Job Hunting & Careers
- Publisher : The MIT Press
- Published : 29 Mar 2022
- Pages : 232
- ISBN-10 : 0262046415
- ISBN-13 : 9780262046411
- Language : English
Work without Jobs: How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System (Management on the Cutting Edge)
Why the future of work requires the deconstruction of jobs and the reconstruction of work.
Work is traditionally understood as a "job," and workers as "jobholders." Jobs are structured by titles, hierarchies, and qualifications. In Work without Jobs, Ravin Jesuthasan and John Boudreau propose a radically new way of looking at work. They describe a new "work operating system" that deconstructs jobs into their component parts and reconstructs these components into more optimal combinations that reflect the skills and abilities of individual workers. In a new normal of rapidly accelerating automation, demands for organizational agility, efforts to increase diversity, and the emergence of alternative work arrangements, the old system based on jobs and jobholders is cumbersome and ungainly. Jesuthasan and Boudreau's new system lays out a roadmap for the future of work.
Work without Jobs presents real-world cases that show how leading organizations are embracing work deconstruction and reinvention. For example, when a robot, chatbot, or artificial intelligence takes over parts of a job while a human worker continues to do other parts, what is the "job"? DHL found some answers when it deployed social robotics at its distribution centers. Meanwhile, the biotechnology company Genentech deconstructed jobs to increase flexibility, worker engagement, and retention. Other organizations achieved agility with internal talent marketplaces, worker exchanges, freelancers, crowdsourcing, and partnerships. It's time for organizations to reboot their work operating system, and Work without Jobs offers an essential guide for doing so.
Work is traditionally understood as a "job," and workers as "jobholders." Jobs are structured by titles, hierarchies, and qualifications. In Work without Jobs, Ravin Jesuthasan and John Boudreau propose a radically new way of looking at work. They describe a new "work operating system" that deconstructs jobs into their component parts and reconstructs these components into more optimal combinations that reflect the skills and abilities of individual workers. In a new normal of rapidly accelerating automation, demands for organizational agility, efforts to increase diversity, and the emergence of alternative work arrangements, the old system based on jobs and jobholders is cumbersome and ungainly. Jesuthasan and Boudreau's new system lays out a roadmap for the future of work.
Work without Jobs presents real-world cases that show how leading organizations are embracing work deconstruction and reinvention. For example, when a robot, chatbot, or artificial intelligence takes over parts of a job while a human worker continues to do other parts, what is the "job"? DHL found some answers when it deployed social robotics at its distribution centers. Meanwhile, the biotechnology company Genentech deconstructed jobs to increase flexibility, worker engagement, and retention. Other organizations achieved agility with internal talent marketplaces, worker exchanges, freelancers, crowdsourcing, and partnerships. It's time for organizations to reboot their work operating system, and Work without Jobs offers an essential guide for doing so.
Editorial Reviews
"This timely book will help you radically rethink how to organize work."
-Adam Grant, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
"The world is changing fast but the way we work is, in many crucial ways, stuck in the past. Ravin Jesuthasan and John Boudreau lay out a powerful argument for moving beyond staid and outdated assumptions and toward a reimagined work system. This engaging book will help both individuals and organizations become more agile, resilient, and inclusive."
-Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times best-selling author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human
"Purpose and social impact are becoming more important than ever, and employees are demanding more from their employers. It is time we reinvent the world of work as we know it. Work without Jobs provides the radical framework needed to completely rethink the working models we use to ensure work works for everyone."
-Leena Nair, Global Chief Executive Officer, Chanel
"How can an organization evolve in an ever-changing world? This book is essential reading for any business leader who wants to understand the future of work, jobs, and skills."
-Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, Centre for the New Economy and Society, World Economic Forum
"Work and jobs are changing fast, and in this fascinating book the authors provide a masterful guide that will help every manager make the most of the extraordinary opportunities to rethink jobs and boost productivity."
-Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice, London Business School; author of Redesigning Work
"Work without Jobs should be required reading for the leader and HR manager of the future! Masterfully written, Ravin and John guide readers in understanding the changing landscape of technology in the workplace and how to approach some of today's toughest questions and fears for emp...
-Adam Grant, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
"The world is changing fast but the way we work is, in many crucial ways, stuck in the past. Ravin Jesuthasan and John Boudreau lay out a powerful argument for moving beyond staid and outdated assumptions and toward a reimagined work system. This engaging book will help both individuals and organizations become more agile, resilient, and inclusive."
-Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times best-selling author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human
"Purpose and social impact are becoming more important than ever, and employees are demanding more from their employers. It is time we reinvent the world of work as we know it. Work without Jobs provides the radical framework needed to completely rethink the working models we use to ensure work works for everyone."
-Leena Nair, Global Chief Executive Officer, Chanel
"How can an organization evolve in an ever-changing world? This book is essential reading for any business leader who wants to understand the future of work, jobs, and skills."
-Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, Centre for the New Economy and Society, World Economic Forum
"Work and jobs are changing fast, and in this fascinating book the authors provide a masterful guide that will help every manager make the most of the extraordinary opportunities to rethink jobs and boost productivity."
-Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice, London Business School; author of Redesigning Work
"Work without Jobs should be required reading for the leader and HR manager of the future! Masterfully written, Ravin and John guide readers in understanding the changing landscape of technology in the workplace and how to approach some of today's toughest questions and fears for emp...