The Future of Work is Self-Defined

The economic recession that began in 2008 brought with it a partial collapse of printed media, endless foreclosures, and the most unstable economy the world had seen since The Great Depression. Seemingly overnight, recent college graduates were greeted by an economy that had no place for them.

The world had to adjust. These recently-graduated millennials, despite their iffy reputation, had to redefine the workplace. Thus, the gig economy and flexible work exploded. Intuit estimates that 34 percent of American workers are employed by the gig economy. 

Translation: approximately one-third of the entire country is basically self-employed. However, this doesn’t mean that everyone is driving an Uber or a Lyft as their full-time job. 

Rather, what these trends point to is that the future of work does not mean that you do one thing—and one thing only. 

Being self-defined means you can take the wheel and direct your future. Through self-direction, motivation, and the communication of your worth, you can become anything.

What does it mean to be self-defined? 

The idea that there are a few dozen roles within one company, all with a very specific set of skills, is also becoming a thing of the past.

Instead, individuals are arming themselves with a variety of skills. Someone who is a product manager might also have skills to serve them well in other positions. For instance, someone who is traditionally a product manager could easily transfer her deep product knowledge to be a great salesperson. With this extensive knowledge set, she can address any customer pain points, from A to Z, without breaking a sweat. A salesperson is also incredibly important to marketing and customer success, as she has frontline experience in dealing with the wants, needs, and everyday pain points of live customers.

Increasingly, companies are being borne from the need (or desire) for convenience or disruption. As a result, opportunities that have never existed before are suddenly plentiful.

Why it’s the future

The future of work being self-defined is great for both the employee and employer. Because fewer workers fit into a very specific box, it opens employers up to hire for a variety of skills, especially for newer positions.

For an individual looking to define her own career, it opens the possibility of pursuing several things at once—to really figure out what direction is the most rewarding both personally and financially.

What It Means for Employers

As a full-time hire, this person is more likely to learn the skills she needs to get ahead; to make sure she always maintains a defensible arsenal of usable skills. If she needs to learn something new in order to get something done, she is on it. Typically, she will utilize free tools in which to learn new skills, new approaches, and new efficiencies.

With full-time employees serving as triple and quadruple threats, companies can source in-house solutions for new opportunities. If you are a salesperson with a knack for digital marketing, make sure management knows this. Employers can both utilize and create hybrid roles for employees who have broken the mold with their skill sets.

In addition, empowering your employees to always be learning is a surefire way to improve happiness, encourages engagement, and, ultimately, increase longevity at a company.

What It Means for Employees

For employees, a self-defined career outlook translates to opportunities. Without condemning herself to a sole job description, the modern jobseeker can seek several opportunities, all at once. By considering a career to be an evolving organism instead of a linear map, the self-defined employee is destined to be fulfilled and happy at her company.

This opens her to the possibility of real, actual work-life balance. Who doesn’t want more of that?

Why it matters

When is the last time you watched a mid-nineties sitcom? On television shows like Married with Children or The Simpsons, you watched your (traditionally male) breadwinner go to a job every day, for years and years, that he hated.

With technology constantly moving and evolving at a rapid pace, the need for new skill sets is changing every day. Many of these required skill sets are so new, that there isn’t a college degree you can obtain or a Master’s program to attend. Many of the most lucrative tech job skills can (and are) learned online. Empower yourself and your own future by arming yourself with the latest and greatest skills out there. Whenever you see an opportunity to learn and grow—take it. 

How to Get Involved

If you want to become a self-defined worker, you have to figure a few things out. First of all, figure out what you love to do. Maybe it feeds directly into the job you have right now. However, maybe you feel your skills can be amplified in order to transition to a new role. Companies like Salesforce use training programs like their own Trailhead to help employees explore exactly what steps to take to in order to blaze your own trail.

Arming yourself with a new knowledge base is the first step. It’s a huge and important first step, but you will need to gain confidence from higher-ups in order to transition or level-up your career.

You will need to pitch yourself at some point to achieve success. If you want to transition within your own company and/or create an entirely new role, you will need to prepare a thoughtful presentation on why this is a beneficial move for everyone. Learn how to pitch your ideas and, more importantly, how to pitch yourself.

Once your work begins to gain its own traction, word of mouth tends to take on a life of its own. Think about your existing skill sets. If you are a top-performing customer success professional, but you want to transition into a marketing role, you will need to make the case for it. Pitch your plans, and let your talents gain you new opportunities, new opportunities and– heck, maybe even a full career transition.

The future of work—your future, is defined by you.