Employment Realities
| How it used to be: | How it is today: |
|---|---|
| Workers had one career their whole life. They worked for one company long term. | Workers have many careers and jobs in their lifetime. |
| Employees could predict how and when their pay and work duties would increase. | Workers create their own career paths within one or many employers. They have more say in their own pay raises or change in duties. |
| Employees would do exactly the work an employer told them to do — and no more. | Job duties change more often or match projects. Employers want workers who think for themselves. |
| There were many manual labor jobs in the production industries. | More jobs are in the service or knowledge industries. Workers need to be creative. They need to provide good customer service. They also need technical skills. |
| Most people worked full time for one employer. | Employees might work full time or part time. They might be short-term or contract workers. They may work for more than one company at once. |
| Employees who worked hard and were loyal got good pay and job security in return. | Employees need to work hard and take charge of their own career goals. They get pay and training from many employers. |
| Advantages to the New World of Work |
|---|
| You Relate to Others as Equals: There is more of a “team” mindset in the work place. Supervisors’ roles have changed from "parent" to "coach.” You joined the team voluntarily and can leave any time. You can leave when you are ready. You also know that an employer can ask you to leave at any time. |
| You Find Greater Joy in Work: You can choose work that you find interesting. Since very few jobs offer real security, why not do what you love? |
| You Keep Growing: To keep growing, you need to expand your skills and add to your knowledge. You need to build relationships with coworkers and others in your field. You must be flexible and able to adapt to changes in your work. You must be able to transfer your skills to different types of work. |
| You Get to Define Yourself: Telling your story using your skills puts you in charge of your career. You can say, “I am good with my hands and I’ve put my skills to use in the past four years in painting houses.” You have more options than saying “I was a painter.” |
