Living in the working world of tomorrow

Do you know this too? You are sitting at your workplace 1.0, networked with your colleagues via Web 2.0, and hypermodern terms from the world of work 4.0 are thrown at you every day. You travel on the ICE with the ticket on your smartphone. Skyping or Facetiming with offices in London, New York or Sydney is part of daily business, as is collaborating with people from different countries. They have learned to live in the VUCA world.

But what exactly is VUCA?

VOLATILITY(unpredictability)
UNCERTAINTY(uncertainty)
COMPLEXITY
AMBIGUITY(ambiguity)

Google Trends shows that VUCA has been going viral since 2015. The term describes our (working) lives, which are becoming increasingly diverse. Even short-term planning is hardly possible. Technical innovations appear from one day to the next and are just as quickly outdated again. Numerous possibilities await our decisions. Complexity is increasing: we can no longer see the wood for the trees.

The combination of several unknown variables creates a feeling of pressure, stress and chaos for many. Exactly the same feeling can arise when we meet people with beliefs, values and convictions that are unfamiliar to us. The extent to which chaos influences our actions and feelings is related to our tolerance for ambiguity.

Ambiguity tolerance - the skill of the future

Ambiguity tolerance is the ability to recognize ambiguous situations, contradictions and courses of action and to deal with them constructively. People with a high tolerance for ambiguity are better able to accept other opinions and review their own views and assessments. In contrast, people with a low tolerance for ambiguity often do not even notice ambiguities at first. If they recognize ambiguity, they feel uncomfortable and easily mentally overwhelmed.

Surviving in the VUCA world with the "Management of Grey"

In order to survive in a VUCA world, it is imperative that organizations are agile and innovative. Often, an organization's ability to innovate is limited by the bias and lack of openness of individual team members or managers. This inability leads to stagnation, which can have a negative impact on economic success.

Tolerance of ambiguity is an important skill to feel comfortable in the midst of ambiguity and uncertainty and to remain healthy in the long term. The world around us is no longer black or white, the "management of gray" is required. Anyone who automatically rejects unclear and ambiguous information will find it difficult to find their way in this working world.

VUCA + Diversity = DiVUCAty

And this is precisely where the parallel between the VUCA world and diversity lies. In times when yesterday's novelty is already tomorrow's standard, we constantly find ourselves in situations characterized by ambiguity, uncertainty and incomplete information. Diversity is not much different: different people bring with them contradictions, cultural differences, different structures, unexpected behavior and reactions.

A culture of trust counteracts misunderstandings and misinterpretations (ambiguity) because it promotes open exchange, whereas a culture of mistrust has the opposite effect. Focusing on skills rather than deficits broadens the view and is the basis for successful diversity management.

German Diversity Day took place for the fourth time on June 7, 2016. The annual nationwide day of action calls on companies to focus on the idea of diversity. The pme Familienservice also took part again. Because we also embrace diversity and promote tolerance.

Sources:

O'Connor, P. (1952). Ethnocentrism, "intolerance of ambiguity" and abstract reasoning ability. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, pp. 526-530, p. 47

Budner, S. (1962). Intolerance of ambiguity as a personality variable, pp. 29-50.

Dalbert, C. (1999). The Uncertainty Tolerance Scale: Scale properties and validation findings (= Halle Reports on Educational Psychology No. 1). Halle: Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Department of Educational Sciences - Pedagogy.

Christopher Yates (2015). www.linkedin.com/pulse/vuca-diversity-christopher-yates