Is the employer-employee relationship changing?

When I was looking for information about our topic, I couldn’t mind noticing that there are a lot of authors who talk about a changing relationship between the employer and the employee.

Years ago, employers used to dictate their own terms and conditions of employment, because there were few laws available to protect employees. A nice example of how it was, is given by the film "Daens". The unions and additions to the law changed all that. This was the first turning point in the employer-employee relationship.

Nowadays employers are expected to have a good relationship with their employees as Yaël mentioned in her blog. Respect is one of the keywords in our society. But aren’t we in the middle of another turning point? Aren’t employers expecting too much from their employees? Their workers have to be more mobile, have to be prepared to work flexible hours…

Is it possible to keep their employees engaged if they are so demanding? Are nice perks, a big paycheck and the right communication enough? Or do they need something more?

I think this could be a good topic for a discussion. "Is the relationship between the employer and the employee changing?" or "What is changing and how does it affect us (in a good way or a bad way)?"

Articles about this topic can be found on the following websites:

http://www.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=919341
http://www.workforce.com/section/hr-management/feature/how-employer-employee-relationship-has-permanently/
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090331_755178.htm

Other links used:
http://www.mypersonnelfile.com/termination/employer-and-employee-relationship

Shanna Danneels