European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Work place n transition y Bob Dart Fox news service Pihe work place will be the i Quot neighbourhood Quot of the 21 St Century i a with suburban satellite office a complexes containing schools hops and centers for caring for children ind the elderly an american business search group predicts. The dramatic changes will be driven by technological advances foreign Competition and shifting worker topographies said the report by the Bureau of National affairs inc. The 32-Page report the future of work s family shaping programs for the 21st Century was released in conjunction with the organizations third annual conference on work and the family. Quot if there is As much change in the next 10 years As in the previous we wont recognize the work place Quot said Barney Olmstead co director of new ways to work a non profit group studying the future of the nations labor Force. Olmstead was among the work Force specialists who contributed to the report the 34th in a series on work and family issues. The coming Century will see the creation of Quot a workplace bearing Little resemblance to what most working parents and employers know today Quot the report forecasts. A jobs will be closer to employees suburban Homes reducing commuting times As Well As air pollution. The workplace computer will be connected via modems and phone lines to computers in the Home permitting a third of All employees to work at Home at least part time. At the turn of the Century 70 percent of the Homes in the United states will have a computer compared to 18 percent now the report predicts. Indeed 44 percent of the work Force will have jobs in information industries it said. Employers concerned about keeping qualified workers in an Era of a shrinking labor Pool will form partnerships with local educators to put Public schools As Well As child care centers near the work site. Already in Dade county Flat a there Are three such Quot satellite learning centers Quot where the school system provides the teachers and curriculum and companies provide the classroom space maintenance utilities and Security the report said. The aging of America will bring about other work place changes. The average worker will be 39 years old in the year 2000. Compared to an average age of 36 in 1990. More of these older workers will be caught in a generational squeeze of caring for their aged parents As Well As their children. Companies will offer Quot cafeteria Quot Benefit packages that allow workers to opt for elder care help As Well As child care benefits. Child care will continue to be a concern though As two income families will compose 75 percent of the work Force compared to 28 percent in 1960 and 49 percent in 1985, according to the report. In addition to containing More women and minorities the work Force will also have a larger percentage of elderly employees. The number of americans Over the age of 65, now about 30 million will Rise to 50 million Early in the 21 St Century. Retirement age will Rise from 65 to 70 As Many companies try to keep experienced employees on the jots longer at least part time the report predicts. Companies increasingly competing in a global Market will develop these programs in order to keep their highly trained workers the report said. In a High tech Era training becomes More costly and lengthy so firms with lower turnover gain a competitive Edge. Suburban Bliss subsides by Ellen l. James Baltimore Sun they Are an affluent suburban couple who seem to have it All two Good jobs a couple of Bright Young kids and a fancy contemporary House Complete with spacious bedrooms sunken family room and oversized garage in a rising subdivision of new Homes. But there Are cracks in this seemingly perfect suburban picture. The monthly mortgage payment ties up much of their discretionary income the husband resents his relatively Long commute to the City and the neighbourhood schools Are not what the couple imagined. Quot it s not nirvana in the suburbs. There Are problems with the Public schools everywhere Quot the 33-year-old Man says. As a result the couple is considering something they have imagined just a few years ago. They re thinking of Selling their suburban Home and moving to a More modest and convenient place in the City. That would reduce the husbands commute and spare enough Cash to pay the children s tuition at a private school in the City. Like the suburban couple a Small but gradually increasing segment of the . Population is opting for a voluntary downshift in their housing. Once it was. Primarily seniors and those in declining economic circumstances because of divorce or unemployment that downscale. Now other younger or More prosperous people Are looking to More modest housing choices. A the House used to be no. 1 now it s tied with a number of other things a a including the kids education travel and other personal priorities Quot says Karl Breckenridge of Nevada author of such books As staying on top in real estate published by Dearborn financial press in Chicago. Part of the trend toward Down scaling relates to the conservative financial mood sweeping the United states. Status seeking May have been the lifestyle quest of the 1980s, but Many families in the �?T90s Are More interested in financial Security realty experts say. They would rather have a smaller mortgage payment than a Jacuzzi in every bathroom. Quot a lot of people who bought into the House As a big opulent statement in the Yuppie 1980s Are sitting Back now and asking whether that a the lifestyle they really want Quot says Arthur Davis Iii president of a Maryland realty company. A a Little conservatism has crept Back into the Overall buyer another Factor is shrinking Leisure time a painful reality for Many two career couples. A recent Harris poll found that the average american s Leisure time has diminished by 37 percent since 1973, while the average workweek has jumped from 41 to 47 hours. Longer and More traffic Ridden commutes Are one explanation for the trend. People who downscale done to always move from suburb to City. Down scaling is generally not a revolt against the suburban lifestyle per be. It is often a revolt against the demands imposed on the owner of a big Home a a property with a big Yard to Cut and prune and a lot of Square footage to be maintained. Hence a person scaling Down could As easily move from a Large suburban Home a usually a big single family House a to a smaller single family town House or condominium in the same suburb. Or he could move from a larger to a smaller House within an Urban area. Davis for instance went from a Large House in a City neighbourhood to a much less spacious apartment in a Coop apartment nearby. His primary motivation was to spare himself the time and attention that maintaining the big House required. Quot it was a colonial House with four bedrooms and 3 Baths. There was a constant list of items that needed attention if the place was going to be maintained. And i knew that if i did t maintain it the House was going to decline in value Quot Davis says. He says that he and his wife prefer the Freedom afforded by what he Calls Quot one door living a noting a when we close that door we Don t need to worry about anything a not maintenance or Security or besides the Freedom Many who choose downscale housing like the savings. Education costs loom especially Large for Many homeowners of the baby Boom generation. Although families Are smaller educational expectations Are rising and Confidence in Public education for elementary and secondary students is falling a along with test scores a in a number of neighbourhoods. For some families Money for a Good private school has become a higher priority than a fancy Home. A i a a a \ i a a a v aaa a i a a a a a to Jujj t y y t t y a amps Susan Harris the stars and stripes a a a Page 15
