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Many organizations are experimenting with “job deconstruction,” a new way of organizing work where employees’ skills are dynamically matched with specific tasks or projects rather than through fixed roles. While this is a potentially transformative organizing principle for enhancing talent deployment across organizations, its implementation is not without challenges. Research highlights three tensions in particular which, if left unchecked, risk alienating employees and failing to deliver the benefits of job deconstruction: Balancing autonomy and control, balancing detachment and belonging, and balancing growth and stability. Implementing guardrails that place the human experience front and center can buffer against the negative effects of these tensions.
The centrality of traditional “jobs,” or stable tasks bundled into administrative job titles, is waning in modern workplaces. Amid post-pandemic labor shifts, global uncertainties, and rapid technological advancements, organizations are pivoting toward more flexible work structures. This shift is epitomized by “job deconstruction,” a new way of organizing where employees’ skills are dynamically matched with specific tasks or projects rather than through fixed roles.
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