Dimensions of Employee Engagement
The only thing that makes highly productive organisations stand apart from rest of the companies is the quality of the employees and the level of their commitment towards their work. The vice versa, the trust that an organisation shows in their employees and efforts that it makes to keep them focussed, motivated and satisfied, also […]
Techniques for Assessment of Performance and the Factors Affecting Assessments
A performance management process involves an assessment or an analysis of what has been achieved and forms a basis for career planning, potential development, performance agreements and development plans like Douglas Mc. Gregor suggested that emphasis should be on analysis and not on appraisal. Performance management process is forward looking. Performance assessments depend upon the […]
Key Components of Strategic Human Capital Plan
Employees – their knowledge, experience, skills, innovative ideas, concepts are all valued possessions within an organization. An organization must understand its employees well to expect the best from them. Human capital management refers to developing strategies to hire, manage, train, develop and retain top performing employees. Human Capital management includes the following: Recruiting the best […]
Tips for Successful Job Rotation
Job rotation enables individuals to try their skills in other departments as well and gain from the expertise of their fellow workers. Not every individual is open to the idea of job rotation and feel it is just another waste of time. They are happy doing the same type of work for years as long […]
The Role of Feedback in Enhancing Employee Performance and Productivity
The Importance of Feedback in Organizations and the Role of the Managers in the Process Feedback is an integral part of any organizations workplace procedures. Managers are expected to provide regular feedback to their employees who in turn, are expected to incorporate such feedback into enhancing their performance. Moreover, feedback is also a necessity as […]
The digital revolution has accelerated change and has induced in us a tendency to live for the moment without thinking of the longer term consequences. As we are bombarded by 24/7 breaking news and the media cycle and we are constantly on Twitter and Facebook not to mention scouring the internet for the latest news, we tend to forget that there is a need to keep in mind the fact that change occurs over a longer period of time and the signs and events that we mistake for change in the here and now are just that meaning that they are transitory.
In other words, if we hear or read anyone whether it is a politician, businessperson, or a celebrity proclaiming some statement, we should not be carried away with the immediacy of those statements and instead, must adopt a longer-term perspective that would serve us well in our lives. This means that we should not be carried away by the seduction of the present with its promise of instant gratification and instant results and instead, must keep our sights firmly on the horizon that stretches well beyond the immediacy of the present.
This tendency to live in the present and forget the future has been termed as Present Shock by the noted social scientist Douglas Rushkoff. In his book by the same name, he terms the current obsession with the here and now as being detrimental to businesses and society and warns of the dangers of relying too much on our digital selves and forgets the age-old lessons about how we need to plan.
In other words, he warns us about how businesses and individuals must not lose track of the need to conserve resources, build slow and steady for the future, and invest in themselves so that they have something to fall back on after the immediacy of the moment is over.
As the cliche goes, this too shall pass and hence, we must not take hasty decisions in business and our personal lives based on only the current trend and instead, must pause and reflect on the consequences of our actions for our future.
This means that unless we adopt strategies that articulate a vision and are backed by a spirit of mission and a sense of purpose, we are likely to be carried away by the pressures and the perils of living in the present and hence, are likely to be poorer materially, intellectually, and spiritually over the longer term.
It has often been said that businesses and corporates live for the next quarter or live from quarter to quarter. However, research has shown that those businesses and business leaders who have their feet firmly on the ground and plan for the future are more likely to succeed over a longer time than those businesses that solely focus on delivering results for the present.
Likewise, individuals who sacrifice the pleasures of the instant for longer term perspective, defer gratification, and have an overriding philosophy in life that lets them weather the storms of the present and emerge stronger over the longer term have been found to lead fulfilling lives that are often rich emotionally, materially, intellectually, and spiritually.
Lest the readers think that this article is sounding like a lecture, we would like to remind you that the facts and research by social scientists like Daniel Goleman and Douglas Rushkoff underpin the content of this article and hence, we want to drive home the point that while it is easy to get lost in the promise of the present, the perils of the future are equally important for businesses and individuals.
We hope that the message of deep and lasting changes that actualize with time is understood and imbibed for those who are starting their careers, and those who are already professionals but find themselves rushed because of the Present Shock.
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Current Employment Trends and Their Implications for Business, Society, and Individuals
February 12, 2025
