By Martín Padulla for staffingamericalatina

A few days ago, during the very interesting Executive Forum organised by Staffing Industry Analysts, I was lucky enough to share a few minutes with Jacob Morgan, a thinker, speaker and futurist who studies the world of work. Morgan wrote a great book called The Future of Work. Attract New Talent, Build Better Leaders and Create a Competitive Organization

I start writing this lines in an airport, which may be a symbol of the future of work. A future that according to Morgan shows five important trends:

1)      New attitudes: people have become more “public”. They create communities, share information and everyone has access to everyone. Organizations must get used to that and generate changes so that it becomes a strength rather than a weakness.

2)      Technologies: the cloud, Big Data, the Internet of things are changing and they shall change the way we interact within companies, with our clients and suppliers.

3)      Millennials or Generation Y: they are many, they are different and they are talented. Companies will progressively have a larger proportion of this generation working for them. The challenge will be to shift from the idea that “people need to work in the company” to the idea that “people want to work in the company” and the greatest challenge shall be to attract talented people into working in the company… and even in the country or the region!

4)      Mobility: wherever you are is no longer important. Connectivity is becoming more important when it comes to accessing systems and people who develop work.

5)      Globalization: frontiers are becoming weaker. “The “global village” announced in the 90’s seems to have materialized and this trend will keep on evolving.

Morgan questions concepts such as timetables, workplaces and even hierarchies. The employees of the future will create their own paths. The main way of working shall be the combination onsite and remote work, with the addition of flex time. There will be more freelancers and part time workers and they will be better and more productive.

In certain Latin American countries there is the idea that such future does not include us or that it will be different for us than for the rest of the world (even different to other nations from our own region).  These are the same countries where one gets tired of listening to statements such as “it is different here”, “this cannot be done in our country for cultural reasons”, while they celebrate Free Trade Agreements with the main economies of the world.

Companies really need talent in order to be successful, while talented people do not really need companies to reach their goals. The great mobility trend also shows us that countries have a greater need of talent in order to develop than the need talented people have of their countries.  Using a nationalistic feeling to retain talent does not seem to be the best strategy. Creating the conditions for the future of work seems a better idea.

Latin America is a young continent, with an incredible generation of creative and innovative people.

The concept of future has also changed, as it is getting closer. By 2020 50% of the active population will belong to Gen Y and by 2025 75% of the population shall be from this generation. It is not a typing mistake, we are actually talking about the next 5 to 10 years. Expecting to manage these changes with regulatory frameworks designed by the mid 20st century seems rather complicated.

The reflection we are left with is linked to our near future: are we preparing for the future? Are we aware of the impact of such changes? Are we working to create a more inclusive, formal, productive and competitive region?

About Martin Padulla

Managing Director of staffingamericalatina. Martin Padulla is Sociologist (USAL), MBA (UCA) and labour markets expert. He published “Flexible Work in South America” and “Regulatory framework for private employment agencies in Latin America” two books about the new realities of work in Latin America.

mpadulla@staffingamericalatina.com

About staffingamericalatina

It is the unique independent digital media specialized in Latin American´s labour markets.

Produce and spread contents, researches and developments about issues such us Employability, Youth Employment, Training for Employment, Decent Work, Private Employment Agencies, Active policies for employment, Teleworking, Public and private actions for the creation of decent work, Green Jobs and Corporate Social Responsibility.

It is the meeting point for companies, providers, candidates, service´s companies, academics and independent professionals of Latin America.

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