The New Day
The Age of the Worker
By Jim Calder
We live in a new age. An age where the worker is valued above all else. For years companies have devalued you as the employee by cutting your pay, increasing your hours, freezing your salary all in the name of the economy and more. That day is over friends. An individual today has extreme power. We have access to tools that previously were only available to a company with resources. We can create and build on our own, and that by nature is a threat to “the old way of thinking about work”.
We are motivated to succeed, for ourselves and for our families. We don’t respond well to fear tactics, and if exposed to them for too long, we move on. All because we realize that life is too short and we are too valuable. We learn new skills for the benefit of ourselves and our careers, before someone has to tell or ask us to do so. We value other things besides our salaries, such as working from home. The Internet has made us versatile. We teach ourselves to do almost anything with the help of our friends Google and YouTube.
Managers may still treat you like a cog that can be replaced. However, you are the one allowing them to do so. You are an individual with unique skills that you have learned and own, so be proud of it. Companies that refuse to change will be left in the past with the rest of the dinosaurs. Companies that only offer you the fear of losing your job as motivation have no place in today’s marketplace. Fear is not a motivation tool, it is a weak sign of a weaker foundation of a company, corporation or business. Advanced companies are well aware of this and making changes.
At your next review instead of joining the ongoing cycle and defending why you deserve your job, ask yourself this:
-Why does your company deserve to have YOU as an employee?
-What has your company done for YOU?
-Why is this company worth YOUR time, YOUR hours, a large portion of YOUR life?
-How has this company showed ME that they value the work that I am doing?
The message is spreading and quickly. ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) is a human resource management strategy. This progressive movement was co-created by Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler (pictured above) and thrives on the theory that employees are paid for results (output) rather than the amount of hours one works.Their idea has been adapted by large American retails such as Best Buy, Gap, and other companies. This duo has created their own consulting group called CultureRx and their message is selling.
Not enough evidence that this way of working will work? Let me leave you with this inspiring video from the TED conference.
Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com
