Influence and the New Normal

When we started this blog, one of the topics we said we’d be talking about was the “new normal; ”  that is, what people are doing to adjust to the post-2007 era, which has also been called the “great recession.”  Features of the "new normal" have included high unemployment, rock-bottom-low interest rates, lagging consumer confidence, and a stagnant housing market.

Since 2007, stories have emerged from various media, such as ABC news, about  how the public has been coping with this “new normal.”  Oftentimes, they illustrated how people have increased their “belt-tightening” – adjusting to lower incomes and lost jobs.  In some cases, there are silver linings, such as appreciating a “simpler” lifestyle.  These include “a newfound gratitude” for basic values, such as family, home and health.  How has it affected the general public?  From economizing on household and clothing expenditures, including food, to revising college plans for children. 

While consultants and advisors, like McKinsey, made early predictions about how the “new normal” would play itself out in business, we now have years of hindsight to fill-in that vision.  We can see how the bad economy, trying to right itself, has influenced the work environment in a number of ways.  

In the world of manufacturing, for instance, the “new normal” has meant even leaner and more efficient organizations.   Companies are focusing on making more long-term, structural changes to processes  and technology infrastructures, which will boost their productivity while cutting costs.  That’s meant major layoffs, cost-cutting, and many “transformations.”  

And, to throw a monkey-wrench into already difficult processes, the influence of severe weather conditions  – another  “new normal” – has led organizations to learn how to plan, prepare for, and deal with disruptions in productivity.  

So what can employees expect in 2013?   Workers can expect a 3% pay raise - that’s about it.  It’s even less if you’re in the government sector.  Yet there may be a change when it comes to promotions.  Companies are looking to keep their valuable employees – the ones who were left doing double the work for the same pay.  “During hard times when companies were asking fewer employees to do more for little or no change in compensation, promotions were few and far between. That’s changing, too, says David Van De Voort, a Buck Consultants principal.”   So there’s hope for promotions.  Like everything else, it will depend on the influence of the opening job market – where employees see better opportunities, they will leave.   

How has the “new normal” influenced change in your life?