Introduction: Work without Jobs Is the New Work Operating System

Here’s a brainteaser: you are given a candle, a box of tacks, and a book of matches. How do you attach the candle to a wall so that it can be lit without dripping wax onto the floor below? The solution is to deconstruct the box of tacks into its parts (box, tacks), attach the box to the wall with the tacks, and attach the candle to the bottom of the box. In experiments, people who get the tacks inside the box can’t solve the problem, but those given a pile of tacks beside the box solve it easily.
Typically, work is “constructed” into job descriptions similar to the box of tacks; the descriptions become a repository of competencies, performance indicators, and reward packages. This obscures powerful opportunities to optimize your workforce’s productivity,  alignment, and engagement. Tapping those opportunities requires “deconstruction” and “reconstruction,” a vital emerging capability for  rganizations. Deconstruction means reconsidering jobs to see the underlying components such as tasks, projects, and so on, and it means  reconsidering jobholders in terms of their capabilities and skills. Reconstruction means reassembling the components differently, into new  and more optimal combinations that are not limited only to new jobs and jobholders. It’s like the brainteaser. The box and the tacks are  reassembled into a more useful combination than the original “box that contains tacks.” In the new work operating system, this  econstruction  and reconstruction happens perpetually, offering organizations, leaders, and workers far more options. It also requires  fundamentally rethinking concepts like work,leadership, culture, and organization.
 

In the dynamic work environments of the future, organization dilemmas closely resemble the candle puzzle. It’s time to take the tacks out of the box.

Understanding and effectively responding to the future of work will increasingly require this kind of deconstruction and  reconstruction. You can already see this when work automation (such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robots) and alternative work  arrangements (such as “gigs”) present opportunities that are not easily solved with the existing job definitions. Only at the work elements  level can you uncover the key building blocks to understanding and optimizing this future work world.