What does the future world of work and leisure hold for us? One thing is sure – change! We are likely to change jobs and occupations by necessity or by choice several times in our lives. Some of those future occupations don’t even exist yet. People will have to let go of the old ways of doing things without knowing what to expect, yet still, be somehow prepared for what lies ahead.
And we most certainly will be required to deal with the following challenges:
– transferring all that we have learned to the performance of new tasks
– learning how to remain relevant and active as our work environment changes
– upgrading our skills and getting more education and training
– being innovative and creative
– learning many different subjects in many different settings
– learning quickly and efficiently
– finding the leisure time we need for renewing ourselves and thus building up our positives
The urgency of the following employment alternatives opens up some creative work patterns if not now, hopefully sometime in the future, which will allow some of us an opportunity to balance work and leisure:
– compressed workweek (putting in more extended workdays so we can earn a day off every two or three weeks).
– employment sharing (sharing the work available to several employees to prevent layoffs during slack periods).
– extended leave of absence (obtaining time off for reasons such as education and personal development, drug or alcohol rehabilitation, or care of critically ill partners or relatives).
– flextime (building flexible working hours around certain core hours so that one is at work each day).
– job sharing (sharing the hours, salary, benefits and responsibilities of one full-time position between two or three individuals).
– part-time employment for “other” pursuits.
– short-term work (doing contract work for various projects).
– Tele-commuting (working at home via the computer and modem).
Depending on how we feel about the change in our lives, the changes predicted in the world of work may appear exciting or frightening. The success of our adaptation varies to a large extent.
– on our attitudes.
– on our ability to be flexible and versatile.
– more on knowing how to learn than on what we know.
– on our receptiveness to change.
We will have to acquire new attitudes and positive patterns of coping, new values and new skills. That means finding new ways of achieving a sense of belonging, personal identity and self-fulfillment.
Leading a balanced lifestyle is becoming increasingly important. And the secret of leading a more enjoyable, balanced life depends more on how we approach learning, working and playing than on what we do. If we work at always accentuating the positive, we’ll find that being positive works.
The choice is yours!
© Wordscapes® (David Turner). All Rights Reserved.
