The evolution of jobs and positions within companies is directly impacted by the economic changes over time.  The impact is felt across all industries at a global level.  This evolution has affected organizational positions from non-exempt to the executive level.  In essence it has affected the labor market in its entirety.  Given the current economic climate, companies are struggling with reorganizations, cost containment, headcount, and other efforts to stay in business  

We are in the midst of a unique transitional economic time and will be facing what is known as a �??Jobless Economic Recovery.�??  We have suffered from the elimination of over 10.1 million jobs since late 2007.   The effects of these eliminations are felt by the employee and those seeking employment in many different ways. 

Fundamental shifts in operations are based on a combination of cyclical and structural organizational changes.  Cyclical or temporary planned layoffs were a common business practice in many different industries of the industrial age.  This practice is correlated to a company�??s production cycle.  These types of cyclical changes are always a percentage of recessional economic recoveries. 

Temporary operational models are being utilized through cycles of higher productivity.   The practice of outsourcing small units of work as opposed to developing permanent staff is not uncommon within this model.  This business practice once seen primarily in the manufacturing and production industries can now be adapted to many different industries.  It is a simple way to manage costs relating to the recruitment of regular full time staff.  Temporary staff typically allows organizations to support a surge in a company�??s headcount demand relative to production.  This practice allows companies to better manage recruiting costs as well as permanent expenses and headcount. 

On the other hand, structural organizational changes permanently affect the relationship between the employer and employee.  These structural changes are due to two primary factors: process/resources efficiencies and automation.  More recent economic conditions have forced companies to review their current resource allocation and headcount than ever before. 

Job Evolution is the combination of traditional and new challenges faced by organizations to become more efficient.  Jobs have evolved along with these fundamental changes and the introduction of the hybrid job has appeared as a result.   

A hybrid position is one that has responsibilities formerly seen in two or more positions within an organization.  In general, this combination of both structural and cyclical restructuring have created the opportunity for new hybrid positions and have allowed organizations to become even more efficient with less headcount.    

Elements of the latest trends of job evolution will affect the job market in different ways.  One way is that employers are taking longer to restructure and effectively combine positions.  Through a process of trial and error companies have begun to realize the benefit of combining selective job descriptions at all levels.  This creates a more efficient use of human capital allocation and a lower employee headcount.  The combination of job descriptions to meet industry and market changes is the core result of this evolution.  The effect is permanently changing the employers search criteria when identifying new talent both internally and externally. 

Finally, another driving force in the evolution worth mentioning is �??Job Outsourcing.�??  This business practice again originally started within the manufacturing and production industries.  The difference now is that it affects many more industries and is becoming more and more common within support functions. 

Job Evolution has permanently affected both the employee and job seeker.  This change is the biggest difference between past recoveries and present day.  If you remember, the �??dot boom�?? left many highly skilled talent pools within industry sectors that only possess half of the responsibilities and industry related experience required for the new hybrid positions organizations seek to add to their staff. 

In addition, this evolution has brought with it new technologies which even further automates the older labor-intensive way of doing business.  These new efficiencies, automated tools and hybrid positions have re-organized the core structure of companies and how they support their operations.    

We can expect the labor force to be affected in both the short term and the long term.  In the short term employees that have been retained will begin to experience even more job security and stability with more choices to move within their existing organization. 

Companies are beginning to formalize retention policies as well as aggressive recruiting strategies.  This will eventually lead to the demand for similar talent and additional headcount.  

In the long term, the new job requirements should allow employers to source from various industry backgrounds and experiences.   This will open up new talent pools as well as job opportunities for both employers and employees. 

The positive impact to the labor market is that it creates career diversity and growth potential.   As new organizational processes are developed and put into practice, new hybrid support positions should also begin to become available to the job seeker.  Companies will soon get to a point of needing to increase headcount to be able to support the market productivity and growth goals. 

This will pave the way for the long term to experience an abundant job market and new employment opportunities.  Job seekers will be able to be considered for various new opportunities within their respective industries as well as apply for opportunities within different industries and market sectors where they were considered unqualified in the past.  This will soon create an exciting job market open to career crosspollination.