you have established what you truly want from your life and your career, then you can start to plan for the future.