Writing in the CIO.com Soapbox blog, Michael Hugos shares some of his ideas on generational differences and the changing nature and definition of work:
This new global economy is clearly about more than just working hard. Innovation and agility don't happen by doing the same old things over and over, harder and harder. What other things might smart people with clear eyes be able to tell me? Innovation is what happens when we integrate different views into new visions.
For as long as I've been drawing a paycheck -- a process that started during the Nixon administration -- I've heard about the importance of working smart, as opposed to working hard. I never interpreted that as an indictment of hard work, or encouragement to figure out how to game the system. I took it as encouragement to always have my head in the game, and to always strive to find better ways of doing what I had to do.
Nixon's dead, I'm feeling every day of my 53-plus years, and the world has certainly changed. But it always has, and it always will. The only difference now is that the pace of change in the first decade of the 21st century is so much faster than it was in the entire last half of the 20th century. Keeping up isn't getting any easier, but what are the alternatives?
Michael's post also includes this:
A guy named Joe observed "The baby-boomers frequently draw distinctions between 'work' and 'play'. If it's 'work', it's not fun. If it's 'fun', it's not work." He went on to say, "The notions of 'hard work' and 'paying your dues' are clearly lost on the millenials. But is that really such a bad thing? Does it not also make sense, in today's electronic world, to encourage smart, efficient and creative work? In the post-industrial era, is 'hard' work really more valuable than 'fast' work, 'good' work or 'fun' work?"
And this:
But in my more creative moments I know there are insanely great new things to be done with this new stuff. There's lots of fun to be had and there's money to be made too if we can put it all together in innovative ways. Working hard is fine but it's just as important to work fast and have fun. In a world where pensions are going away and working at the some company for your whole career is a thing of the past, we need to think about new ways to motivate people and new ways to produce value. It's time to get inspired.
Give that man a cigar.
Thanks to the Internet and the explosion of technology, we have entered an age unlike any before in human history. The temporal, spatial, and national boundaries that once separated people have little meaning or relevance in an information economy. This presents unprecedented opportunities for those willing to take advantage. But that means accepting change as a constant, and accepting the perpetuity of a 90-degree learning curve.
In this new age, we all have to pay our dues, all the time, regardless of age or generation. We have to work hard at working smart.
It's the price of participation.
It's what drives innovation.
But it's also the price of emancipation from the old boundaries and limitations. If you had the choice, would you really want to spend thirty years at the same job?
