Temporary is the new Permanent.

Temporary is the new permanent. Modern social and professional existence comes with high level of temporariness.

Employees, co-workers, neighbours, friends and relationships - all are temporary. In this uncertain, connected, global world, opportunities are not evenly distributed. The unevenness of this distribution throws people from one end of this planet to another, fueling mobility and temporariness.

Foe Generation Z kids as their parents move, their friends change; their teachers change jobs, their classroom changes; their moms and dads migrate, their city and neighbourhood changes.

For young adults, the millennial, they change their work organization, their managers and co-workers change; they break-up, their boy-friends/girl-friends change; their friends change, their place to hang-out changes and then their profile photos and updates change every other day.

And then suddenly one day a stray explosion somewhere changes everything...for everybody.

Coping with Temporariness

Coping with temporariness is both an opportunity as much it is a challenge. It could be incredibly rewarding, at the same time it could also be quite unsettling and at times, even emotionally draining. 

For individuals it could mean better rewards, better pay, global trotting and a glamorous lifestyle, it could also mean loss of friends, loved ones, absence of support system and emotional turmoil at times.

For organization the temporariness in the environment means coping with uncertain business contexts that could mean both blessing and curse; this temporariness on one hand may mean gaining access to talent, it may also means losing them to the accelerated global mobility. 

While organization try to cope up with this temporariness by building flexibility in their business models and of their workforce by improving engagement. 

When it comes to individuals, while those who develop high degree of adaptability are upto the challenge and cope with temporariness, others struggle and at times crumble under pressure. Not surprisingly stress related symptoms are on the rise - some call it the cost of prosperity.

Kids of the Times

It will be interesting to see how today's kids, the Generation Z, are conditioned in this era of temporariness. It could mean high levels of adaptability in them when they grow-up, but it may also mean emotional vulnerability and fragility. Growing up in times such as these, will they ever believe in permanent relationships be it be their personal life, social relations or professional assignments? How will this social conditioning affect them? What role would parents, teachers and society have so that temporariness impacts these kids in a positive way and they do not grow-up to be emotional wrecks. 

Interesting considerations.