Hilary Robertson-Hickling

Intimate relationships have flourished at the workplace in spite of warnings and reservations held by many about the potential for conflict and other problems. In a wonderful short story written by Dr. Kim Robinson, entitled 'Spreeing in a SUV', the power struggle between the helper and the woman of the house over the affections of the man of the house is described, it won a Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

In a society like ours which seems to have a great deal of tolerance for sexual misbehaviour, we are not surprised about allegations of sexual harassment at the workplace. Apparently not even the police force is exempt from this state of affairs. As more women enter the workforce and the gender balance changes we are going to have to ensure that we develop zero tolerance for sexual harassment. Not only must there be policies but as a society we must develop the concept that this is wrong.

The home is evolving as a workplace for some very important reasons; there is the teleworking which is possible as technology allows people to work from home and the impact of the growing care industry as our population ages and lives longer. There are opportunities for training for new home workers and opportunities to develop higher-level skills in domestic work.

I am intrigued at what happens at construction sites where there are signs about weapons, the smoking of illegal substances and the processes for gaining employment. The presence of armed police men on sites points to the state of our country where people have been killed for a number of reasons. The expectations of the employers are clearly identified and this needs to be clearly articulated in all of our workplaces.

21st century workplace

The workplace of the 21st century is changing - technology, customer expectations, and globalisation are having a tremendous impact. We need to prepare ourselves for the changes. A visit to some of the organisations which have been established during the last decade points to the concern for wellness, and the flattening of the organisational hierarchy which is bringing greater democracy to the workplace.

There are still conflicts between people and the findings of a recent study in the United States of America pointed to the ill feelings held by employees about their bosses. This indicated that there are challenges to harmonious relationships in the workplace. The work by our own researchers Carl Stone, Ken Carter, and Noel Cowell need to be constantly updated to ensure that improvements can be made to our work life.

Whether one works in the private sector or in the public sector, our expectations are converging. We want to receive good service and more employers and employees are recognising that they have to provide it. The stakeholders in the work place are placing more pressure as the world becomes more competitive. Increasingly, it will be that only those who deliver will be compensated.

The next generation of managers and workers will expect more from the workplace than previous generations - interesting work, greater autonomy, opportunities for organisational mobility among other things. There are exciting times ahead.