Workplace 2005

The worst news for employers is that the tight job market is here to stay. The U.S. work force will grow to 149 million by 2006, up 11 percent from 1996. But that's smaller than the 14 percent increase from 1986 to 1996, notes Fullerton, and the slowdown isn't related to economic forces: "Even with the economy growing at full steam, the labor force only grew 1.1 percent last year."

The big problem is not so much slow growth in the labor force; it's that there will be 151 million jobs for those 149 million workers, according to Challenger. As a result, he says, "Many of those workers will be working two jobs."

To ensure that many jobs don't go unfilled, employers will have to offer an increasing array of work schedules and employment options. More workers will be essentially free agents, working for whomever offers the best deal--until a better one comes along. "This will lead to tremendous [turnover], especially among high-tech employees," says Hendricks.

Benefits packages will take on a new look, as more employers and employees agree to share the cost of medical insurance, perhaps with assistance from private or public third parties, Challenger predicts. New benefits, such as company-paid financial counseling to help employees provide for retirement, may replace some traditional perks, he says.

And so-called "intangible benefits" will assume greater importance, according to Lynn Taylor, vice president and director of research for Menlo Park, California's OfficeTeam, a temporary employment agency specializing in administrative staffing. Intangibles may include everything from a supportive corporate culture to an energizing entrepreneurial vision of how the business will change the world. "The amazing thing," adds Taylor, "is how important working with a nice group of people has become in job seekers' goals."

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