Which set do you fall into – the set that dreams of somehow becoming very very rich or the set that dreams of having freedom while working? Of course there is a 3rd set that dreams of both – getting very rich and having a lot of freedom. The 3rd set borders on greed which relies on getting people from the first set to toil for you. So far I haven’t said anything new. Here comes the ‘next page’ aspect – these employers from the 3rd set, used to see themselves as job creators for lesser mortals. Being fundamentally greedy in their pursuits – aimed to have the cake and keep it too – maintaining the norm to be an extractor max of their employees’ time, health and personal space for a salary unfairly disproportionate to what they themselves make. Today, something is changing. Today, people have other avenues of meeting their dream of either getting rich or of having freedoms while they earn – and they are discovering them everyday.
This is making a growing number of people opt out from mainstream employment. Leaving only the highly diffident, low-self-esteemed and pathetically unaware continuing at work-situations that allow them zero time for the self, demand a compromise of physical and mental health, encourage alcohol and cigarettes as a way to cope and furthermore constantly made to feel like they need to try harder. Everyone else is clicking on ads online that promise courses on making money from home, or being your own boss or about how to earn a living by freelancing or how to start a freedom based business. And a growing number of people are making that leap.
What does this mean for the future of people in set 3? The ones who need employees to run their big businesses, but have slyly maintained that it is people who need to be employed by them. Would the solution be as simple as rethinking salary budgets? Increasing perks? Providing mental health counselling services for free? Providing free food? Ping pong tables? Bean bags. These things have successfully made up for the mindless disrespect of an employee’s health, mind and contribution to the organisation for decades.
What is happening now is that it is possible for absolute laymen to create their own website in minutes. Not only that, with a little low-cost online training, anyone can equip themselves to create, advertise, sell, manage inventory and invoicing and CRM, anyone can start making a living for themselves out of their own homes from any location. All this is possible at new zero capital. If they want it even easier, there are multiple niche and general freelancing platforms to explore. Financial literacy and learning is growing and available on apps. These facilities are available today for all but not everyone is aware of them. It is exploitative, unempathetic employers who are pushing people everyday to go read and learn about these.
Here’s the good news. There’s AI. Diligently rising up the occasion and bailing out employers who always needed machines not humans. But if we need the intelligence and touch of a human in our workforce, the only way to attract and retain them would be by weaving in policies that share employee mind, time and space instead of sucking all of it for themselves. Employers will gradually have to become grateful to people who do choose to contribute to their work force despite all the options available to them outside – and will pay for it not just in terms of money and perks but in terms of time and respect. Alternatively they will work with a combination of mediocre human talent and AI. That may work too.
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