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Redefining Work

In 2001, Daniel Pink wrote a best-selling book, titled Free Agent Nation, in which he articulated the likely consequences of a permanent trend toward a far more flexible, less loyal and more entitled employment market. It paints a vivid picture of a market in which the non-traditional employers of the future will begin competing for talent with the conventional employers of the past. Whoever wins that tug of war will set the overall tone for the future.

Pink suggests a rising proportion of the more highly sought-after and valued jobs in the future will be in three non-traditional spheres.

  • The Soloists—people who hang out an individual shingle in order to give themselves freedom of choice and flexibility of lifestyle.
  • The ...

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