The New World of Work: The Cube, The Cloud and What's Next

INTRODUCTION

When we were asked to create a second edition of The New World of Work, the realization set in that we had not only foreseen the radical change that virtual work offered but had actually predicted it over a decade ago.

There was significant evidence in the early 2000s that technology was driving the virtualization of work. There were also numerous clues that many workers preferred virtual and gig economy work.

History is replete with examples of economic transformations that, in retrospect, seemed perfectly logical. However, the human beings most directly affected by those changes did not experience them rationally. Instead, they experienced those economic course corrections as disconcerting and often terrifying. On the other hand, the people and companies that embraced these transformations often maximized new opportunities, revolutionized industries, and created generations of wealth—all because they could see the benefits of the change rather than the change itself.

As the authors of this book, our objective is to help professionals, corporations, and business owners negotiate this new world of work (NWoW). We are business leaders who have been successful in startups, small businesses, and large corporations.

As colleagues and friends for over two decades, we shared a range of market insights with each other about the monumental shifts in the way the world works. Although our early grasp of workforce changes was on target, it was after the pandemic that it became clear we had recognized a revolutionary market shift—before almost anyone understood its impact.

Ironically, decades ago, we both created companies leveraging next-generation work models, without realizing the magnitude of what was occurring. To us, it just felt like common sense. We became amused as we watched small and large corporations debate the value of virtual work.

We watched the gig economy expand leading up to the 2020 pandemic, which obviously disrupted the global workforce. The pandemic, although unfortunate for all who were affected by it, showed the world that virtual work was a necessity, as well as a better business model. Then the Great Resignation taught employers that workers would not return to the old, outdated workforce models. The talent marketplace we predicted was here to stay.

To be asked to catalogue our experience post-pandemic has been insightful. We are confident our perspectives and insights can educate both companies and professionals as they navigate the new world of work.

The virtual talent marketplace is here, and while it may be scary, this world is also exhilarating. Gig workers are now the workforce of the future. Forbes estimates as much as 40 percent of the US workforce is engaged in some type of gig work. This new gig economy offers those who choose to embrace it the opportunity to grow with no boundaries.

In creating this map to the new world, we have:

• provided a historical context to this new work perspective;

• outlined why we’ve reached the point of no return;

• demonstrated how to take advantage of this new marketplace; and

• introduced thought leaders who are capitalizing on the new world of work.

A very well-known example of someone with tremendous foresight, who took early action in this new world, is the visionary Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay.

He was a real pioneer in the NWoW. You can imagine how shocked he must have been when, in 1995, a bidder paid $14.83 for a broken laser pointer on his new online auction site named after his consulting company, Echo Bay Technology Group.

When he personally contacted the winning bidder to reiterate that he was, in fact, buying a broken laser pointer, the first customer of eBay told the founder that he collected broken laser pointers and was very happy to have found another for his collection. This was the ultimate new-world expression of the old saying, One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And Omidyar was smart enough to realize that he could use technology to match people with their treasures—no matter how obscure or far away.

Thus began a revolutionary business that has grown to be an industry unto itself, with a base of fifty-five million buyers in all parts of the world. A more interesting fact, however, from the perspective of the new world of work, is that within a few years, eBay grew to over five hundred thousand sellers who considered eBay their primary source of income. If eBay employed all these people, it would be the second-largest retail employer in the world, right behind the behemoth named Walmart, founded by Sam Walton.

After eBay came Etsy, Upwork, FIVERR, ResultsResourcing,WeWork, Uber, DoorDash, Kaggle, and Freelancer—all fractional work platforms that don’t care where you live as long as you’re connected digitally.

Since the pandemic, it is impossible to find an organization that has not taken advantage of the free market gig economy, where people can monetize their skill set globally and sell their services to the highest bidder.

Now, since the pandemic, it is impossible to find an organization that has not taken advantage of the free market gig economy, where people can monetize their skill set globally and sell their services to the highest bidder. The benefit is a two-way street; employers benefit as well because it provides the flexibility for seasonal and on-demand staffing requirements.

The most stunning statistic is that the gig workforce is on track to surpass the full-time workforce in size by 2027, according to a survey commissioned by Upwork and the Freelancers Union.

Strap on your seat belt, and let’s explore this new frontier.

CHAPTER 1

It’s in Plain Sight, and It’s Up to You to Find It

There’s a popular children’s book called Where’s Waldo? in which the lead character—with his signature red-and-white striped shirt and somewhat goofy expression—is obscured by various collections of people and things. He’s hidden, but in plain sight (if you’ll excuse the paradox), and it’s the young reader’s task to locate him in every illustration. By the end of the book, children become adept at locating the enigmatic Waldo in a glance.

We can only hope that this instructional parable reminds us of how the simplest truth can sometimes be obstructed by our need to make things complex. And so it is with the new world of work. If you want to know where the jobs are, here’s a hint: They’re in plain sight.

You might call this new, adult game Where’s the Work? And the stakes couldn’t be higher.

The Case of the Disappearing Jobs—or Not!

In listening to politicians and pundits, one might think jobs have been disrupted and workers have disappeared completely. They haven’t! They’re simply hiding in plain sight where only those who can see the obvious are able to find them.

For example, let’s say a big company like IBM sets up operations in a new locale. In the past, the company would have staffed the new facility with a thousand new workers. That meant spending hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of corporate dollars on office space, equipment, infrastructure, and parking lots. No more! Today the company rents space from WeWork (or any other flexible workspace) and staffs it with a few managers while the remaining positions are sent to the cloud to be filled by talent around the globe. Not because the labor is cheaper, but because the labor is more talented and more eager to compete for the work. That’s right—compete for the work.

Work has spread across the globe because companies can now source talent easily, and the talent will compete for the work.

Why would a company such as IBM consider the cloud for its talent needs? Because technology and next-generation work now make it possible for companies to work effectively with skeleton crews on-site and large, competent resources spread across the globe.

And that brings us to an important point. You’re right if you think much of the new work has gone overseas. Work has spread across the globe because companies can now source talent easily, and the talent will compete for the work, not based on price, but on the quality of their work.

Ironically, this doesn’t mean those same jobs aren’t also available in the United States—because they are. It’s just that most Americans didn’t realize that this work was available until the pandemic disrupted our lives. Many of them were not prepared to compete for work in this way.

Most US companies resisted virtual work models and struggled to capitalize on this budding talent war until they were forced to do so. You see, just as workers are competing for work in the cloud, companies must now compete for the best talent by providing interesting projects at competitive pay, regardless of what zip code the worker lives in.

Which is why we’ve created the second edition of this groundbreaking book. The New World of Work is both a road map for professionals seeking a career in this new world and a compass for those responsible for developing new virtual talent strategies around the globe.

The New Revolution

We’re in the midst of a new work revolution, and its implications are as far-reaching as those of the Industrial Revolution, which lasted from 1750 to 1850 yet impacted the way we worked for generations after. The Industrial Revolution—coupled with the impact of the Great Depression—pushed jobs from the farm to the factory. The move from the farm to the factory, and then to the corporation, resulted in a geographical concentration of workers in cities and suburbs rather than dispersed on family farms. New industries evolved, in part to match the way our society worked, lived, and played. The way we worked after the Industrial Revolution ultimately reshaped our entire society.

There have been several mini revolutions since, but nothing to match the scale of the Industrial Revolution. That is, until now. The pandemic forced us to completely rethink work, technology, and the ways we connect.

NO BOUNDARIES: WORK DIDN’T DISAPPEAR—IT MOVED

The Information Revolution, which occurred over the last twenty years and has involved an almost unbelievable growth in work-enabling technology, has spawned an entirely new way of organizing work. This new method is responsible for innovative business models and career opportunities, all with one thing in common: Today, there are no boundaries to work.

Over the last several decades, the world has experienced several well-publicized workforce developments. First, it was outsourcing, which led to offshoring. Today, there is a ubiquitous transformation of work platforms and talent sourcing that is revolutionizing not just how and where work is performed but the way business is being done.

This new form of work is leveraging the Information Revolution, and in the process transforming how and where we work. Today, work has clearly moved from the cube to the cloud, but in the process, it’s created an entirely new breed of worker. More importantly, these models formed a talent marketplace.

THREE NEW-WORLD WORKFORCE TRENDS

This transformation, and thus the new work environment, has crystallized three trends that form the basis of this book. We will fully explore these trends and how you can leverage them throughout this book. The three trends are:

1.Work has been fractionalized. Routine work has been broken down into small tasks and, as a result, most companies do not need as many full-time workers because they outsource those routine tasks as contract projects.

2.Talent has been globalized. The fractionalization of work, combined with emerging technology, made talent truly exportable.