I have always been here
I have always looked out from behind these eyes
It feels like more than a lifetime
Feels like more than a lifetime

Pink Floyd, A New Machine - Part I, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, 1987 

Our history and experience of work is marked by more than the passage of time. Throughout our working life we all accumulate the residues and effects of past events. These are reflected in structure of how we think, the memories of relationships that we express as knowledge, and the lessons of experience that are engrained in the habits of our practice. We all carry this history on the inside. Only we can observe the changes; and only then, if we care to look. 

Speculation about the future of work leads us to feel there will be profound differences between what we are doing today and what we might be doing tomorrow. I do believe there is an historic shift in the broader patterns of work already underway and I have wondered how this shift is felt at an individual level, and what that might look like.  

This is important because how we think about work shapes the knowledge we acquire and the habits we apply in what we do. But what happens when the changes in how we think about work are so great the impact on knowledge and practice is irreversible? This becomes a discontinuity that gives rise to a new way of thinking that flows through to the knowledge we acquire and the uses to which we put it. 

Similar shifts have been described in big systems by, for example, Thomas Kuhn in the history of science (‘paradigm shifts’) and Eldridge and Gould in the history of evolution (‘punctured equilibrium’). Stephen J. Gould expressed it as: 

The history of life as I read it, is a series of stable states, punctuated at rare intervals by major events that occur with great rapidity and help to establish the next stable era. 

Substantial change occurs in infrequent bursts. To take this an individual level, stability in our thinking, knowledge, habits, work and organisation is the norm. So, nothing much happens for the longest time and then everything seems to be changing.

The challenge is for us to determine if the change we are experiencing is in fact an historical shift—a true break from the past—or not.

If it is, we need to be careful about casting our thoughts too far forward during an event that is rare and uncertain. If we forecast too far forward and begin to build permanence into our thinking, knowledge and practice we will get it precisely wrong.  

So what?

There is an overwhelming and regrettable unevenness in our response to these rare moments of profound change; in that, considerations of technology tend to trump considerations of people. That is, we focus disproportionately on the effect of technology (the disruptive part) and not enough of people (the adaptive stability part).

A glance at discussions around the future of work shows a tendency to focus on the benefits or dangers of technology. The role of people and workforce is rare. The exception is a focus on the dystopia of massive job losses.

Technology does not make change, people do. People, individually and collectively, change the way they think and act. We are a tool using species—always have been. The technologies we develop are often extensions of our human abilities. The latest batch of technologies looks to exceed human capacity and capability; but then, doesn’t all technology. A calculator exceeds my capacity and capability perform simple and complex calculations, so I use a calculator rather labouring away with my limited cognitive abilities. I am freed to apply my capabilities in other ways. The same principle applies to AI, automation and robotics. These are tools which people will adapt to suit their purposes. 

The solution to our sense of personal dislocation is not to focus on the fracturing of our experience of work but rather to focus on the philosophy and principles that have always been important to our work and organisation. To focus on people and the way they adapt in times of historical change.

We don’t need the hyper-enthusiasm of technologists, the gloomy predictions of technology deniers, or the simplicity of fad surfing management gurus to explain what needs to be done. We just need to be alert, be sensible, and get on with it.  

Welcome to the new machine! People have always been here. 

Photo Credit: Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash