THE KNOWLEDGE

WORKER

STUDENTS:
Pascua, Mary Joice
Salamida, Chomel
Dela Cruz, Jhaemee
Rose
Serrano, Laurenz Joe
What are Knowledge Workers?
The term “knowledge worker” was first coined by Peter
Drucker in his book, The Landmarks of Tomorrow (1959). Drucker
defined knowledge workers as high-level workers who apply
theoretical and analytical knowledge,, acquired through formal
training, to develop products and services.

They include professionals in information technology fields,

such as programmers, web designers, system analysts, technical
writers, and researchers. Knowledge workers are also comprised of
pharmacists, public accountants, engineers, architects, lawyers,
physicians, scientists, financial analysis, and design thinkers.

Knowledge workers are said to think for a living, unlike

manual laborers who are paid for performing physical tasks.
Knowledge workers are differentiated from other workers by their
ability to solve complex problems or to develop new products or
services in their fields of expertise.
Characteristics of Knowledge Workers
Factual and Theoretical Knowledge
Knowledge workers undergo several years of formal training to
master the information needed to perform certain specialized roles. At a
minimum, most knowledge-based positions require a college degree and
their learning process is continuous even after being hired.

Accessing and Applying Information

Knowledge workers must know how to identify important
information from a large database of information that they need to be
familiar with. They should be in a position to weed out less important
information and focus on essential information that will help them solve
problems, answer questions, and generate ideas.

Communication Skills
Knowledge work involves frequent communication
between the knowledge worker and customers, co-workers,
subordinates, and other stakeholders. They must be able to speak,
read, and write, and hold discussions with workmates and deliver a
presentation when needed.
Motivation
Knowledge work requires continuous growth, due to the need to
keep up with technological developments. Workers must be interested in
finding new information and applying it in their work. With new
technologies being released every day, they must improve their skills to
handle complex tasks and integrate the latest technologies into their
work.

Knowledge workers bring benefits to

organizations in a variety of ways.
•analyzing data to establish relationships
•assessing input in order to evaluate complex or conflicting priorities
•identifying and understanding trends
•making connections
•understanding cause and effect
•ability to Brainstorm, thinking broadly
•ability to drill down, creating more focus (convergent thinking)
•producing a new capability
•creating or modifying a strategy
 Link Technology to Knowledge
Knowledge workers have to use technology to keep
track of everything they need to know.

Manage Knowledge
Develop a strategy to manage knowledge within your company.
Create a wiki containing organizational knowledge, along with systems that
support and encourage the sharing and retention of knowledge in your
workplace.
It also helps to provide workspaces where knowledge workers can share
and collaborate with their colleagues. And they often need space where
they can go to think privately, without distractions.

Be a 'Coach,' Not a 'Boss'

The nature of knowledge work varies with each profession –
from software developers to lawyers to pharmaceutical researchers.
However, most knowledge workers like at least some level of autonomy.
They usually don't want someone closely overseeing and supervising
their work. Instead, they probably prefer managers to clear the way for
them to work productively.
Get Creative With Performance Metrics
Knowledge work is mostly unseen, and therefore difficult to
measure. You can't watch knowledge being created in the same way as
a physical, tangible product. With knowledge work, it's the final output
that matters, and the steps along the way are often less important.

Treat Knowledge Workers as Individuals

Different people use their knowledge in different ways. Some
people like to sit and think in a quiet space, while others like to have
roundtable discussions to generate ideas. Fairness in the workplace can
be interpreted as making things 'the same' for everyone. But when you
treat all of your knowledge workers alike, you may miss opportunities to
discover what motivates them individually – and what each one needs to
be more creative and productive.
Everything can be personalized – the technologies you make
available, the work environment, the work schedule, and so on. Your
knowledge workers get results in ways that are very different from
traditional workers, so be open and flexible with their work resources,
terms, and conditions.
 Key Points

Knowledge workers are usually responsible for

exploring and creating ideas, rather than implementing and
managing existing processes. New products, new designs,
new models for doing business – these are typical outputs of
knowledge work.
Because knowledge workers are expected to
produce results that are different from traditional workers, you
should also manage them and measure their performance
differently. Have an open mind, and recognize the different
needs and motivations of knowledge workers. This will make
it much easier to find creative and effective ways to keep
their productivity high.