The changing economy is affecting everyone's life, especially from the standpoint of prospects for earning a living and pursuing a meaningful career. A clear understanding of the changing nature and dimensions of work is a necessary requisite to planning careers, managing employees, and developing effective employment policies. Preparing for the future also requires an understanding of the shift from the industrial to the information economy. The workplace is especially turbulent at the present time, with nothing seeming certain except for change and even more uncertainty. Technological advancement provides, for the first time, a tool to expand the capabilities of human imaginations rather than human muscles. The Japanese have brought a different perspective and new approaches to management and organization that are likely to have a major impact on the future. Productivity, quality, excellence, innovation, and entrepreneurship are becoming increasingly important. The traditional social contract defining the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees are being rewritten, and new management models (focusing on leading and motivating versus controlling) are emerging. Education, particularly lifelong learning, will play a key role in building the new economy. (MN)