dispatches from the new world of work

Change for Good, or Maybe Not???

The Ernst & Young ITEM Club report, published on 20th July, continues the gloomy economic tone. They forecast that the coming recovery is going to be slow, and painful. It seems we all have several more years of "porridge" ahead of us. What has been playing on my mind is what the legacy of this period will be? I am wondering whether any of the traumas we are going through will result in lasting changes in behaviour?

Consumers are tightening their belts in lots of ways: shopping more scrupulously, cooking more at home, taking up knitting, growing their own vegetables, being more careful of their energy usage, vacationing closer to home ... etc., etc. ... you fill in the gaps. All good eco-friendly stuff, some would say. Speaking personally, I have put off replacing my car for another year, and I'm planning a low-cost holiday in Barcelona this year by renting a small apartment and flying with a budget airline (NOT Ryanair)!

Employers, too, seem to be approaching this recession a bit differently. Many appear to have more of an eye to the impact their actions will have on employee morale than they have in previous recessions. We are seeing innovative ways to reduce employee costs without laying off as many workers as they might have in previous recessions, for example, by offering career breaks on reduced pay, or asking staff to work reduced hours to preserve jobs.

Many of these recession-driven strategies could be seen as positive ways to live our ongoing work and home lives. But, as anyone trying to lose weight or give up smoking will tell you, it's not the initial effort that matters, but whether you can make adaptations to your lifestyle so that you sustain a change for good—what engineers call "permanent set."

Is it too much to hope that some of the better new habits we are forming as consumers and employers will survive the recession? Which recession-driven habits do you hope will stay with us for good, and which will you be glad to leave behind?

Madeleine McGrath posted this on 07/24/09.

Comments

Just wanted to point out that was a report on the UK economy. You might be interested in thisp-http://www.ey.com/US/en/Issues/Driving-growth

Posted by CherylA at July 24, 2009 5:49 PM

At the risk of upsetting my fellow Yanks (and if I do, I am moving to the London office:) ), the one benefit has been paying more attention to performance. I honestly believe in so many segments we have built an entitlement culture in our businesses. Frankly, we got a little soft. A lot of folks are getting quite a wake up call. Nice to see results matter again.

Posted by mike Neiss at July 24, 2009 6:14 PM

The real question is where is the musical score to take us to the next scene?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP2VyquMAaM

Posted by UK Love at July 24, 2009 7:15 PM

Great topic Madeleine. I really want to believe that the good housekeeping rules being implemented as a result of the recession will have a lasting legacy and that there will be real behaviour and lifestyle change. I am an eternal optimist but I have this feeling that just as soon as the green shoots of recovery start to appear above the surface we will see immediately see the money lenders throwing ‘debt’ at us for free, and as always we will snap their hands off.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 24, 2009 7:24 PM

Maddie - the madness must stop - 1st we take finance in the red & paint it black - then we the people come together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsYievNNITE

Posted by UK Love at July 25, 2009 5:07 PM

It may be too much too hope for as a report last week indicated the US ended 2008 with $13.8 TRILLION in household debt, a number reduced to $13.7 TRILLION in the last month. With that said, an increasing savings rate and anecdotal evidence of reduced consumption is encouraging. Time will tell. Nice post.

Posted by David Porter at July 27, 2009 5:01 PM

Save more, spend little, work harder for more meager rewards. This is GOOD? No, this is Japan. And thanks Trevor for mandating that we actually NEED a behaviour and lifestyle change. Who made you director of our behaviour and lifestyle choices?

Posted by huh? at July 29, 2009 10:13 AM

As a convinced right winger (refugee from a communist country) I always side with those defending their right to choose lifestyles (like huh?). But somehow I see the foolishness of the "spend and owe" economy, it may sound a little socialist but I would like to see some positive results from the recession:
a more frugal mentality, traduced in smaller cars (or no car), smaller houses (easier to heat or cool), shorter working hours. Our fierce brand of capitalism had given the world almost everything (from planes to electric lights) but maybe its time to redefine it. The problem with the "changers" is they want to rely in ideology, while lasting changes are always the product of increased productivity brought by better technology.

Posted by ricardo ortega at August 5, 2009 12:48 PM