Employees of the Innovation Economy

Famous management guru Peter Drucker defined people who work with knowledge and develop knowledge as “Knowledge Workers” in 1959. This definition of Drucker was one of the most important steps taken after the Scientific Management approach that Frederick Taylor published in 1911 and determined the management principles related to "manual labor". The definition of knowledge workers brought the mind to an important position in management, as much as the hands.

What was the work expected from this group of knowledge workers? First of all, contributing to creating a new strategy or developing further an existing strategy, understanding and interpreting trends, establishing connections between issues, understanding cause / effect relationships, creating alternatives with diverse thinking, choosing the best alternative with focused thinking, and developing new skills. Knowledge workers were expected to pay attention to these and use these skills even while doing their daily work.

Drucker identified some factors for the productivity of knowledge workers in his book Management Challenges for the 21st Century:

- Responsibility for the productivity of knowledge workers must rest on them, i.e. knowledge workers have to manage themselves,

- Continuous innovation should be a part of the duty and responsibility of knowledge workers,

- Knowledge work requires constant learning, but also constant teaching,

- The efficiency of knowledge workers depends primarily on the quality of the work done, not the amount.

- The knowledge worker should be seen as one of the company's assets, not a cost element, and should be treated accordingly.

In later years, Toyota put aside the distinction between knowledge workers and manual workers to teach the world that the brain capacity of all employees in the company is important, no matter what jobs they do, and that not using this capacity will cause serious losses. It was realized that on-the-spot decision-making skills were important, even in seemingly routine jobs, especially when the goal was to move to a superior level of performance. Many companies regard white-collar and blue-collar definitions as a superficial line that creates  discrimination and damages company integrity. All employees now have to be treated as knowledge workers. Companies don't have the luxury of telling a group of employees “don't think, and just do what you're told”.

On the other hand, the category formerly defined as knowledge workers has also undergone a serious evolution over time. As Richard Florida states in his book “The Rise of the Creative Class”, the economy and society are in change and the engine of this change is human creativity. Creativity and innovation that emerges by transforming creativity into benefit is now the determining source of competitive advantage. While people can be recruited and fired, their creative capacity cannot be bought and sold, or turned on and off at the will of companies. The coexistence of different thinking people is also an element that fosters creativity and creates a wealth of ideas. Considering that only people who can "adapt" were employed in the past, there is a need for a mental adjustment here. For individual and group creativity to emerge voluntarily and turn into innovation, an open-minded company culture is required. Fortunately, companies can create these environments with will and determination. Moreover, the cost of creating them is very low.

With today’s social networks, people have rediscovered the power of belonging, sharing and being in touch. Now, there is a generation that communicates better than before, collaborates, seeks to add meaning to their life, wants to find entertainment in their work, and is not satisfied with doing without questioning what is put in front of them. They shape the workplaces in one way or another. People work longer hours than before, whether at work or remotely. Developing technologies made it possible to work and be accessible anytime, and anywhere. This is a situation that strengthens the expectation that the work, which fills a significant part of their lives, should add meaning.

Companies can resist and ignore the style, and the expectations of this new generation, or accept this reality and make the most of it. Organizations that can ignite the imagination of their people, utilize their creativity in the best way, and even use the creativity of people outside the company are turning into innovative companies.