2046

JUST IMAGINE IF BY the year 2046, all firms would require their employees to become multi-tasked individuals... Where will my son go?

It’s is all about flexibility. “We emphasize the shift from a ‘Tayloristic’ organization of work (characterized by significant specialization by tasks) to a ‘Holistic’ organization (featuring job rotation, integration of tasks and learning across tasks),” stated in a study by Assar Linbeck and Dennis J. Snower. It was also mentioned by these two researchers that an increasing percentage of firms around the globe are adapting this kind of reorganization – multi-tasking.


Relatively speaking, having a broader understanding of many academic subjects has its own advantage over having only one specialization. As the well-known but not widely completed proverbs says, “Jack of all trades, master of none, though of times better than the master of one.” In an Academic scenario, for instance, even AB Mass Communications students take their courses in Algebra and Statistics. If a student, who has perfected his English class, failed his Math, how will he ever wear his toga and get his diploma?

Pragmatically speaking, especially to those who belong to the average class family, it’s more likely that you’ll be hunting for a job after graduation. Now, the thought of flexibility also applies in this situation. What if a company hired you in a position you haven't applied for or entrusted you with more than one task? Well, I’ve been in a telecommunication company where its employees do multi-tasking—Customer Service, Cashiering, Inventory Management, and Sales.

Once, I still can recall, I was commended by one of our subscribers during the times when I was still working at a telecommunication company. I assisted a subscriber at the Customer Care counter. Then after her transaction, she needed to defray a certain amount at the Cashier’s counter. However, the cashier was missing (perhaps she went to the restroom); so I just took her counter thus not letting the subscriber wait for the only cashier in our shop to return. Then, the subscriber was delighted. Conversely, Cashiering is a task that requires one to learn an integrated system. If I haven’t taken my training in Cashiering before, I wouldn’t be able to expedite the process of the said subscriber’s transaction.

Additionally, I recall two experiences of mine – an old one and a new one.

The old one: I remember my former schoolmate who secretly wanted to become a polymath just like Rizal. She believes that knowing a lot of things can help her in various situations. “Unlike focusing on one subject, it limits you; you can't move too much with only one specialization. What if your specialization becomes, in the future, obsolete?” she anxiously muttered.

The new one: I’m starting to relate the said experience with my former colleague’s advice to me when I’ve been complaining about multi-tasking. He said, “After this, you’ll be thankful because you’ve learned other things than writing and the life in the publication. You’ve become more flexible than what you were before and this could help you find another job if, unfortunately, it happens to have zero-vacancies to those jobs related with your expertise in the near future. You can teach this thought to your future son or daughter too…”

Now if by 2046, I already have a son – who inherited my passion for writing – and he'll be applying for jobs that need flexible employees, I think it would be better for him to have broad knowledge on all subjects too. But what if there are still no vacancies for his specialty?

Perhaps, he can be a cashier at a shop in Washington D.C.