The debate about the future of work is deeply fascinating and damnably frustrating.
Fascinating because of the application of innovation and new technologies to an activity which takes up most of our lives.
Frustrating because much of our working experience doesn’t really change all that quickly.
This report from Herbert Smith Freehills is simply fascinating.
It warns of an unprecedented rise in workplace activism, amplified ever louder by social media. This will come as no surprise to those who have been beaten up in Glass Door review or been hijacked in a Slido survey.
This provides enormous opportunities for companies which can manage the change.
It adds risk to employers who respond in the usual cloth-eared fashion.
The report identifies six steps to success:
- Don’t forget casual workers. Those in the gig economy are already organising and demanding a voice in how they are treated, often using tech in pursuit of their goals
- Recognise the triggers and prepare. Some three years before the financial crisis, a software development house faced workforce demands that the company not work with banks and other financial institutions
- Pay has not gone away. During my time in the Middle East when workplace activism rose as part of the Arab Spring, pay and and related matters such as promotion were very much a focus of activism with online petitions and threats of strike action
- Supplement old skills with new. The HR function is looking increasingly irrelevant given crisis management, tech and sophisticated communication skills are urgently required
- Resist temptation to respond and engage immediately on social media. I have done this on two occasions and the matter exploded around me. Never again
- Activism can be good. Activism can be wonderful and recently helped a Medical Technology business reshape its operating model and workforce engagement
We live in very exciting times.
John Scott – abune.org