CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, November 01, 2016

5 Ways Work Will Change In 2017

Fast Company | Business + Innovation: Though 2016 may have felt like a tumultuous year, a variety of factors are poised to ripple through 2017, further disrupting business as usual.

That's according to Brian Kropp, the human resources practice leader for CEB. The best practice insight and technology company that works with 20,000 senior leaders at 10,000 organizations worldwide gathered and analyzed internal and external data to look at broader trends that will influence the way we work next year. Kropp says major changes in public policy, technology, and employee demands will shape the challenges faced by business leaders and employees in the year to come.

6 comments:

Brennan Felbinger said...

The main problem with some of these changes is that it's unclear whether or not they will have a negative or positive impact on companies. It will probably vary on a company by company basis, but I think in particular the SEC disclosure rule requiring public companies to disclosure pay ratios will positively impact some corporations and have really negative impacts on others. I can see a large amount of employees either striking or calling for major changes in pay grades and ratios causing massive changes in general retention rates at companies where employees begin to feel as though they aren't paid fairly in comparison to their CEO, however, this could be a really positive thing from a labor rights perspective in terms of employees being paid more fairly. I could also see morale and pride increasing in companies where employees already feel as though they are paid fairly and have their ideas confirmed by the disclosure.

Marisa Rinchiuso said...

This article seems to entail that we have a pretty grim future ahead of us this coming year. All of his reasons were completely valid and justified but leave room for worry. It feels like we are on such unsteady ground as is right now, but I'm worried that it will not go away, or worsen this next year. With a new president, there is always a period of time which will be rocky, but that combined with our current turmoil may escalate quickly. One thing I thought was great coming this year was the CEO disclosure of pay. I'm sure it will reveals so horrifying results, but it could lead to more equity down the line. Right now there is such a divide between the lower/middle class and those of upper class. Some private businesses run less than ethical companies that will probably be not too happy when the results are shown. Another frightening idea thrown out is the loss of jobs due to increased technology. It is worrying because that is where we are headed. I wonder when legislation will come into play on this issue. Lawmakers will never catch up to new technology but it is important to protect jobs.

Unknown said...

I don't know; I think this article is actually really encouraging if it does in fact happen. The assertion that the failure of government has put the onus on private companies to impact social change is important because it highlights the fact that every single person can impact social change. We can take the changes that the government talks about making and make them de-facto law. The article also indicates that businesses are no longer “the big corporate machine” that everyone makes corporate America out to be. If those large, progressive corporations start to make changes to protect people in a way that the government cannot seem to do, it will change not only the economic landscape of America, but also the perception of big corporations. With these changes will also come losses, including in the job market, but I think it is a good sign for the country that four of the five main points of the article are forward-driven in terms of social change and economic status.

Cosette Craig said...

It's fascinating that private companies have so much power and are moving towards a world in which they are gaining even more. There is a lot of work done in the private sector to influence minimum wage, maternity leave, diversification etc. that i've read about for the past few years or so but I like that this article surfaces the common trend. I also didn't think about the effect of marijuana legalization affecting companies. In our industry for most jobs it is EXTREMELY important to work when you are alert, focused and not under the influence so maybe these policies will encourage companies to be very strict with the way they monitor and test their employees and discourage distracted behavior. This applies to any industry but specifically for places like this where there are tools being used that could hurt others and not just the person making poor decisions. There is hope in the fact that these modern, positive role models (the private companies this article refers to) could be influencing our day to day lives and careers.

Alex Fasciolo said...

This article is really important to the global economy and what it means for how we want to position ourselves to ensure our role in society is futureproofed, but while it does have very valuable information I struggle to see exactly what it means in terms of theatrical work. The rise of automation technology probably hits home in a big way, it soon might altogether eliminate the need for a rail operator, or even impact the amount of deck crew members are needed for a show. But for the most part, the advancement of technology has helped make the world of theatre and live performance more vibrant and staffed than ever. There are whole new department that have emerged in the past couple of decades, making designs more elaborate and more conceptually creative than they ever could be without the technologies that they rely upon. And with every new technology, there has to be someone who is trained in applying it, as well as setting it up and maintaining it. All this, coupled with my firm belief that live performance will always have a relevant place in our society (It’s lasted this long and survived the rise of film as the dominant visual art form/form of entertainment) means that, though we should understand how things are changing, for once major changes are somehow being merciful to the theatrical community.

Unknown said...

I didn’t realize the CEO compensation law was even happening let alone so soon but I think it is awesome. The article also makes a great point that the most influential part of that bill might be the release of median salaries for companies to its employees. The effect of that is yet to be seen but the effects of automation, another topic the article hits are already being felt. I imagine it wouldn’t be a stretch to see the first fully autonomous commercial vehicles on the road in 2017 or 2018 and that is going to be a real shocker to an industry that employs a massive part of the US workers. So business is clearly going to change but I like this article because it doesn’t lament this change. Any change is a chance to improve our quality of life and work, we just need to understand, plan for and embrace the change.