In February 2000, two major companies, Ford Motors and Delta Airlines, announced new programs where employees would receive free computers and cheap Internet access. The companies were quick to pat themselves on the back for their generosity, and they were generally heralded in the press for their seeming goodwill. But what looks like another perk to make workers happy in a tight labor market to some is merely savvy positioning and a cunning strategy to others. Ford's plan will obviously build computer and Internet skills in their workforce. In a tight labor market where these skills are increasingly in demand, it is simply cheaper to grow the talent than to go out and hire it.
Predictions are usually more informative in retrospect.
Take Mega-Trends 2000, for example. The book never once mentions the Internet. But the future of work and employment lies not on what the Internet will become. The future of work is based upon what the Internet is now. A fan of cheese in cheese-less areas of India can log on and not only find everything in the world there is to know about cheese but countless places that will sell and ship it to anywhere in the world.