Work Isn't What it Used to be: Implications, Recommendations, and Strategies for Vocational Rehabilitation

Journal of Rehabilitation,  Oct, 1995  by Carole P. Ryan

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Despite rehabilitation efforts, a majority of Americans with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 64 are not working, and that number has not changed since 1986 despite the fact that a majority of non-employed people with disabilities in the working age population want to work (Taylor, 1994). Thus, employment is a challenging task for today's consumers and rehabilitation professionals due to a complex array of interrelated factors, such as the heterogeneity and uniqueness of client needs, the complexity and constraints of rehabilitation service delivery systems, and the everchanging nature of work. Surprisingly, the changing nature of work may pose the most formidable challenge for professionals and consumers alike.

This paper examines some of the most compelling work trends that are changing the nature of work such as the global economy and technology, the increase of multi-dimensional jobs and a concomitant demand for workers who possess new critical skills, population shifts, and changes in quality of life and leisure, and presents some implications, recommendations, and strategies for the vocational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. The trends presented indicate that a great deal of flux, uncertainty, and complexity characterizes the global economy. Accordingly, the picture of work life that emerges may be perceived as somewhat pessimistic and unpredictable. However, the knowledge of these trends can change the way professionals, workers, and potential workers, plan for, prepare for, and adjust to, the emerging world of work. After all, knowledge is the first step towards preparedness, and it is in this spirit that the emerging work place and work force are examined. So rehabilitation counselors, and consumers, beware, read, and be prepared to ride the roller coaster of work trends into the 21st Century.

Work Trends

The nature of work is rapidly changing due to a number of interrelated factors such as the global economy and new technology (e.g., Drucker, 1993; Hammer & Champy, 1993; & Hedley, 1992), and population shifts (Chicago Tribune, 1993; Time, 1993). Implicit in these changes are changes in the quality of life and leisure (Mishel & Bernstein, 1993; Schor, 1992), changes in job opportunities (e.g., OOH, 1992; Petras & Petras, 1993) and changes in job requirements (e.g., Herr & Cramer, 1992; Reich, 1992; Thurow, 1993). The globalization of the economy, new technology, and population shifts are examined to better comprehend emerging work trends and their implications for the workplace, workers, and potential workers.

The Global Economy and Technology

The American economy exists within a larger global economy that is multicultural and multinational, an economy that is constantly changing, becoming increasingly competitive, and undergoing continuous and tremendous technological innovation and transformation. The new global American economy has been described as post-industrial (Hage & Powers, 1992; Hedley, 1992), post-capitalist (Drucker, 1993), and Third Wave electronics-driven (Wirth, 1992).

Global sourcing and the development of a world capital market evolved through a "telecommunications-computer-transportation logistics revolution" (Thurow, 1993, p. 16). From this, a new organizational form has emerged, the transnational corporation (TNC), which is characteristic of a new way of doing business in a world of increasing international production and competition (Hedley, 1992). The TNC is a formal business organization that has spatially dispersed operations in at least two countries with investment, trade, and technology under its aegis. Advances in information and communications technology has eliminated the deleterious effects of space and time. Organizations with branches and subsidiaries throughout the world can be as effectively managed, and provide as much up-to-the-minute information as organizations located at just one site (Hedley, 1992). The challenge facing the new world economies "... is to increase the potential value of what its citizens can add to the global economy, by enhancing their skills and capacities and by improving their means of linking those skills and capacities to the world market" (Reich, 1992, p. 8). The characteristics of post-industrial work are a mandate for new skill requirements for America's workers.

Characteristics of Post-industrial Work

The following description of post-industrial societies implicitly describes the American economy and the context of work: post-industrial societies have formally defined labor forces; are highly organized; have developed infrastructures capable of responding to the needs of the populace; are extremely energy intensive; are technologically innovative; and are increasingly geared to the provision of services rather than the production of goods (Hedley, 1992, p. 21).

The American economy and the world of work are also identified by the following factors: Organizational structures, computerization, and a concomitant proliferation of knowledge and change, with a growing demand for administrative and professional services, and occupations that require complex, non-routine, face-to-face interactions (Hage & Powers, 1992; Hedley, 1992). Accordingly, there are many implications for the workplace and workers.