Employment and Business in the Digital Age

In his blog article Giving Up Control in the Era of Open Business, Luis Suarez discusses the resistance of large organizations to adapt in the digital age. A growing number of consumers are no longer willing to accept being dictated to by big business and demand the accessibility and quality that is now possible. Suarez provides an example of the Entertainment Industry’s lack of transformation and how this has resulted in a loss of consumers; he argues that this same pattern is also reflected in several other industries.

As a consumer, I appreciate when businesses provide me the services or product that I require in a way the works best for me. As a professional, I also appreciate this flexibility. I work in a post-secondary institution that presents itself as future-oriented and industry-driven but I find in certain areas of mobile business, that it demonstrates exactly what Suarez is talking about: reluctance to adapt to the digital age. Specifically, I’m referring to the concept of “the office” and the workday. The expectation is that work is done at the place of employment during the daytime hours and any work done away from the office during the day is frowned upon. But I can’t help wonder that by embracing this concept of a digital age workforce, how it could empower the employee and aid in faculty autonomy and well-being and an issue for retention. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my place of work, my colleagues and the opportunities to interact with them outside the classroom; however, there are times when I need to work alone and the office environment can be a huge distraction. I have opened up my personal space and respond to students’ questions in the evenings and on weekends (within reason) through texting; this is a practice that I wouldn’t have considered five years ago because I wasn’t a regular texter. I have adapted and I hope to see more acceptance of this digital age concept in the future.

Reference:

Suarez, L. (2013, Sept. 3). Giving up control in the Era of Open Business [Weblog post]