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The Future of Work

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The Future of Work

The Promise of the New Digital Work Society

McGraw-Hill,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

To keep your balance in a quickly shifting world, become your own gyroscope.

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Editorial Rating

5

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Scientific
  • Visionary

Recommendation

Charles Grantham’s book examines rapid changes in the workplace in response to new technologies. He looks at how these changes affect all of us personally and explains how to prepare for the future. The book’s language is quite academic. The average reader could find it difficult to read from beginning to end. Regular readers of business books, on the other hand, may find that many of the ideas sound familiar. This is because Grantham references more than 125 previously published works. getAbstract recommends this book to futurists and trend-watchers, particularly those from a more academic background.

Summary

Forces creating change

Historical analysis of the time cycles shows that our culture goes through eras that repeat every few decades. A set of four eras equals a cycle, which lasts about 80 to 100 years. The first era in a cycle is growth, which is followed by maturation. The next era is unraveling, which is followed by destruction.

The growth era, also referred to as the high, is characterized by strengthening of institutions and the rise of a new civic order. Great spiritual upheaval accompanies maturation, the next era, which is referred to as the awakening. The era of unraveling covers the time when institutions become weak, individuals grow stronger, civic order starts to decay and a new value system emerges. The final era is the crisis, marked by a rapid decay of old institutions and the birth of a new order.

Right now, we are in the closing of the third era. The last decade has seen numerous changes in the world, in our work and in our communities. We are in the midst of transition. The old order is crumbling; a new, still unknown order is emerging. We are about to enter the era of crisis. Expect a catalytic event in the next few years. This event will...

About the Author

Dr. Charles Grantham manages an extensive applied research program at the Institute for the Study of Distributed Work. He has co-authored several textbooks and appears regularly on national news broadcasts to discuss workplace trends and their social ramifications.

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