I had barely begun my journey up the corporate ladder when Work in America was first published, but the authors have gone back to their original methodology and created The New American Workplace to document how worklife has changed over the past 30 years.

In brief, Job Satisfaction is up, Self-Employment is more common and dynamic, and opportunities for women are far greater and more equitable (though there probably still room for improvement).  Their predictions that American's would defer retirement (or re-define it) was correct, although not necessarily for all the right reasons: (all quotes from article at Fast Company)

On Retirement: "The thrust toward 'early' retirement calls into doubt the very meaning of 'retirement.'… [R]ecent analysis of census data indicates that older men increasingly do not and will not want to retire at age 65." [1973]

Wow, did we get that right! Americans' deferral of retirement is good news for corporations as we head toward a labor crunch with the aging of the boomer generation. Alas, the willingness of Americans to soldier on is not simply a voluntary response among work-loving men and women who are living longer, healthier lives and want to feel productive. Many workers want to retire, but they are not able to do so "in comfort": Boomers are discovering that the once-prevalent company pension plans that funded their parents' retirements will not be able to pay for theirs. [2006]

And finally, in their current review they admit that they "failed to recognize that the greatest obstacles to high-involvement workplaces are the attitudes and assumptions of top executives. Many are still threatened by the prospect of worker participation. And too many leaders of American corporations still believe they have "no choice" but to match the working conditions and employment practices of their lowest-wage competitors at home and, increasingly, abroad."

Optimistically, "All the evidence shows that workers who participate in decision making, training, profit sharing, and stock ownership are so much more productive than workers who don't enjoy these working conditions that they pay for their own higher salaries and benefits. They also work to keep jobs in America."

Another wake up call for senior management across all industries -- Southwest, Costco, Harley-Davison, UPS, and many others have done it and you can too.

Tags: work life, workplace, retirement, management, pmba