Joseph Rueter

Our notions of what a job is are being challenged. In the past and because of the Industrial Revolution a job was about going to work and doing a checklist of things. It was about a transaction of time and actions in exchange for payment. If the work items got done and you were there for certain number of hours then the job was done. It was clean and easy. We simply checked off boxes and all was good.

While this notion of work is nice and comfortable it suggests that it doesn’t much matter who does the work but rather simply that the work gets all checked off in a certain predetermined way. Qualifications then are purely on competency for said task. But our notions of work are being challanged.

Jobs are becoming less about transactions and more about relationships and interaction in this Interaction Revolution we’re experiencing. Social media, per se, is changing the dynamics of customer service and corporate relations and marketing. It’s also challenging your notions of what a “job” is. This is part of the reason why its appropriate for people to lead with their personal lives on a corporate twitter account, for example. Jobs are less and less about checking off a list of to-do items and more and more about who someone is and what relationships they have and can maintain.

Transactional exchanges ruled the days of the past. We’re in a time of transition where relationships and interaction are emerging the rulers of the days to come.

Where is your job on the scale of transaction vs relationship? Are you doing more checklist things or more relationship things? Do you feel these pressures in the corporation or for your role specifically?