There is no doubt that the current recession is affecting the nature of work and the workforce. More people are working overtime and more companies are downsizing. A new norm has emerged that employees should work as much as possible in order to maximize the number of days they can take off. There has also been a growing adoption of technology in the workplace; employees are now spending more time working on their smartphones and in their personal online business, and there has been a proliferation of telecommuters.
However, the future of work is being shaped by two powerful forces, both of which are redefining the nature of employment. Both of these forces are creating a new norm of employment that values both the employee’s off-balance sheet business and the employee’s personal productivity.
The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is reshaping the nature of employment, and the nature of work itself. AI enables employees to work with ease through technology, eliminating many of the drudgery and inefficiencies of traditional employment, and promoting collaboration, ease of use, and efficiency.
Furthermore, the acceptance of the nature of work as a marketplace of exchange of value is redefining the nature of the workplace and the nature of work itself. The exchange of value means that there is no longer anything “real” about the workplace. Rather, the workplace is the marketplace of exchange of value.
* The nature of employment is being changed by the adoption of telecommuting by workers. Telecommuting facilitates the exchange of value on a global level. It empowers members of a workplace by allowing them to work from anywhere in the world, 24/7. The global nature of this norm is also redefining the nature of the work day, the nature of the work year, and the nature of the work career.
While the nature of the norm of employment is changing, the nature of work itself is also changing, as new norms emerge that support the adoption of telecommuting by allowing telecommuters to work wherever they want, when they want.
* Telecommuting is a norm because it empowers workers, allowing them to work whenever they want, wherever they need.
It empowers employees to work from anywhere because it provides a level of security that they can sleep if they need to, or skip a day if required. It empowers members of a workplace because it means that someone will be there when they need to be.
* Telecommuting is a norm because it enables workers to exchange value with other members of their workplace, to swap services, to offer incentives to another worker to encourage them to complete a task, and to exchange ideas with other members of a workplace so they can be as effective as possible.
What about the nature of work? Technopreneurs think that if something can be provided by a worker anywhere in the world, then it can be provided by a member of the workforce anywhere in the world. Technopreneurs are also divided between two camps, those that think that the nature of the workplace has changed and that members of the workforce can now be defined as consumers and those that think the nature of the workplace is unchanged and that what is essential about the workplace will not change.
* Technopreneurs believe that the norm of employment is being changed by the adoption of telecommuting by workers. Those that accept telecommuting believe that the norm that the workplace is the marketplace of exchange of value has changed. The marketplace that is used to exchanging goods will exchange information and ideas.
* Those that do not accept telecommuting believe that the nature of workplace has not changed, the nature of workers needs not change. They believe that what is essential to the workplace will not change.
* Technopreneur believe that the nature of the workplace has changed. They believe that communication, relationships, collaborative decision making, and knowledge creation are key elements of the nature of work.
Technopreneurs do see a change in the norms of employment and how workers are employed, but they believe that this change should be accepted. They also believe that there is nothing essential about who is doing the work.
The debate continues. For the time being I will continue to call myself a Technopreneur. I have chosen to accept this label for myself and not chosen a new one. I know that there are other groups that do call themselves Technopreneurs but I choose to choose the label Technopreneur for myself. I feel that it is an honest description of me, my experience with the technology that I use, and the equipment I use. I feel that it accurately portrays who I am and where I am going.