Success at Work in the Information Age

With the dawn of our modern “Information Age,” the skills that lead to success at work have seen a dramatic shift. The days where a worker needed to know every aspect of their job in order to be successful are over, and new competencies have arisen to take the place of these former work skills. In order to be successful, modern workers now need to have mastery over technical ability, resource utilization, and adaptability. Technical ability is the cornerstone of the modern world. A worker must know how to skillfully interact with the technology required for their job. For most people nowadays, that means the ability to use a computer and the software that runs on it. For example, in order to be a personal assistant one must be able to operate a computer, read and respond to emails, and manage digital calendars. Without the ability to handle the technical interactions required at modern jobs every day, it is difficult for a worker to be successful.

Resource utilization comes hand-in-hand with technical ability. In order to be successful, a worker must know what resources their job has and how to utilize them effectively. In the past it was difficult to locate and utilize resources, so workers were limited to what they knew. However, with the advent of the internet, all of human knowledge is available to those who know how to utilize for it. For example, workers now have access to online encyclopedias known as “Wikis” that hold general information on the internet as well as company-specific information on private networks. There are countless tutorials and examples available at any worker’s fingertips as long as they know how to utilize these new resources.

Adaptability is perhaps the most valuable skill for modern workers. With the world changing ever faster, it is essential that a worker be able to adapt to new situations that may not have been encountered before. We are seeing the birth of new technologies in the workplace every year and the rate that these technologies change the work environment is only getting faster. For example, just a handful of years ago a front-end web developer would have only needed to know HTML and CSS. However, currently they would also need to know JavaScript frameworks such as React or Vue. If a worker is unable to adapt to the ever-changing work landscape, success will be difficult to attain. The combination of these skills is critical to the success of a modern worker. Without sufficient technical ability, a worker cannot adequately access the resources they have available to them. Without utilizing these resources, a worker cannot adapt to the changing work landscape. Finally, without the ability to adapt as the work landscape changes, a worker cannot be successful in the information age.