The industrial machine drove the old work paradigm.
Work the hours. Supervisorship and micromanagement. Fifteen-minute increments. Org leadership. Come to this office. Park here. Sit in this office. We’ll give you snacks. Do what we say. Ask the boss. Fit in.
The old work paradigm required ever-increasing productivity, compliance, and hierarchy from the humans. Humans acting like machines.
But the industrial machine is in its death throes.
Queue the new work paradigm.
The new work paradigm values significance — for the mission, team, and the people.
Authority gives way to autonomy. Micromanagement replaced by empowerment. Compliance out, and creativity in. Our days aren’t dictated by the clock but driven by curiosity and commitment. Boundaries have blurred, giving rise to fluid, cross-functional teams. Unconventional thinking is celebrated, not silenced. The office no longer dominates work. Geography independence begets work-life integration.
This is the new work paradigm. Empowering. Engaging. Enthralling. Work of significance. Let the humans be the humans. Let the humans use the machines rather than be the machines.
The future is now. Embrace it with confidence or get left behind.
