A Balance of Power :: Career Employment Businesses Essays

A Balance of Power Eliminating "co-dependent" behavior has become as important for employment health as it is for psychological well-being. Today’s workers are realizing that the only source of employment security is the security they create for themselves, by becoming self-reliant and career resilient (Brown 1996). Continued employment is tied to lifelong learning and ongoing skill development, practices that enhance career growth and the potential for career advancement and mobility. This trend toward career independence is reflected in the new breed of independent contractors and temporary workers who move from job to job and project to project, marketing themselves for temporary assignments in a variety of organizations rather than seeking permanent jobs. When the self-employed are counted, these "free agents" comprise more than 16% of the U.S. population, roughly 25 million people who are continually marketing their skills, abilities, and achievements to realize their employment goals (Pink 1997). Workers are recognizing the need to ensure their marketability to employers, and employers are facing increased pressure to make their organizations attractive to workers. In the current tight labor market, where workers remember job loss as an outcome of corporate restructuring and downsizing, company loyalty has gone by the wayside. Brown (1998a) reports that even newly hired workers are on the lookout for a "better" opportunity, with 50-60% of them changing jobs within the first 7 months of employment. To offset excessive turnover, many companies are offering advantages associated with free agency (Reich 1998): "flexibility in how, when, and where you work; compensation linked to what you contribute; freedom to move from project to project." This shared responsibility for employment has resulted in the evolution of various partnership arrangements. Formal employment contracts, which are designed to satisfy the needs of both employers and employees, are being developed through collective bargaining and contain employment stipulations that are agreeable to both parties (Brown 1997). Through such contracts, "employers provide the opportunities, tools, and support to help employees develop their skills and maintain their employability; the employees have the responsibility of managing their careers by taking advantage of the opportunities they are given" (ibid., p. 1). What are the implications of this shared responsibility? Today’s workers must be entrepreneurial. They must function as free agents, marketing themselves and the skills they can offer to employers who serve as "customers." How Can Career Development Programs Be Updated? Career development programs, although continuing to focus on career awareness, exploration, and development, must be updated to contain strategies for employment in the 21st century.