Telecommuting Our culture teaches us to think of home and work and the time and space dedicated to each in wildly different ways. It teaches us to think and behave more or less differently in each place, too, and to expect others to do the same. For example, it s amazing how members of our society generally believe that a hard-working employee is one who looks like she or he is putting in a lot of time at the office. For individuals, families, and organizations, though, learning to adapt to shifting home-work boundaries will be critical in preparing for the changing landscape of future careers, households and employment. A slew of difficult questions begs for answers.
Teamwork Consider also the move towards teamwork in the workplace.
New work teams often cut across departments, divisions and occupations. They may also cut across organizational hierarchies, incorporating individuals from the assembly line to the administrative heads of divisions. In teamwork, an individual s job and day are more directly dependent on and embedded within others work. The line between an individual s job performance and future, and that of the groups within which she or he labors, is becoming more difficult to determine. Here, the goal is to transfer managerial functions to front-line workers.