11 August 2016 -
How Work is Changing: five companies, five links.
As part of the LinkLog series at PostShift, I looked at some modern examples of how the workplace was changing using examples from some of the leaders of new-age business.
The way we work is changing at a rate of knots.The notion of a 30 year, 9-5 desk job has vanished and taken with it the traditional expectations of what work is, where it’s done and how we go about doing it. An increased focus on employee retention, changing expectations and countless digital technologies are all driving this social revolution towards a reformed concept of work. This weeks linklog pays homage to a number of young companies and new technologies that are helping to drive this trend.
WeWork
What began as a rent-a-desk service for freelancers has very quickly grown to become almost the epitome of this new style work. Entrepreneurial hopefuls preparing their seed investor pitch sit side-by-side with teams from the large, recognisable corporates of the age such as American Express, Microsoft and GE. The atmosphere resembles more children’s play area than drab and grey office; a true reflection of change afoot.
Slack
It’s not the first time we’ve mentioned slack (see here) and I’m sure it won’t be the last. The lightweight but punchy communications tool is not only killing email but it’s transforming every aspect of modern day work; transparent decision making, effortless collaboration and an open platform that can even give your technology applications a voice in the company.
Stack Overflow
Ok, so they might not really be a startup or even a young company these days but anyone who has faced any sort of tech problem has most likely heard of them. Stack Overflow is a collection of technology related Questions and Answers. It’s primarily driven by a community of people who either have a problem and need help, or have a solution to somebody else’s problem. The most notable thing about Stack Overflow, for me at least, is that you don’t know the person you’re helping, you don’t get any real world gratification or reward for your assistance and yet they have a knowledge sharing community and culture stronger than any single organisation out there.
Base Camp
Again another veteran in the startup world basecamp is a real forward thinker when it comes to what work should be. The co-founders, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier, are widely considered the god fathers of remote working, they were responsible for the much loved open source development framework Ruby on Rails and have published books titled: ‘Getting Real’, ‘ReWork’ and ‘Remote’ their company Basecamp provides a fitting project management tool for modern day work. Whether you’re in the office enjoying your morning coffee with colleagues or on a beach in Thailand with your laptop and wifi Basecamp aims to keep everyone singing from the same hymn sheet.
UpWork
Up work is a platform commonly used by freelancers looking for roles and businesses looking for freelancers. It’s a simple exchange that really makes sense for both parties. Businesses get a flexible resource pool with ratings and reviews to ensure they get the right person, freelancers get flexible work opportunities and large marketplace of possible roles. There has bee a huge rise in the popularity of such platforms but also of the type of skills and services available. It’s no longer just graphic designers and copywriters but more and more traditional jobs are being offered and filled.