The nature of work has changed drastically since my parents were my age.
The norm used to be to work for one company until you retire, and then receive a pension and live out the rest of your years with a deep loyalty to that company. I remember my grandpa cursing at John Deere tractors because he had spent 30 years of his life working for Caterpillar.
But times have changed.
Neither people nor companies have much loyalty to each other, and many people only stay a new position or company for a year before moving on. This isn’t necessarily a fault of “lazy” millennials who have no grit but is the beginning of a new era.
Most people working years at the same company grow complacent and stagnant in their job. It’s easy to settle into a position with copper handcuffs, where you stay only because it’s convenient and seems to be secure. But there is no such thing as job security.
Your company could go under or you could be fired tomorrow. And that’s a good thing. The new era of work forces you to produce the only real kind of job security— the value you can bring to a company. When you walk into a new company, you should carry with you a hunger to solve pain points and improve that company. The day you stop giving a shit, saunter into the office late, and stop putting forth your best effort is the day you should leave the company.
There are pros and cons to this new work system. In the old days, people who had been in the company for 15+ years would be able to answer most questions, mostly derived from experience. Also, bonds are created that make for less confusion and more cohesion.
But this works both ways. New minds question old systems for which the only justification is that “it’s the way we’ve always done it.” Younger workers who are obsessed with incorporating new technology and cutting down on time-wasters can remake the company and market it to a new crowd.
Many Baby Boomers talk down on millennials who job hop. But there’s a difference between changing jobs every few years after providing real value to a company and just being flaky. If a new kid walks into your office, works for a year, and straightens out a $75,000-per-year problem before leaving the next year, you shouldn’t look down on him as much as you should the employees who stay there year-after-year providing as much value as the withered office plant.
The days of your career being one or two descriptions is over, unless that’s what you desire. The future of work is more like independent contracting and freelancing projects and ideas, which is good because it’s project and proof-based instead of based off GPA or a certain university you attended. To get a project, you have to show a portfolio of value-added instead of a certificate showing you were roughly average of college graduates.
This new type of work is good because it forces you to hustle. Instead of knowing you have a job to come in to next week, you have to find and claim your next paycheck. This kills complacency and is a better version of work because all people hired are tasked to complete something specific. The time that contractor doesn’t deliver is the time he won’t be hired back at that company.
This allows people to grow their income as much as they want and to keep an open career. While the transition to a new era of work may be disconcerting for some, I’m ready to prove my value.