The History and Future of Work

Where has work come from and where do really great workplaces need to head towards? Does using a Gestalt Lens help us?

Author: James Moore

Following on from understanding the importance of balance and some simple tips to help achieve this, this article aims to explore the history and future of work through a Gestalt Lens.

Introduction:

Understanding where we have come from is vital to help us see where we’re going. There are many ways of reflecting on the past and considering the future. As with all real diversity and inclusion, the more lenses we have that we use and value, the deeper our perspectives should be. This article attempts to use a Gestalt lens to help us bolster our understanding to help us have the best possible approaches for the future.

As with everything in life, I suggest that there isn’t a perfect model that describes Gestalt. However, as my previous articles explain, I suggest that recognising that balance through ever changing dynamics and relationships is useful basis. So, for work, my learning is that really effective work is about understanding the power dynamic between individuals and their organisations. For most people now, this is primarily expressed through the relationship they have with their manager – but more of that to come!

Work: where have we come

There are many anthropological views about the history and evolution of people and we developed our society. There is general consensus that humans were fundamentally more sociable with increasingly extensive social and communication skills aligned with a desire and ability to move . Further, few disagree that our survival and thriving was based on and involved some form of “hunter gartherer” approach. This is where in our groups/tribes we exploited an area of land for food, before moving on. This successfully worked for us for some time, as once we had moved on, we left an area to regenerate. However, we were proving particularly successful and not just surviving but also thriving. Whilst there is argument as to how patriachial this way of living was, it seems that there was a high level of collaboration. Indeed, recent research has shown that one of the reasons why women make particularly good endurance athletes as they get older, is that their role was to literally carry the family, whilst the more powerful explosive muscled males chased animals over short distancesm for the catch and kill. However, the areas and gaps between tribes became smaller and started to lead to scarcity with increasing levels of starvation and conflict. We needed a different model of living and working.

Over time, tribes started to settle and found that they could be more efficient by exploiting the land through working it through farming. Again, this approach relied on a collaborative approach from the whole family. To survive, everyone had to pull their weight. The approach proved to be particulalry successful in geographical areas that didn’t have extremes of weather – however these were few and far between. There is some debate about how farming became more organised, but as Andrew Marr describes, examples of organised engineering started to be seen all around the globe. He points to the example in China, where engineering developed as individuals established canals and dams meaning that one of the biggest threats to farming on the most fertile land (flooding) could be tamed. Initially, this seemed to have little to do with power and the acquisition of resources. However, as there was more organisation, this power dynamic between the organisers of the engineering and the farmers started to change. It soon became a servant/master relationship where farming communities were less customers and partners and more servile underlings. This power imbalance was further reinforced as priesthoods started to emerge, which provided further compliance with through that other element of human uniqueness: spirituality. As our individual human spirits became subsumed by undertaking tasks for a collective organization where a handful of people set the rules, the outcomes and the culture, it is unsurprising that workplace productivity and innovation fell.

This culture of power imbalance set the platform for what may appear to be normal throughout human history and is arguably still prevalent today.

The thought provoking question hangs over this: would the serfs of the middle ages feel a great affinity and likeness to many in the workforces of today? The need for someone “to be in charge” and “tell other people what to do” may often feel like the cornerstone of much of our workplace cultural norms. Yet, the history of effective work, was built on collaboration and not coercion.

The future of work: creating inclusive, collaborative & balanced cultures

If we accept that there is a power imbalance in our culture and, therefore, in our workplaces, what can we do to challenge and change this?

#Organisational Development Expertise

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About the Author:

James Moore is an experienced award winning cultural change strategist and practitioner. James and his Mor Tawel Consultancy can support systems/organisations, teams/groups and individuals to work more inclusively and collaboratively by creating healthier work and workplaces.