For a long time, ITandofficedesign
companieshavebeenurging customers
toprepare for theageingworkforceby
adoptingflexibleworkingpractices and
installingadaptable furniture, sound
proofingand customisable lighting.
Theirwarnings are supportedbyanew
report producedby theUKCommission for
Employment andSkills (UKCES),whichargues
that four-generation (4G)workplaceswill
become increasingly commonover thenext 20
years as peopledelay retiringuntil theyare in
their 70sor 80s.
The Future ofWork
,which analyses trends and
disruptions shaping theUK labourmarket, states
that the next two decadeswill see a rise inmulti-
generational working and a strengthening of the
role of women in theworkplace.
On the downside, the report predicts a growing
divide between those at the top and those at the
bottomof the career ladder,withhighly-skilled,
highly-paid professionals pushing for a betterwork-
life balance and the rest experiencing greater job
and income insecurity.
The report predicts that as businesses seek
additional flexibility, theywill shrink their core
workforce and relymore andmore onnetworks
of project-basedworkers.Multimedia virtual work
presenceswill be come the norm andmany routine
taskswill be performed by technology.
In addition to these broad employment trends,
The Future ofWork
outlines four possible scenarios
for theUK economy:
n
Forcedflexibility
(business asusual):
Greater
business flexibility and innovation inmanyUK
sectorswill lead to amodest recovery of theUK
economy,while a sharp rise inflexibleworking
changes thewaymany perform their daily duties.
n
TheGreatDivide:
Strong high-tech industries –
particularly in the life andmaterial science sectors
– drive robust growth, but a two-tier society
emerges,with a growing divide between the haves
andhave-nots.
n
SkillsActivism:
Innovation in technology drives
the automationof professional work, prompting
an extensive government-led skills programme to
re-train thosewhose jobs are at risk.
n
InnovationAdaptation:
In a stagnant economy,
productivity is improved through the systematic
implementationof ICT solutions.
Toby Peyton-Jones, aUKCES commissioner
andDirector of HR for Siemens in theUK and
North-West Europe, said:“This is one of themost
comprehensive studies of its kind and gives us an
Businessesnot yet
ready for 4G future
warnsCPID
TheChartered Institute for
Personnel andDevelopment (CIPD)
isurgingbusinesses toprepare
for the ‘4G’ futureoutlined in the
UKCES report, as anew survey
of 900employers and3,000
employees reveals thatmany
organisations are ill prepared for
multi-generationalworking.
TheCIPD study,
Managing anAge-
diverseWorkforce
, found that 31%of
employers have no strategy in place
for an ageing population andnearly
half (46%) donot train linemanagers
inmanaging teams of different
generations.
One third (34%) of employers said
their organisation didnothing to ensure
it had access to enough skilled and
diverse people of all ages and22% said
therewas no provision to ensure that
employees of all ages develop and keep
their skills up-to-date.
Today, just 1%of organisations have
employees aged65 plus.However, this
is certain to change in the future, as
amajority of employees surveyed by
CIPD plan towork beyond the age of
65: 38% expect to retire between the
ages of 66 and70, and16% expect
to retire after the age of 71. Less than
one third (31%) are planning to retire
between the ages of 61-65.
agenda
01732759725
magazine
05
The riseof the4Gworkplace
Takeup theworkplace challenge
Businesses arebeingurged toenter theWorkplace
Challenge runby theCountySports Partnership
Network (CSPNetwork) in collaborationwith the
BritishHeart FoundationHealthatWorkprogramme.
The freeonlineactivity tracker enables employees
to log their dailyphysical activityandmonitor
distances travelled, calories burnedandCO2 saved. It
also includes competitiveelements, forwhichpoints
areawarded, and theopportunity for participating
businesses tobe crowned localWorkplaceChallenge
Championof theYear.
Sound absorbent furnishings likeOktav panels
fromKinnarps helpmake open planworking less
troublesome for olderworkerswith poor hearing
informedopinionof thewaywemight all live and
work in the future. For example, if four-generation
workplaces become commonplace, itwill be the
first time inhumanhistory that this has happened.
What are the implications of that?Will we see
inter-generational stress and culture clashes orwill
this prove to be a positive tension that is part of a
wider diversity trend thatwill drive innovation?”
The Future ofWork
was carriedout byZ_Punkt
The Foresight Company in conjunctionwith the
Centre for Research in Futures and Innovation at
theUniversity of SouthWales.
