When Work Disappears

.....workforce has undergone significant changes in the last six decades or so. Today, the age structure of the workforce differs significantly from that of the previous century. Owing to rapid population growth, the proportion of the younger workforce has significantly outpaced that of the older workforce. In particular, the proportion of the population aged 19 years and below has grown more rapidly than the proportion aged 20 years and above (Wilson, 1996). These changes have impacted the workforce today in one way or another.

According to Wilson (1996), an increase in the proportion of the younger generation has partly contributed to an increase in unemployment amongst the older generation. Looking at today's workplace, one sees a greater number of younger workers and a smaller number of older workers. Majority of the jobs have been taken by the younger generation. From a rather positive note, however, there has been a greater mix of generations in the workplace. Despite unbalanced generational representation, organizations now have a workforce comprising individuals from diverse generations.

Question 2 Historically, the U.S. has been home to immigrants from various parts of the world, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Today, immigrants comprise a significant proportion of the American workforce. This has affected the country's workforce as a whole. One effect of immigration is that it has increased the supply of labor. Immigration has also resulted in a more diverse workforce. Today, organizations in the U.S. have a workforce comprising individuals of American, European, Latin, African, and Asian origins.

This is perhaps a good thing given that workforce diversity has increasingly been termed as crucial for the modern workplace. Nonetheless, immigration has increased competition for jobs, with jobs at the bottom of the employment market being the most affected. These jobs often attract unskilled labor and low wages. Whereas most Americans may be reluctant to take these jobs, especially the more educated ones, most immigrants are often willing to take them, in most cases regardless of their level of educational attainment.

This often means increased competition for jobs between immigrants and less educated Americans. All the same, the positive impact of immigration on the American workforce appears to surpass the negative impact. Question 3 Changes in the workforce have been observed in both developed and developing countries. Similar to developed countries, developing countries have experienced shifts in the age structure of the workforce. Owing to rapid population growth, coupled with increased education and advancements in health care, developing countries have experienced an influx of younger, more educated and more skilled workers.

Nonetheless, unlike developed countries, developing countries have paid little attention to workforce diversity, meaning the two may not be working towards the same outcomes. Foreign cultures and females remain particularly underrepresented in the developing world workforce. Nonetheless, the underrepresentation of foreign cultures can be explained by the fact that much of immigration has historically been from developing to developed countries, not the other way around.

It is, however, important to note that diversity is a much broader phenomenon -- it includes not only culture, but also other aspects such as gender, disability, geographic origin, and religion. Developing countries should pay greater attention to these aspects. Question 4 With shifts in workforce demographics, developed countries face a significant dilemma -- whether to grow the labor force via immigrants or via employing more traditional workers.

Whereas there may be no straightforward answer to this dilemma, it appears that more and more developed countries are growing the labor force through employing more non-traditional workers (short-term contract workers, freelancers, virtual assistants, independent workers, and other types of non-permanent workers). Most developed countries are increasingly tightening their immigration policies in the wake of factors such as terrorism. Shifting to the non-traditional worker, therefore, seems the future of the labor force. In the U.S. alone, non-traditional workers now comprise a significant proportion of the entire workforce.

The shift to non-traditional workers has been informed by factors such as increased demand for work flexibility and work-life balance. The contemporary worker increasingly desires jobs that offer these two aspects. Non-traditional employment benefits not only the worker, but also the employer. With more non-permanent employees, organizations' expenditure on human resource management reduces in the long run, especially with respect to employee compensation and benefits. This may, however, complicate the employer-employee relationship. Question 5 The modern workforce is.