Workplace 2005

At your next company meeting, really consider who your employees are. By 2005, it will be a very different crowd. There will be more older workers and, conversely, more teens. There will be fewer men and, for the first time, more Latinos than African Americans. You may have to get by with fewer workers overall because the labor market will only get tighter. And you might see them only on occasion, as telecommuting becomes even more common.

While you're at it, check out your office. By 2005, it will probably be smaller, and you'll spend less time in it. Gone will be the small, sequestered offices, replaced by low walls and an open environment to facilitate collaboration. And, of course, it will be stuffed with technology we can scarcely imagine.

Not surprisingly, you and your workers will have some different issues on your minds. They will be more concerned with certain benefits, such as elder care, and less about others, including company-paid medical insurance. You'll have bigger training woes, and you may have to hire someone just to track the schedules of all the temps, part-timers, telecommuters and other flexible workers on your payroll.

Are you ready for Workplace 2005?

This article was originally published in the November 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Workplace 2005.