![\"Untitled-1\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cWe work as hard in here every day as we did when we were trying to get a job, we’ll be alright. What’s the worst thing they can do\u2026\u201d \u2013 <\/em>Bobby Walker, \u201cThe Company Man,\u201d<\/em> Weinstein Co., 2010<\/strong><\/p>\nThere has been a lot of discussion \u2013 pro and con \u2013 on whether employees are more productive, more creative based on whether they\u2019re in the office or telecommuting.<\/p>\n
It should be less of a concern to you than your real job \u2013 you!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s the only job you can really understand and have the power, ability to change as businesses and the economy go through their cycles and reinvent themselves.<\/p>\n
Change can happen, even if you\u2019ve just accepted a new position.<\/p>\n
According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, most people have found that their position with their company is different from the one they interviewed for.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n The survey found that more men (65%) than women (56%) reported that aspects of the job were different from what they were led to believe.<\/p>\n Management\u2019s focus has increasingly become focused on reading\/anticipating competition, growth opportunities and connecting with customers as well as providing real time access to credible, usable information.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Even if management has never heard of or read Will Hutton, chief executive of Britain\u2019s The Industrial Society<\/i>, most would agree with his observations.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hutton states that while we don\u2019t yet fully understand the rules and dynamics of the new era, we do know it is turning the workplace inside out.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He said that today, we are a network economy that is driven by information and communications technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of his very telling statements was that the network is increasingly being made up of independent workers and that the employer\/employee relationships have changed.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today, more than 40 million U.S. workers are free agent contract workers.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Over the next few years, Charles Handy, author of The Age of Unreason<\/i>, estimates that less than half of the industrial world\u2019s workforce will hold conventional full-time jobs in companies.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Every year, more and more people will be self-employed and full-time insiders will be the minority.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Management and corporate employment policy decisions are unwittingly accelerating that transition by shifting more of the load, more of the responsibility to you.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What exactly do we mean?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Take a look at most company policies:<\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>On short business trips, you usually drive your car and are (hopefully) reimbursed.<\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>When you work at home, it is on your personal computer.<\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>When you go on extended business trips, you pay for the transportation, lodging, meals and submit expense reports.<\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Increasingly, companies are adjusting their employee benefit programs, making you responsible for more and more of the rising health\/dental care insurance expenses. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Personalize Work<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the big shift that employees brought on all of us that thought it was really cool at the time \u2013 BYOD (bring your own device).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Management thought it was a good idea because that meant one less tool they had to buy for you; even though IT knew it was going to be difficult, if not impossible, to separate and protect business and personal data.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It started innocently enough with smartphones (ok iPhones) then quickly spread to tablets (yes iPad); and for many, better, more powerful ultrabook portables.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was a great productivity\/profit boost because most of us today take work home in the evening and on weekends to catch up and get ready for the next day or the week ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, since it\u2019s your property, that also means that the company can\u2019t dictate what personal apps and services you use on your device–even though you\u2019re also carrying around company and business working files\/information that you need to get your job done.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As you comingle your business\/personal activities, you also want to do it without a lot of hassle \u2026 like complex passwords and security protection that need to be constantly changed\/updated.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Increasingly, employees are also choosing their own cloud service because it is better, more convenient for working with customers and partners and it\u2019s a fast, \u201cgood enough\u201d solution for getting the job done.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Freedom of Choice\/Responsibility<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n BYOD has taken ahold so quickly that Gartner projects by 2017, half of the companies will insist that employees use their personal smartphone for work.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The other half of the firms will \u201callow\u201d employees to use their own devices.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The winds of employment change have been shifting since the 1990s and the last financial downturn only accelerated the new view of employees.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To maintain their competitive edge, companies are traveling lighter, covering ground more quickly.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Management has found that the organization has to constantly accelerate or die. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Clearly, the company that is lean, agile and quick to respond has the edge.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Competition, technology, recession and increased shareholder value have changed the way everyone thinks about his\/her job and the future. The old company\/employee loyalty and commitment is rapidly disappearing. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today, you\u2019re using your own car for business trips, buying your own uniforms, using your own devices and paying for your own healthcare. Look on the bright side; they haven\u2019t asked you to bring your own desk.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>That shouldn\u2019t come as a huge surprise because the Internet\/web has changed every business.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Company Shift \u2013 <\/span><\/i><\/b>Over the past few years, companies not only added more business responsibilities for individuals but also the management of their personal development. With the openness of the Web and social media, people are taking control and beefing themselves up both personally and professionally.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/a>BYOD Change \u2013 <\/span><\/i><\/b>Bring Your Own Device looked like a win-win for companies and individuals but it is becoming a pivotal move that is changing not only the employer\/employee relationship but also how personal and company information is viewed and used.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n