Free Agent Workers: "Everyone is going to be self-employed"

The title of the article was "Everyone is going to be self-employed." For someone who has been that way for almost 20 years it was an instant eye-catcher. I am a big fan of 'free agents" in the workplace so I read the article with interest. It was an interview in the October 17, 2010 issue of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution (no link available) of Jagdish Sheth, a consumer psychology expert and Emory University professor. When asked about his forecast for the future of the economy his response was :

"I forecast that by 2020 we will have 5 million employees in a 'company' which I have dubbed Self Inc. Everyone is going to be self-employed.... people want to work on contracts or free-lance, be their own boss. At that same time, companies are going to switch over from employees to contractors because the biggest expense becomes health care benefits. So, it is not that jobs are going to be revitalized, but the work is going to be revitalized."

I like the idea. I have liked the idea for a long while, ever since Fast Company and Tom Peters have been talking about Me Inc. and You, Inc. and a free-agent nation. I am not sure everyone would like to be self-employed however, but a large number might be. The roadblock that I see to this occuring is a little organization called THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Both the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Labor both have rules and regulations that make it extremely difficult for businesses to use independent contractors on a widespread basis. And in fact they are currently stepping up the efforts to make this even more difficult. (If you want to know more I have written about it several times. Put in independent contractor in the search window to the right and you will find them.) Much of this is driven by revenue. It is easier for the government to collect taxes from companies than it is to collect them from individuals. Of course they will tell you it is for the protection of the worker. But there has been public acknowledgement of the need to generate more revenue.

I asked Attorney-at-Law David Long-Daniels, of Greenberg Traurig LLP, who was presenting, at the SHRM Atlanta conference, on the pitfalls of having contingent workers and independent contractors if he thought we would ever see the Feds allow the widespread use of independent contractors. His answer was a very difinitive "NO." And I agree with him as things exist today.

However, in the online version of Time Magazine from October 29th the following article appeared: Could the Courts Outlaw the Minimum Wage? Written by Adam Cohen, it details the political campaigns of two Republican senatorial candidates, John Raese, the Republican candidate for Senator in West Virginia and Joe Miller, the candidate in Alaska. Both of these men are saying that while the minimum wage is an ok idea it is fundamentally unconstitutional and they want the U.S. Supreme court to rule on the constitutionality of the Fair Labor Standards Act. I am not going to go into the details here because of length, you can read it by clicking the link above. But the conclusion is that would be a major uphill battle to over turn the FLSA.

But the idea has started. And it could gain steam if the forecast of Dr. Sheth starts to materialize. If more people want to be free agents and more companies want to use free agents there may be a drive to unregulate those relationships. And overturning the FLSA would certainly do that. I sincerely doubt that will happen but the move may cause more people to reexamine how we work in this country. Dr. Sheth had an interesting conclusion to his interview that may add some fuel to the movement. He said:

"America is has a survival instinct, and we foster entrepreneurship. It is a nation of ideas, and entrepreneurshisp is the best form of egalitarianism- better than democracy. Entrepreneurship does not discriminate by religion, gender, ethnic backgroun. To me that is the most powerful."

So there is some thought for you to chew on. What do you think? Do we have a chance to become a nation of Free Agents? Will entrepreneurship win over government?

"Free Agent Nation" A Thing of The Past? Not In My World.

I came across a report the other day from Towers Watson (the merged result of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt) that basically declared the "free agent nation" dead. The concept of "Free Agent Nation"  was developed by Daniel Pink of Fast Company Magazine. It was used to describe a notion that you only worked for yourself and sold your services to a succession of employers. Tom Peters and other were (are) heavily invested in the concept as well. Thus, you had control of your career, your options, your education and your compensation. If you did not like working for someone you then left and "sold" your services to another buyer. I personally was and still am a big believer in the idea. To me, being tied to one employer, whether or not you like it, is allowing yourself to become entrapped in VICTIM MENTALITY.

Thus, I was somewhat surprised to come across the Towers Watson report Jobless Recovery in the U.S. Leaving Trail of Recession-Weary Employees in Its Wake, According to New Study. Sure you would expect to read that people are tired of being laid off  or losing their jobs by job elimination. But surprisingly this has lead to a CULTURAL ATTITUDE SHIFT and people are now looking for more permancy in their relationships with their employers. The report states that "A startling eight out of 10 respondents want to settle into a job, with roughly half saying they want to work for a single company their entire career and the rest wanting to work for no more than two to three companies." Whoa! Are these people wanting to return to the their fathers' world of work? The report also says that  this is driven by the recession. They state "This move toward workplace “nesting” is no doubt influenced by a perceived dearth of job opportunities, coupled with U.S. employees’ lower appetite for the risks inherent in changing jobs. In fact, more than half (56%) of the U.S. workforce expects little change in the job market over the next year, and over a quarter (28%) anticipate continued deterioration in the employment picture."

Rather than grab the "bull by the horns" (idiom explained) and reinventing themselves many workers have expressed a desire for "stability". As reported by the Global Workforce Study "...the GWS found that:

 

• 51% of those polled said there are no career advancement opportunities in their current roles, and another 43% believe they must leave their organization and join another in order to advance to a higher-level job. 
• Yet, despite these obstacles to advancement, and the erosion of many of the benefits fundamental to the traditional and highly paternalistic deal, fully 81% of respondents said they are not actively looking for other positions."

Well the bad news is, despite many workers wanting to return to the state of the nation in the 1950s where everyone went to work for one company and stayed for life (e.g., IBM ) those days are over with. As quoted in the GWS report “ 'For many employers, the recession has put the final nail in the coffin of the traditional ‘deal’ that once existed between employees and employers,' said Max Caldwell, a leader of the company’s Talent & Rewards business." (My emphasis)

So if you are one of those people who are hoping for stability from your employer WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! The only stability you can hope for in your work life is what you make through what you know, your education, your experience and how you continually upgrade your skills or reinvent yourself. By making yourself continually valuable you make yourself continually employable. Now you may get fortunate enough to be able to "sell yourself" to one employer for a nice long "contract." But don't count on lifetime employement. Be prepared to seek out and secure another "contract". If your skill set looks like everyone elses then you have nothing unique to sell. Make yourself unique.

As someone who has been a "free agent" for a long time I am a big believer in the concept. I do not believe at a time when so many people find themselves with an opportunity to take control of their lifes that we will see "free agency" go away.

Who else out there has made themselves a successful free agent? Any advice for others?