We are living in a different working world partly because of technology but also because of changes in working practices which affect the professions as much as anybody else.
Gone are the days when a professional person joined a practice for life. Even that stalwart of home grown talent the law firm Slaughter & May has hired its first London lateral partner.
Nowadays there is far more movement between firms and into industry. And more than this the very professional model of coming into an office and working 8, 9 or 10 hours a day is looking outmoded. Virtual firms without offices which attract experienced professionals seeking far more flexible working practices have quietly sprung up to create significant alternative ways of working in the law and in the property markets.
Big businesses see the advantages of having a workforce that can flex with demand. Uber and Deliveroo are examples of this phenomena. So in a different way is airbnb. Individuals of all ages are developing portfolio lifestyles carrying out different roles which add up to a “whole” working life.
I am indebted to my fellow professional lawyer Richard Stephens of LORS who introduced me this week to the phrase that sums all of this up – the gig economy. It’s like musicians going from one gig to another and being paid per performance rather than being rooted in one place with a salary.
Here’s a definition I found on the Internet.
A gig economy is an environment in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. The trend toward a gig economy has begun. A study by Intuit predicted that by 2020, 40 percent of American workers would be independent contractors.
Another quote from John McAfee the American computer programmer and businessman sums it up nicely:
The gig economy is empowerment. This new business paradigm empowers individuals to better shape their own destiny and leverage their existing assets to their benefit.
We’d better all watch out and adjust – as Bob Dylan sang “The times they are a-changing” - right in front of our eyes.
Gone are the days when a professional person joined a practice for life. Even that stalwart of home grown talent the law firm Slaughter & May has hired its first London lateral partner.
Nowadays there is far more movement between firms and into industry. And more than this the very professional model of coming into an office and working 8, 9 or 10 hours a day is looking outmoded. Virtual firms without offices which attract experienced professionals seeking far more flexible working practices have quietly sprung up to create significant alternative ways of working in the law and in the property markets.
Big businesses see the advantages of having a workforce that can flex with demand. Uber and Deliveroo are examples of this phenomena. So in a different way is airbnb. Individuals of all ages are developing portfolio lifestyles carrying out different roles which add up to a “whole” working life.
I am indebted to my fellow professional lawyer Richard Stephens of LORS who introduced me this week to the phrase that sums all of this up – the gig economy. It’s like musicians going from one gig to another and being paid per performance rather than being rooted in one place with a salary.
Here’s a definition I found on the Internet.
A gig economy is an environment in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. The trend toward a gig economy has begun. A study by Intuit predicted that by 2020, 40 percent of American workers would be independent contractors.
Another quote from John McAfee the American computer programmer and businessman sums it up nicely:
The gig economy is empowerment. This new business paradigm empowers individuals to better shape their own destiny and leverage their existing assets to their benefit.
We’d better all watch out and adjust – as Bob Dylan sang “The times they are a-changing” - right in front of our eyes.
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