Workers’ growing influence is killing the construct of ‘jobs.’ What will replace them?

With reports of layoffs now a daily occurrence—Salesforce, Amazon, and Goldman Sachs are among those who’ve announced reductions recently—it’s worth asking: Will corporate concern for employees’ wishes and welfare diminish as labor market slack increases?  

A new report out this morning from the folks at Deloitte, who sponsor this newsletter, offers a window into why the change may be less than market economics might suggest. The fundamental nature of work is changing, and as a result, “organizations will have to abandon illusions of complete control” as “workers assume greater influence and accountability for organizational and societal outcomes.”

At the core of this change, the authors say, is a shift away from the notion of “jobs”—a predefined set of functional responsibilities assigned to a particular worker. That made sense at a time when change was slow and workers were cogs in an industrial machine. But in today’s world, a “skills-based approach” to managing work and workers is critical, and a much higher degree of autonomy is essential for workers to achieve maximum agility and deliver the most value. 

One of the interesting conclusions of the report is that while most corporate leaders now recognize the need for this change—93% of corporate leaders surveyed by Deloitte agreed that “moving away from the job construct is important to my organization’s success”—only 20% believe that their firm is  “ready to address the movement away from jobs.” In short, the reinvention of work is still in its early stages.

You can read the full report here. But the bottom line for me is this: the role of employees in the corporate value equation is fundamentally changing. A temporary economic downturn may cause some short-term changes in corporate behavior toward employees. But in the long term, effective engagement of employees will only grow in importance as a key to business success.

Other news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
[email protected]

TOP NEWS

Disney RTO

Disney's boomerang CEO Bob Iger is asking workers to return to the media giant's offices four days a week starting March 1, a relatively strict policy for a large company. In a memo to staff, Iger praised employees' recent work and argued that "nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together." Bloomberg

SEC v. Ex-McDonald's CEO 

Former McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook agreed to pay a $400,000 fine and accept a five-year ban on serving as a public company officer or director to resolve the Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud claims related to allegedly misleading statements he made about having sexual relationships with employees. In the deal, Easterbrook didn't admit or deny the regulator's accusations against him. Wall Street Journal

Noma to close

In a shock to the culinary world, Noma, often ranked as the No. 1 restaurant in the world, said it would cease regular service at the end of next year. Head chef and founder René Redzepi says the business of fine dining is unsustainable even at Noma, where diners regularly pay more than $500 per meal. “We have to completely rethink the industry. This is simply too hard, and we have to work in a different way,” he told the New York Times.  

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

California should buckle up for a ‘parade of cyclones’ as the historic storm battering the state is set to leave tens of thousands without power by Tristan Bove

Hybrid work is expanding beyond white collar jobs to finally include frontline workers by Chloe Berger

Seattle public schools sue TikTok and other social media giants saying they created a ‘mental health crisis’ among students by Chris Morris

Apple’s mixed-reality headset is coming. Here’s why initial sales might disappoint by Jacob Carpenter

America might just do the impossible and avoid a recession, according to top economist Mark Zandi by Will Daniel

What CEOs are most worried about going into 2023, including a Gen Z culture clash with unretiring boomers by Orianna Rosa Royle

This edition of CEO Daily was edited by Claire Zillman.