NEARLY one in three Australians are avoiding the traditional employment arrangement of one full-time job with one employer, in an effort to have more independence and power over their careers
NEARLY ONE in three Australians are avoiding the traditional employment arrangement of one full-time job with one employer, in an effort to have more independence and power over their careers.
According to Peter Sheahan, a workplace trends expert, the workplace as we know it is experiencing a dramatic shift in power from the company to the individual.
“Downsizing, outsourcing, global competition and emerging technology have killed the psychological contract of a job for life,” he said.
“Employees are being forced to fend for themselves when it comes to their career development, and as a result, corporate slavery and the security that goes with it are being shunned by many in favour of a career with more flexibility, variety and freedom.”
The group most likely to take greater control over their working lives by choosing a combination of entrepreneurial ventures and part-time work is Generation Y.
“To be a successful free agent, you must be organised, entrepreneurial, unafraid of uncertainty and able to quickly learn and use multiple skill sets,” Sheahan said.
“Generation Y share many of these traits and is particularly suited for this type of work, with 28 per cent of the workforce saying they are in a similar arrangement.”
Working on a portfolio of projects and clients empowers employees by giving them more options in a hyper-competitive and increasingly unstable labour market, he said.
“Workers are starting to customise their careers to better suit their lifestyles … Many are combining paying work with volunteer work or their hobbies in order to have a more meaningful, balanced life.”
Sheahan’s comments reflect the findings of a global study by Hudson which revealed that independent professionals or ‘IPros’ are more satisfied than full-timers.
While IPros do not receive many of the direct benefits of typical full-time employment, they report being consistently happier and better compensated than their counterparts in regular full-time positions.
The Lure of Autonomy: A Global Study of Professional Workers,which involved 2,179 participants, including 197 from Australia, found that unlike full-time professionals, IPros are not as motivated by traditional perks such as employment security, retirement benefits and paid holidays.
