Whenever one would pass through Edsa during the morning rush hour on a weekday, one wouldn’t miss the lengthy lines of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) commuters trying to get to work. Sometimes in the rain or sometimes under the harsh sun, they are consistently making the sacrifice of putting up with an inefficient public transport system just to try and make a living.
The reality now is that jobs involve long, tiring commutes and hard physical labor. In the Philippines, these efforts are “rewarded” with low wages and limited growth opportunity. For many workers, the daily grind goes hand in hand with a lack of personal fulfillment.
The changes in the work environment brought about by the dawning of the digital age will certainly have a huge impact on the way people work, and where. Currently, traditional managers and organizations are not receptive to the changes that the new age is bringing. As it is apparent in the long MRT queues, offices still require people to be at their desk for eight to nine hours a day, five to six days per week. We are looking at big changes happening in this aspect, as well, and traditional management setups will do well to embrace change and modernize their systems to be able to catch up with the changing times.
Two years from now, Generation C (Connected) will “come of age.” They are the generation that has been living their whole lives in the digital atmosphere. This new technological era will usher in new ways of working and will slowly set aside the old ways that we have been accustomed to.
Mobility will be an important keyword in the near future. As technology and connectivity improve, workers and the work itself will become increasingly mobile. Experts predict that digitization will allow Generation C to be mobile “on their own terms.”
The digital age will allow the use of digital platforms to erase geographical boundaries, creating a tighter and stronger network of modern cities.
Drawing from the lessons of the Industrial Revolution of the 1900s, we know that big changes will happen in the economy, labor, industry, technological world and in many other areas of modern living. From what happened to workers and organizations during that time, today we could tell that it is crucial to define the new skill sets that will be in demand in the coming years. The individuals and the organizations they work for need to work double time to develop these skills to be able to match the new demands of the world of work.
Change brings with it the opportunity to grow, to learn new skills, and to further develop the community and the world in general. Today, we are faced with this challenge, and rather than intimidate us, hopefully it would inspire us to adopt and find new avenues for growth.