1 What are the possible consequences of the kind of changes predicted for the psychological contract (introduced in Chapter 2) of employees?

The Business Strategy Review ran a research consortium of 21 companies and over 200 executives from around the world on the future of work (Gratton, 2010). The consortium identified technological changes as the basis for structural and managerial challenges.
Traditional ways of working assume that employees are gathered in one place and that their time is controlled. However, these assumptions are becoming less valid over time.
By 2025 it is predicted that more than five billion people will be communicating for work through mobile devices. The ‘cloud’ will provide low-cost computing, and increased information available on the web will make the physical workplace irrelevant. There will also be increased opportunities for talented and energetic people across the world to work remotely regardless of geographic location.
As technological advancement progressively introduces new ways of working, HR will need to enable managers to think and act differently. It can be particularly difficult for middle managers to accept that their workers do not need to be visible, and that workers being away from the immediacy of control may be a good thing. Managers need to switch from measuring inputs (such as hours at work) to outputs. There is also a challenge to traditional structures that were based on the idea that people at certain grades had particular freedoms and responsibilties. In the new way of working, there is much more flexibility and employees negotiate packages (including pay, provision of equipment and flexibility of working hours) that are individually based, rather than adhering to the traditional rule for a particular grade.