In essence, we are living in a very different world-a global economy where the competition is keen, business relationships vary, operational modes differ, and organizations are carefully designed to meet the competition in a timely, effective manner.
'William Brock, "The Education Imperative," Government Technology, Special Edition (May 1998):
DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS
People are living longer, and the elderly population is growing. The baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) are aging now, and they are thus no longer a deterrent in hiring older workers. James E. Challenger, president of Challenger, Gray & Christman Inc., an international out-placement firm, stated that "over the next ten years, as the average age of the American worker increases, older workers will possess two of the characteristics most prized by employers: they will be experienced and they will be affordable."Within the next ten years, one of every three people over age fifty-five will be in the workforce. In January 1997, 12 percent, or 32.3 million of the 26.1 million civilian non-institutional populations, was at least sixty-five years old. The general population will continue to show an increase from the year 1996-2006.3
According to Howard Fullerton, Jr., in the Office of Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Minority groups that have grown the fastest in the past-Asians and other (Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives) and Hispanics-are projected to grow much faster than white non-Hispanics." The sixteen to twenty-four and fifty-five to sixty-four year olds will increase as part of the population during the 1996-2006 periods. The massive immigration that started in the 1970s and that is continuing at a substantial rate, approximately 820,000 each year, has had a meaningful impact on the growth rates of the population. Immigration, primarily precipitated by the opportunities to find work in the United States, also affected the workforce population as the growth rate of individuals aged twenty-five to thirty-four continued to rise. Their numbers grew from 32 million in 1976 to 41.7 million in 1986 to 43.1 million in 1996.
THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE
The technology revolution and the global market are two major factors in the transformation of the workplace. Some companies restructured to maintain a focus on what can be done most productively for growth, profit, and competitive advantage. Other organizations eliminated old jobs and developed new job opportunities. As stated in the IEE Insider, "...the very character of the American workplace is changing- in how work is organized, in how workers are matched with jobs, and in how wages and the terms of employment are set and who has a voice in that determination." This newsletter also indicated that wage inequality has grown, job stability has declined for vulnerable workers, and the chances for upward mobility have deteriorated among low-skill workers. Employees are downsized, training of entry-level employees is reduced, and the traditional paths to upward mobility are negligible. Lifetime jobs are a thing in the past, and employers rely on the market for skilled workers.
VISIONS FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM
The office of the next millennium will be anyplace-a home office, a hotel room, a railway station, a car. Office professionals will be highly dependent on technology as it continues to emerge and make transmission of voice, data, and images faster and less expensive. Leonard B. Kruk, president of Office Visions Consulting, Brick, NJ, believes that "new and emerging technologies will revolutionize how workers share information and make knowledge increasingly important, either in person or via electronics."5 Video and sound will be the next two items in documents that will be able to convey more information than can the printed word alone, according to Joel Whitesel.6 He also believes that multifunction machines will replace separate machines, and desktop computers will handle the work of a library, communications center, and information processor.
If you wish to pursue a career as an office professional, you should become aware of the projections and how new developments will impact the job. Whitesefs column included the following information: The ability to search for and retrieve information on the Internet will be a crucial skill for office personnel; more people will be using Internet e-mail instead of local network versions; voice and real-time video will accompany e-mail as communications technology advances and the bandwidth of phone and cable systems expands; live videoconferences from individual desktops will be available on computers that have digital video cameras and microphones; trackballs, slide points, and voice control will be used more than the mouse; and information processing will continue to be the main function of office technology.
OFFICE DESIGN FOR THE NEXT CENTURY
Mobility, relocation of work area, and flexible work arrangements are the criteria established for designing alternative offices for the twenty-first century, which will consist of furnishings, accessories, services, and programs. The purpose is to respond to employees' needs by making the workplace easy to use and giving employees technological access, the comforts of home, flexibility, and adequate space for staff interaction and changing needs. Companies that are supporting the concept of alternative offices believe that satisfied employees make good teams, which results in a better work environment and a higher level of productivity.
THE U.S. ECONOMY
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy expanded at a solid pace in 1997, with almost every sector showing improvement. The outlook until 2006 reflects the increased globalization of the economy and projects that the foreign trade sector will be the fastest-growing component of the gross domestic product. Exports and imports are projected to grow approximately three to three and a half times faster than the gross domestic product. Private investment also will have a more substantial position in the economy. The fundamental factor in the growth of foreign trade and private investment is the expanding business in high technology and computer-related products. Therefore, as an office professional in a knowledge-based economy, it is important that you develop your competencies for growth and mobility in a global economy.
EMPLOYMENT DATA
The job market for the past six years has had uninterrupted growth. In 1997, employment growth accelerated with total employment increasing by approximately 2.3 million. Women accounted for about 1.2 million of the growth from 1996 to 1997; men about 1 million. Business and health services had the greatest employment gains in 1997, ending with the fourth quarter, 5.8 and 2.3 percent, respectively.
An interesting development, which was discussed in State Trends of The Council of State Governments, summer 1998 issue, is the concern that some state governments have in losing skilled workers/students to other parts of the country. In essence, they fear losing in-state students to out-of-state jobs. Factors attributing to this movement might be higher wages, lower tuition, and academic reputation of out-of-state schools. To counteract this movement, some states are considering scholarships, financial aid packages, and internship programs.
Administrative Support Occupations
The category of administrative support occupations, including clerical, is projected to have an employment level of 25.5 million workers in 2006 and is expected to remain the largest major occupational group, as it was in both 1985 and 1996. Therefore, although the number of workers is expected to increase by only 1.8 million jobs, or 8 percent, from 1996 to 2006, it is a field of work to be considered. Secretarial jobs, except legal and medical, are expected to decline since this occupation is affected by technological change. However, jobs that involve a great deal of contact with people are less affected by changing technology. If you want to be a secretary, then you should develop the administrative and human relation skills in conjunction with the required computer skills so that you can assume the higher-level responsibilities expected of office professionals today.8 Read the current job ads for an overview of titles, requirements, and firms where employment positions are available.
Multiple Positions
Multiple jobholders add millions of jobs to the economy and are significant to an analysis of the labor market. According to 1995 data of the Current Population Survey, 125 million people had primary jobs and 7.9 million had secondary jobs, which totaled 132.9 million jobs. Approximately 8 million workers, or 6.1 percent of the total number employed, held more than one job at a time in 1997. More than half combined a full-time job with a part-time one; one in five combined two part-time jobs. The percentage of women who held part-time jobs was two and a half times greater than the number of men who worked two or more part-time jobs. This led employers to redesign more flexible and innovative programs to meet the needs of contemporary family structures.
An interesting factor is that the data show that the percentage of individuals holding multiple positions increased with education. Generally, wages were higher, too. However, these factors did not contribute to the reasons for working at more than one job. Besides financial reasons for multiple positions, individuals with more education may have the skills and knowledge for which employers are looking. Worthy to note is the fact that persons with a primary job do not necessarily earn more than they do on a secondary job. See Table 1 and note the average small difference of $7 that single jobholders earned. In Table 2, note that 23.4 percent of administrative support personnel’s worked on a similar type of secondary job.
Work more weeks in a year, and earn higher wages than individuals demonstrating low levels of literacy." The report states that high school students with a diploma or less need to take additional instruction in adult education to upgrade their skills and qualify for better jobs. People need to be able to speak, write, read, solve problems, understand maps and read street signs, read bus schedules, etc.
THE CANADIAN ECONOMY AND WORKFORCE
Strengthened by merchandise exports and a buildup of inventories, the Gross Domestic Products grew by 4.2 percent at an annual rate in the fourth quarter of 1997, according to the April 1998 Canada Quarterly from the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. Growth for the entire year of 1997 was 3.8 percent, which equaled the U.S. rate. The unemployment rate dropped from 8.5 percent in March 1998 to 8.4 percent in April. Two-way trade of goods, services, and income on investments between Canada and the United States went up by more than 12 percent. Canada has experienced much success and growth in environmental, telecommunications, and information technologies. Teleglobe, the Canadian international network operator, is moving into retail telephone services. 'The company's strategy is to be among the top three in the international telecommunications market," as stated in the summer 1998 issue of News & Arts from the Canadian Consulate General.
As a result of significant investments in services, technology, equipment, and new methods of production, the Canadian economy, like that of the United States, is undergoing tremendous changes. Also, like most economically advanced countries, the fastest, most remarkable growth has been in the service sector, which accounts for the largest number of jobs and a shortage of flexible, skilled workers. Taking into account the entire population employed in retail and wholesale trade, finance, and transportation, as well as public and federal service employees, approximately two-thirds of all Canadians are employed in the service sector. Currently women comprise 49.5 percent of the workforce, and almost a quarter of all employees in the executive category are women-23 percent-up from 21.3 percent in March 1996. In the administrative sup-port occupational category of the public service sector, there were 63,282 employees of which 52,904, or 83.6 percent were women. Overall employment in office occupations is expected to show little growth and may even see a slight decline; however, employment growth is expected in areas such as professional business services, private law practices, hospitals, and medical laboratories.
