The future of the British workplace

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Date : Thursday 14th December

Time : 12:30 UK 

FREEDOM is breaking out in the workplace.  Social change has eroded the balance of authority and deference. First names are the order of the day and job titles are changing from badges of power such as director to more egalitarian terms such as team leader. Some smaller companies have even abolished titles.

Hierarchies have also been undermined by the new technology. Layers of middle management once needed to provide information to management and to transmit its strategic vision down to the workers have gone. Their jobs have been automated by database and decision-support software.

Now companies are beginning to exploit systems such as collaborative software, messaging and mobile communications to create more flexible structures that can adapt rapidly to the ever-faster pace of modern business. Such flexibility brings its own challenges. Allowing workers greater freedom of action requires a level of trust that many managers in command-and-control structures have been unwilling to cede, especially if the employees work away from the office.