Enterprises Adopt Freelance Models, Reservations About Going Back to the Office, Addressing Burnout, and More...

Four years ago, I hired a virtual assistant, which changed the way I lived and worked. After 20 years in big tech, I left to focus more of my time advocating for the Talent Economy and the future of work. This newsletter shares my weekly round-up of the most important stories that educate and inspire people to re-imagine what is possible. I hope you enjoy them!

 Talent Economy Podcast

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform. Do not forget to subscribe, rate & comment, and share with others that are interested in understanding the future of the talent economy.  

Cultivating a Career of Creativity - If you could design your best life, what would it entail? Are there aspects of your personal life that you feel would create greater harmony in your life if addressed professionally? For example, how many of you have creative outlets that are completely removed from your professional experiences? What would it mean to have an organization consider the totality of your talents and not just those that pertain to a particular role?

The Freelance Revolution

The rise of independent contractors and globalization of knowledge work is the Industrial Revolution of our time. Everywhere we look, we can see the U.S. workforce undergoing a massive and structural change.

Are Enterprise Teams The Next Big Thing In The Freelance Revolution? 26 Freelance Executives Explain - COVID 19 has been particularly devastating to what freelance platforms call SMB: small and medium businesses and startups. A recent survey by Facebook found over 30% of small businesses have closed due to the pandemic; many are unlikely to reopen.

Why Africa needs talent networks instead of more consulting companies - The advisory services industry in Africa is still in its infancy, at levels far below global averages. Yet, our companies are in no less need of assistance to grow and expand; indeed, the need is much greater in Africa, given the scourge of joblessness among our young people.

The consequences of anti-free market regulations on the gig economy - After Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 into law on September 9, 2019, California became the first state to undermine and damage the gig economy. 

The supposed purpose of the legislation was to protect workers by guaranteeing a minimum wage, sick leave, workers' compensation, and unemployment benefits.  

Xergy appoints chief technical officer for oil and gas' gig economy' tool - Xergy has appointed a new chief technology officer to oversee Proteus, its new resourcing tool aimed at acquiring a large chunk of the oil and gas sector's "gig economy" market.

Suddenly Remote

We see unprecedented numbers of companies implement emergency remote work programs. I will be dedicating this section of the newsletter to providing Tips and tricks from the home front as many knowledge workers go remote during the pandemic.

Not Going Back: New Survey Finds Giant Worker Reservations About the Office - As businesses slowly but surely get the green light to open back up, the question looms: how will the current work-from-home model impact workplace protocols moving forward? And how radically will the traditional office environment shift as corporate America reopens for business?

How to prepare your company to support a remote workforce - Many employees proved they could do work from anywhere when they started working remotely at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. This trend toward flexible work will continue, so companies should consider a full transition to cloud services and create policies to support their employees.

IBM's chief medical officer: We won't rush to bring people back - Almost all of IBM's 352,000 global employees have been working remotely since March. The company has big plans for its return to the office. A team of experts, including physicians, nurses, and industrial hygienists, have been figuring out how best to bring employees back.

Wellness 

We will spend one-third of our lives working, and the disruption to the way we work has never moved faster. This all has the potential to impact our overall wellness as we navigate the changing landscape and fight for balance. Wellness at work affects each of us, our teams, and our companies. 

Now Encourage Your Burned Out Teams To Take Some Time Off - With lockdown easing around the world, and holiday accommodation–including hotels, B&Bs, cottages, and campsites–allowed to reopen in many countries and states, employees that have been working non-stop through the coronavirus pandemic now have an incentive to use their vacation days.

Half of Americans burned out on working from home - Millions of Americans have shifted to working from home during the coronavirus pandemic — for many, it's already getting old. A recent survey shows that people are finding themselves burning out from stress, long hours, and lack of boundaries between work and home life.

After 20 years of working at big tech companies like Dell, Amazon, and Microsoft, I have become an independent freelancer to continue my efforts in driving the conversation forward. I recently launched my bestselling book, Gig Mindset, and feel privileged and honored to help lead the charge on Staffing.com by Toptal. It's our job to bring you world-class insights about this dynamic talent economy from top experts and thought leaders. Through case studies, articles, and in-depth reports, we will equip the staffing industry to take advantage of these massive shifts in on-demand talent, distributed teams, and remote work. In addition to serving as Editor-in-chief of Staffing.com, I'm excited to host The Talent Economy Podcast each week. We are here to educate and inspire.