These predictions fall under the following categories: 1) Changes to the nature of the workplace; 2) Changes to capitalism as we know it today; 3) Changes to the way we use and view time. The first of these changes (to the nature of the workplace) is already underway in some parts of the world. For example, in Sweden, the words for business ("Naerings Liv") can be literally translated to mean "nourishment for life." The main purpose of business in Sweden is to provide creative, fulfilling work for the people who live in their country. This is an unusual idea in the United States, where business tends to make the bottom line the main focus. Yes, we have to earn a profit, but is that all we need to do to be successful? My first prediction is that over the next several years, companies will develop into more of a tribal model, where all members are interdependent with each other, and more importantly, they will recognize this. Consider for a moment that workplaces have nearly evolved into modern-day equivalents of tribes. For example, much of our social interaction and participation occurs at work. It’s where we are most commonly rewarded and disciplined for our group contributions and efforts. Most importantly, it’s where we earn our livelihood and gain our benefits, such as health care, sick leave, higher education, and retirement. It’s also where we often deal with value issues. There is, however, a major difference between tribes and businesses: presently employees are not considered equal participants in companies with senior management and investors. With Uranus in Aquarius until December 29, 2003, equality and democracy for everyone are top priorities. During this time, Uranus wants everyone to play by the same rules. With Neptune in Aquarius now through early February 2012, equality is also being pursued as an ideal. So having one set of rules for stockholders and top management with a different set of rules for employees just doesn’t work anymore. The idea that "those with the gold make the rules" will be considered inadequate. Instead, employees are going to rediscover something that Adam Smith wrote a few hundred years ago in his book, The Wealth of Nations. Smith was the first to suggest that the true wealth of nations (also true for companies) is not based on how much gold and silver is stored away, (or what’s in a company’s bank account and assets), but rather on the productivity of their people or workers. Basically, money, gold, and other financial assets cannot accomplish anything until they’re transformed by the energies, talents, and skills of employees into products or services. Yet today, the short-term interests of top management and stockholders typically outrank the highest priority for long-term company interests. They also outrank the best interests of employees and workplace concerns. There’s been a common belief that employees are easily replaced while investors are hard to find. With Pluto in Sagittarius, this idea is going to be re-examined and found no longer true. Higher skills, training, and more knowledge are needed by today’s workers in order to make companies productive and competitive. Whenever a company loses an employee, especially an educated or long-term worker, it takes considerable time for a new employee to replace those talents, skills, and knowledge. In some cases, they’re never fully replaced. In the future, and even now with our tight job market, it will become easier to replace the stockholder than the worker. Companies are only just beginning to recognize this situation. Even when the economy slows this will still hold true because there are fewer workers in the generation behind the baby boomers. It will no longer be acceptable for employees to be lowest on the company ladder. Employees must have equal status with top management and stockholders, because all three of these groups are equally vital to the success of companies. How are these changes going to occur? First, many talented employees are going to leave (and have recently left) corporations to choose career paths that hold meaning for them. You may be among them! Second, labor unions will continue to be revived and gain strength, just as we’ve seen in the past few years. Third, the generation of workers behind the baby boomers is a generation of social change agents. With Uranus and Pluto (the planets of revolution) together in Virgo (the sign of work), these people embody the ideals of the 1960s. They’re not interested in maintaining the status quo. Together, with these fewer workers coming along behind the baby boomers and the boomers starting to abandon their posts, companies will finally be forced to change in order to attract employees. Those companies that change first will have a competitive advantage. There are some companies that have already started down this path. Over time though, those that don’t change will face survival issues! Let’s turn our attention to some fundamental changes that are overdue in capitalism. The United States has the biggest of any country’s economy. We tend not to think about capitalism because it’s the business structure we swim in. Yet, the social attitudes and assumptions that underlie capitalism are being re-examined while Pluto is in Sagittarius from 1995 through November 2008. Paul Hawkins and others have already started this process. With Uranus and Neptune both in humanitarian Aquarius, environmental issues are now a major concern throughout the world. How are our environmental issues related to capitalism? Allow me to suggest: they’re joined at the hip. When capitalism started a few hundred years ago, there were relatively few people present within an enormous world of natural resources. Because there were so few people, and labor was the scarcest commodity, labor was taxed. On the other hand, because natural resources were so plentiful, and used at such a slow rate, they were considered to be completely renewable. For this reason natural resources were considered to be free and they never showed up on the accounting and balance sheets of businesses. Today the exact opposite is true. We have an enormous population chasing very few natural resources. In fact, there are so many people chasing the same natural resources that these resources can no longer renew themselves fast enough. We’re depleting natural resources, and rapidly adding species to the extinction list. My second prediction is that I expect the tax and accounting laws to change significantly over the next 15 years or more. Expect less tax on labor, to encourage more work, and many more taxes on the use of natural resources, since they are now scarce. Here’s an example of how this might work. To print journals, magazines, newspapers, and books requires that we cut down trees, and then pollute the air and water to make paper. I predict that in the next ten to twenty years, there will be a tax for cutting down trees, and another tax for polluting the air and water to make the paper. These taxes will be added to the cost of paper and printing, but once we know what the true cost of the paper is, we’ll actually make better decisions. Time is another area in which we tend to swim, so we don’t pay a lot of attention to it. There’s a myth that most of us have heard and believe. It’s the idea that all days are created equal. Every day when we get up, we have a blank slate that we can write on for what’s going to happen that day. If we just approach each day with the same positive attitude and the same positive thinking, we’ll always have good days. Our reality, though, is that we all have good days and bad days. And those of us who know astrology at all are aware that no two days have the same potential. No two days are the same! It takes more than a good attitude to be successful. It takes good timing as well. Because both Uranus and Neptune are now in Aquarius, we’re going to see all the metaphysical ideas — including astrology and the study of cycles — move toward the forefront of our culture. As this happens, people are going to realize there are good times, or as the Bible says, a time for every purpose under heaven. We wouldn’t go out at midnight to get a tan, or plant our gardens outside in the dead of winter. That’s because these sun cycles are so obvious to us. Yet there are other cycles which are equally important, but much less obvious. Once we learn about these cycles, we’re going to stop spitting into the cosmic wind and having it all come back to us. I’m going to give you just one example of these cycles that are not easily noticed, but there are several others as well. The cycle I’m going to tell you about is one that I call Cosmic Time-Outs. If you know astrology, you’ve also heard of them as Void-of-Course Moons. This is a period of time when the moon has made its last major aspect to the other planets before it moves into the next sign. It’s basically a gestation period; the moon is resting and the universe wants us to do the same. With Uranus and Neptune both in Aquarius now, metaphysical ideas are moving to the forefront. My third prediction is that many more businesses will discover cosmic Time-Outs and start to use these periods appropriately. When this happens, they’ll increase their productivity significantly and make much better use of their financial resources. For example, they’ll stop holding meetings during these time periods, especially meetings in which major decisions must be made, since literally nothing will come of the decision. Once we learn how to use these gestation periods as part of our creative process, we’ll increase our productivity significantly. We’ll allow ourselves the time to gestate our ideas long enough to birth them appropriately. We’ll use Time-Out periods to gather information, brainstorm, finish up things, and clean up. We’ll learn not to push forward constantly! Once we learn this lesson, we’ll come much more into harmony with the cycles of the universe, face fewer frustrations, and waste far fewer resources. In the short run, the companies that use cycles will have a major competitive advantage. Madeline Gerwick-Brodeur is a certified business and personal astrologer. Her background includes a B.A. degree with honors in economics, and over 15 years of industrial marketing and sales. She produces The Good Timing Guide: Better Business through Better Timing. Her astrology background includes over twenty years of study and practice. She can be reached at (206) 729-8820, <mgb@astro-cycles.com>, or <http://www.astro-cycles.com/>. |
As we enter the year 2001 and a new millennium, there are always predictions. As a business astrologer, I’d like to tell you about some workplace and economic predictions for the coming years ahead that could change our lives in major ways.