The work world is being transformed by a new way of working that both frees people up to have lives that are less regimented and structured by the workplace but compounds uncertainty in their lives. This new model for work is based on freelancing, contracting, and temping with companies running a streamlined, lean, bare bones central organization with full time workers but outsourcing the rest of the workforce that is used. Uber is a prime example of this way of running a company. There are fewer than 4,000 employees at Uber central but 160,000 people working gigs for the company as drivers. The opportunities for work-life flexibility are there but at the cost of a sense of security and stability. Here is the central question: If you have to keep looking for work all of your life, can you feel happy about taking time off to play between jobs or are you worried about where you will get the next gig? Can you really relax between jobs or will you need to spend your time constantly searching for your next job like the hunter-gatherers of the past searching for prey? This is a dilemma for many people in the workforce and it will continue to be of great concern as this new way of working becomes more prevalent. Read the New York Times article “Growth in the ‘Gig Economy’ Fuels Work Force Anxieties” about this transformation in the world of work.
Read the New York Times article “Growth in the ‘Gig Economy’ Fuels Work Force Anxieties” about this transformation in the world of work.
