This book was born from countless conversations with freelancers, entrepreneurs, platforms, trade union representatives, academics, decision-makers and opinion-formers over the years about the ever-evolving entity that is work, and how individuals make money from their skills and passions.
Before The New Gig podcast, my research on the future of work, and the events I organised across Europe, I viewed work through a personal lens. How could I have more freedom and flexibility while earning a living from my expertise, knowledge and skills? I wanted to explore the possibilities outside of the standard 9 to 5 while creating an engaging, rich and purposeful present and future for myself. With increasingly powerful technology and people’s changing expectations, what was once a niche movement has gone mainstream - and is poised for exponential growth. I find myself today as one of the many, rather than one of the few.
For the majority, work should no longer be something that is dour, repetitive and physically draining. More than ever, minds have been opened to the possibility of earning money from individual abilities, knowledge and passions, rather than purely seeing a job as something to be suffered: a necessity to be endured in order to pay the bills.
Given the developments associated with the future of work - and how these are facilitating the symbiosis of technology and human talent - this book aims to explain current trends. It also sets out to provide individuals and organisations with information, ideas and advice on how to navigate the now and the future of work. Additionally, this book highlights how regulators and decision-makers should put in place guardrails but also allow the future of work to flourish.