The Flexible Workforce
The rise of ping pong tables and the gig economy
40 years ago
…no one would tell you to look for a job that would make you happy. They would tell you to just suck it up and do as your told.
Corporate attire meant that men would wear a formal suit and tie with the appropriate leather shoes and women would come in wearing formal business top accompanied with a leather heel
The term “9:00–5:00” actually meant that you had a job and you would be at the office during those hours.
Personal Computers weren’t quite as personal yet as they were either too expensive to buy or too big to store. (Back then, a single computer could take up an entire room)
If space for a computer was totally different, this is true for the people at work as well as the cubicle office was the norm. According to an article by businessinsider.com, the cubicle was first designed in 1964 to empower people as it gave the growing middle management a sense of their own personal office.
Things were just different back then, and things are changing even faster today.
The Millennial Workforce
According to certain statistics, by 2020, 50% of the workforce will be comprised of millennial and by 2025, 75%. This is certainly inevitable as the last batch of millennials is finishing up their college education and entering the workforce. Being a millennial myself, I can attest to the generational differences especially when it comes to workplace choices.
Gone are the days wherein one would have to suck it up to have a 9–5 job and nowadays, millennials are looking for a place wherein they can be happy. According to a study done by Forbes, work-life balance is at the top of the preferences of millennials.
As an attempt to provide good work-life balance, progessive multinational companies have replaced traditional conference rooms with ping pong tables and have totally scrapped the idea of a 9–5 job by offering flexibility of time and place. It is more common now to hear about companies offering its employees to be able to work from home and have flexible working hours. As with the cubicle, it is now an old timer in the office world and has been replaced by hot desks and co-working spaces.
How has the workforce responded?
The Gig Economy
With the work environment becoming as flexible as it is, the workforce has responded by being just as flexible, even when it comes to the company that they choose. As a by-product of all the changes in the workforce and the technological advancements today, we have now what is known as the gig economy.
The gig economy is characterized by short term engagements wherein companies can leverage skilled professionals for just a limited amount of time. This enables companies to be more efficient when it comes to staffing as they can hire specialists when they are in need of more hands on deck and be lean when not much work is needed. On the flipside, freelancing serves as a way for people to supplement their income whilst having greater control of their time.
The rise of the gig economy, or the freelance economy, is changing the way organizations work.
Where do organizations go from here?
In certain cultures, being smart is not necessarily the number of your Intelligence Quotient or your SAT score, it is actually being flexible. As the famous Stephen Hawking once said, “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” This framework is becoming more and more important as advancements in technology are changing the way we live. Looking back 40 years ago might seem more familiar than what 40 years in the future will look like.
From the traditional 9–5 job to the gig economy, the workplace has definitely gone through a lot of changes. With freelancers becoming a bigger part of the workforce, and disruption becoming the new norm, organizations and companies must learn how to be smart, or in other terms, an agile organization.
My next article will talk about the traits of an agile organization and how organizations can embrace the change.
About UpSmart
UpSmart is the premier financial consultancy firm in the startup, SME, and social enterprise industry. UpSmart specializes in strategic finance (e.g., structuring and restructuring of legal entities, valuing and modelling companies, serving as chief financial officer of companies) and operational finance (e.g., optimizing business processes and controls, accounting and bookkeeping support, financial reporting and analysis).
About Joachim
Joachim, also known as Waks, is an associate in UpSmart’s consulting practice. He is currently spearheading the People Performance Culture (PPC) division of UpSmart. He graduated B.S. Management Engineering from Ateneo de Manila.
