Benefits May 2, 2005

Consultant: Workplace Technology Effects Numerous

May 2, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - With dramatic gains in technology and a pending wave of large-scare boomer retirements, differences in the workplace landscape are becoming increasingly apparent, one HR consultant says.
Reported by

Bernadette Kenny, executive vice president of global career management services company Lee Hecht Harrison, listed five workplace trends she said will continue to gain traction in the months ahead:

  • Because it is possible to do business almost anywhere with the aid of a laptop, BlackBerry, cell phone, etc., managers must adopt new techniques to lead effectively at a distance, Kenny said.
  • Employers and employees are increasingly open to the idea of flexible retirement. Some companies are already restructuring jobs and adapting their pension policies to entice 65+ employees to stay on part-time or as consultants.
  • Employees at all levels – as well as those looking for jobs – will be expected to pay closer attention not only to how they compose their thoughts in e-mails, but also with whom they share them. Correct spelling and appropriate grammar will be paramount, as will judgment about requisite recipients.
  • More companies are forbidding employees to bank vacation days in the wake of Sarbanes-Oxley. HR managers cite not only concerns about fiscal management, but also the need to encourage employees to take their time off.
  • As the economy improves, employees who have stayed in jobs they were unhappy with because they had nowhere else to go will pursue new opportunities. On the other hand, mergers inevitably create redundancies and force employees, who may not have wished to leave, into the marketplace.

More information about Lee Hecht Harrison is at www.lhh.com .

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