the end of the "9-to-5" & the future of work
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses the challenges of job stability and wage stagnation in the modern economy, highlighting the reduced loyalty between employers and employees and the decline of unions. It emphasizes the need for adaptability, uniqueness, and diversification in careers to future-proof one's self against economic uncertainty. The speaker shares personal experiences with layoffs and offers strategies such as building career capital, networking, and creating passive income streams to secure one's financial future.
Takeaways
- đ The current job market is unstable, with many people experiencing layoffs and wage stagnation.
- đ Traditional 9 to 5 jobs are becoming less common, leading to increased job hopping every 2 years for better pay and opportunities.
- đ Reduced employer-employee loyalty and the decline of unions contribute to the lack of job security.
- đĄ Adaptability is crucial for career success, including being flexible with job types and locations.
- đ Building career capital involves accumulating resources and abilities that can be leveraged for future opportunities.
- đ Networking is essential; maintaining weak ties can lead to new opportunities and ideas.
- đ Staying unique in the professional world can make one irreplaceable, either by specializing in a niche or building a strong personal brand.
- đ° Wage stagnation is a significant issue; to combat this, one must focus on diversifying income sources.
- đ ïž Passive income streams, such as investments or content creation, can supplement earnings and provide financial stability.
- đĄ The gig economy and freelancing offer ways to create additional income beyond a traditional full-time job.
- đź Self-reliance in terms of economic vitality is key for surviving future market fluctuations and changes.
Q & A
What are the two factors that have drastically changed the way we work?
-The two factors are the reduced loyalty between employer and employee, largely due to at-will contracts, and the decline of unions as businesses push for their extinction.
What is the impact of at-will contracts on job security?
-At-will contracts mean that employers can fire employees without consequences and vice versa, leading to less job security and a lack of long-term commitment from both parties.
Why have businesses been pushing for the extinction of unions?
-Businesses dislike unions because they defend workers' rights, which can lead to higher costs for employers and limit their control over labor conditions.
What is the negative feedback cycle caused by employers not taking care of their employees?
-The negative feedback cycle results in employees being asked to do more work without compensation, leading to dissatisfaction and a higher turnover rate as employees leave for better opportunities.
How does wage stagnation affect individuals working for the same company for many years?
-Wage stagnation means that individuals' salaries are not increasing at the pace of inflation, leading to a decrease in spending power and a lower standard of living over time.
What is 'quiet hiring' and how does it impact job stability?
-Quiet hiring refers to the practice of hiring people as contractors for specific projects instead of committing to full-time employees. This keeps companies lean and reduces their obligation to provide benefits, contributing to job instability.
What are the three strategies to future-proof your career according to the script?
-The three strategies are adaptability, uniqueness, and diversity. Adaptability involves being flexible and open to learning new skills. Uniqueness is about building a professional brand that makes you irreplaceable. Diversity means creating multiple income streams.
How can one build career capital?
-Building career capital involves accumulating resources and abilities throughout your career that enhance your future opportunities. This can be achieved through credentials like degrees or certifications, financial savings, and networking.
Why is it important to maintain 'weak ties' in your professional network?
-Weak ties, or acquaintances and people not in your immediate circle, are important because they often bring in new opportunities and ideas. They can introduce you to different ways of living and thinking, and provide a lifeline during challenging times.
What is the significance of being open to learning in building career capital?
-Being open to learning and acquiring new skills is crucial for adapting to the changing demands of your industry. It allows you to stay relevant and anticipate future needs, thus increasing your value and employability.
How can passive income help in diversifying one's income streams?
-Passive income sources, such as investments or ad revenue from content creation, allow you to earn money over time with minimal ongoing effort after an initial investment of time or money. This can provide financial stability and reduce reliance on a single full-time job.
Outlines
đ Economic Uncertainty and Job Insecurity
This paragraph addresses the concerns of individuals facing unemployment or fearing job loss in the current economic climate. It touches on the anxiety caused by dwindling job prospects and the impact of inflation on everyday luxuries. The speaker shares personal experiences of being laid off and observes the changing job market dynamics, highlighting the decline of traditional 9-to-5 jobs and the rise of at-will contracts and the decline of unions. The paragraph emphasizes the need for adaptability and forward-thinking in the face of an uncertain job future.
đ Adaptability and Career Capital
The speaker discusses the importance of adaptability in the modern job market, encouraging individuals to be flexible with their career expectations. This includes considering freelance work, contract positions, and the potential benefits of not being tied down to a specific location. The concept of career capital is introduced, which refers to the resources and abilities accumulated over time that can enhance future career opportunities. The speaker suggests building career capital through credentials, financial savings, and networking. The role of learning new skills and staying up-to-date with industry trends is emphasized, with a personal example of learning email marketing through Skillshare.
đ Uniqueness and Personal Branding
This paragraph focuses on the value of uniqueness in the professional world, suggesting that individuals either become the best at what they do or create a personal brand that makes them irreplaceable. The speaker discusses the strategy of niching down to a specific area of expertise to limit competition and the importance of being early in a field to gain recognition. The paragraph also highlights the power of personal branding, using social media influencers as examples of individuals who command high value due to their unique personal brand.
đ° Diversification and Passive Income
The speaker addresses the issue of wage stagnation and the limitations of trading time for money. To combat this, the paragraph emphasizes the need for diversification of income sources beyond a full-time salary. The concept of passive income is introduced, explaining that it involves initial effort that yields ongoing returns over time, such as investing in real estate or earning from YouTube ads. The speaker argues that having control over one's income streams provides more stability than relying on a full-time job, as it allows for direct response to market trends and provides a safety net during economic downturns.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄUnemployment
đĄJob Market
đĄInflation
đĄAt-Will Contracts
đĄUnions
đĄAdaptability
đĄCareer Capital
đĄUniqueness
đĄDiversification
đĄSkillshare
đĄPassive Income
Highlights
The traditional 9 to 5 job is fading away, with reduced loyalty between employers and employees.
At-will contracts contribute to the lack of job security, allowing employers to fire employees without consequences.
The decline of unions has negatively impacted workers' rights and job security.
Employers and employees are caught in a negative feedback cycle, with employees expected to leave every 2 years for better opportunities.
Quiet hiring allows companies to hire contractors for projects instead of full-time employees, contributing to job insecurity.
Wage stagnation is a significant issue, with many unable to keep up with the pace of inflation.
Adaptability is crucial for future-proofing your career, including being flexible with job expectations and location.
Building career capital involves accumulating resources and abilities that can enhance future career opportunities.
Networking, especially with weak ties, can open up new opportunities and ideas.
Continuous learning and staying ahead of industry needs is essential for staying relevant in a rapidly changing job market.
Creating a unique professional brand can make you irreplaceable in your field.
Early adoption of new technologies or niche expertise can provide a competitive edge.
Diversification of income streams is key to overcoming wage stagnation and job insecurity.
Passive income, such as investments or ad revenue, can provide financial stability without additional work.
Having your own business or income streams can offer more stability than a full-time job in a volatile economy.
The future of work requires individuals to take control of their economic vitality rather than relying on companies.
Skillshare offers a community of classes for learning practical skills and building career capital.
The video creator emphasizes the importance of adapting to changes and taking personal responsibility for career and economic stability.
Transcripts
are you unemployed fearful of becoming
unemployed or are you just someone with
a strong desire to quit your job but are
too anxious and uncertain about the
dwindling job prospects and the future
state of our global economy after
watching all of your friends get laid
off and seeing the price of common goods
rise to the point where you can no
longer not only afford the house that
you were once promised but even basic
luxuries like oat milk lattes and
avocado toast that were apparently
preventing you from affording that house
in the first
place if so then this video is for you
and thank you skillshare for sponsoring
this video more on that later
in the last two years I have been laid
off twice and many of my friends have
been as well and those that have been
lucky enough to keep their jobs are
still fearful that they're going to lose
them and if they're not then they have
to worry about the fact that their wages
are stagnating they're not getting
raises they're not getting promoted and
if they didn't get a 10% raise in the
last year that means that their salaries
actually went down because of inflation
and no this isn't the first time the job
market has gone through something like
this this but it does feel a little bit
different this time and a big part of
that is because the traditional 9 to5
that we were once told would provide us
stability and security and everything we
wanted out of life until the day we
retired is now slowly going away let's
get into it now there are two factors at
play here that have drastically changed
the way we work and the first is the
reduced loyalty between the employer and
the employee a big reason for this is
the commonality of at will contracts and
that essentially just means that the
employer can fire you without
consequences you can leave the company
without consequences and nobody has to
know other than the moment it is
actually happening the second part of
this is that a lot of big businesses
have been pushing for the extinction of
unions this has been a thing that's been
going on for a very long time they don't
like unions because unions are a way for
workers to defend their rights
oh my God so horrible so now we've
entered this really negative feedback
cycle where employers are not really
incentivized to take care of their
employees and they can ask more of them
ask them to do multiple jobs wear more
hats and not really pay them or promote
them in any way and then the employee
gets fed up because now they're being
asked to do more work without any sort
of compensation for that and they decide
that hey I'm going to leave which is why
now people pop every 2 years because
that's the only way that you're actually
going to get more pay or promotion that
you want but employers now know that
employees come in with the intention of
leaving in a few years and so they are
even more incentivized not to hire
people for the long term and around and
around and around we go and now this all
means that the 40-year stable job that
our parents once promised us and
experienced themselves is no longer a
reality for a lot of the younger
generation instead instead we get to be
blessed with mass layoffs because
companies no longer have any incentive
to think about the future well-being of
the people they hire you also see a lot
of companies now engaging in what is
considered quiet hiring and that just
means that instead of having to commit
to a full-time employee where you God
forbid have to pay them benefits you
instead can just hire people per project
as contractors and keep your company
lean that way so that if things change
we all decided this was all temporary in
the first place so no one can be mad and
the second problem here is the
stagnation of wages which I'm sure we
have all noticed that everything is
ridiculously expensive and nobody can no
longer afford a home unless you bought
it prior to 2020 or you have some form
of generational wealth to help you I'm
not going to harp on this point I think
we get it but the point is if you plan
on working at the same company for more
than a few years you most likely are not
going to be out earning the pace of
inflation which means that your spending
power cost of living all of that is
going to go in a very bad Direction
unless you decide to get up and leave so
unfortunately that means that the days
where you were able to just show up to
your job do what was asked for you in
exchange for being able to afford basic
things like food and shelter is now a
thing of the past so now that we have
officially established that capitalism
sucks what's y to do run away to a lower
cost of living country like Thailand in
order to profit off of the wage
discrepancy between here and the
US I wouldn't do that look I can't tell
you what the future is going to look
like or what the economy is going to be
like a few years from now but there are
still three things you can do to Future
prooof your career no matter how things
shape up the first is adaptability
second is uniqueness and the third is
diversity the first really big important
part of being adaptable is being
flexible A lot of people are still tied
to this idea that your job has to be for
a big company at an office tied to a
certain location and the more you can
remove yourself from those expectations
so not only are you going to work at an
office but can you work as a freelancer
can you maybe be a full-time contractor
maybe you decide to keep renting because
buying a house is expensive and you
don't want to be tied down to one city
in case an opportunity comes up
somewhere else the more you're able to
untie yourself from all of these
specific expectations for the qualities
of your job the better chance you're
going to have at jumping on an
opportunity when it comes and in
addition to flexibility you also want to
start thinking about career Capital
career Capital just refers to all of the
resources and abilities that you
accumulate throughout your career that
allow you to do more with your career in
the future in other words it's all of
the Investments that you're making now
that are going to help you in the long
run and some of the ways you can do that
are through credentials so that's
getting degrees or certifications that
might help you in your industry it could
also be through just Financial savings
building up an emergency fund so that if
you do decide that you need to leave
your job or something happens you have
some sort of Runway to keep you going
for a little bit longer and another big
piece of this which I'm sure you're sick
of hearing truly is Network at least in
America our circles are getting smaller
and smaller which isn't a bad thing in
some ways I think quality over quantity
is great I'm an introvert I don't want
to have 500 friends have to take care of
all the time but there is a social
networking term called weak ties and
weak ties refer to all the acquaintances
and the people that are not necessarily
your closest friends and families they
are still part of your overall Network
and these are the people that usually
bring in the most opportunities and
creative ideas and just introduce you to
new ways of living and thinking because
they're not necessarily in the same Echo
Chamber Of The Five People You Most
surround yourself with and it's really
important to keep maintaining those
connections and building those
connections whether that's through
joining a sports league if you're a part
of a church getting involved in that
maybe just being a part of your
neighborhood or Community Building those
weak ties are what's really going to
give you a life boat when and if crap
hits the fan in the future and probably
the biggest part of building career
capital is honestly just being open to
learning and being willing to learn new
skills learning how to learn which is a
whole video in itself nowadays it's not
enough to go to college and get a degree
and stop there and just keep learning on
the job you actually have to really be
proactive and start anticipating what
your industry is going to need in the
future and learn those skills before it
has asked from you because if you're
having your company ask you to learn
something it's already too late that
means that you're not doing the job that
they want or somebody else is going to
be able to come in and take that job
from you I personally currently work as
a content creator and this is an
industry that is rapidly changing at a
very fast clip all the time and in order
to stay relevant it is critically
important that I stay up to date not
only with platforms but with new ways of
connecting my audience and one of the
ways that I'm currently doing that for
example is by learning email marketing
because is as much as people like to
talk about short form and Tik Tok really
the best thing you can do for yourself
right now as a Creator is learning to
own your own audience and to have it in
a place that is not connected to a
social media platform so email is
something that I have been making a very
big priority in this last year and one
resource that I have found very helpful
in learning that is skillshare so
skillshare has a community of thousands
of classes in topics like productivity
design business pretty much anything you
can think of and all of it is self-paced
you're able to fit it into your own
schedule especially if you work a
full-time job and all the classes are
also outcome oriented which means
they're teaching you practical skills
you can actually apply directly and
immediately in your life and because
there are so many members who come from
creative backgrounds and are looking to
build their own businesses there's a ton
of content out there on building your
brand building side hustles how to be a
solar preneur or just creating passive
income streams in general and one of the
newer features that I actually learned
about recently that I think is pretty
cool is called their learning paths this
is essentially just a group of curated
classes so instead of picking and
choosing each class directly you can
just say I want to learn about this
specific subject and they'll give you a
list of different classes that actually
build on each other and make sense
together to help you learn specifically
what you're looking for so for me right
now I want to learn about email
marketing and I've been taking this
learning path that is dedicated directly
to that so I learn a lot about marketing
through email building an email list and
there's also a lot of other really cool
ones that I'm interested in like
negotiation and pricing for Freelancers
that's something I'm really bad at and
definitely need to take some tips on if
you're interested in YouTube
specifically I've actually created a
class about branding yourself on YouTube
so if content creation is your thing go
check that out and if you want to give
it a try you can actually use my link in
the description the first 500 people who
use it will get a free trial thank you
again to skillshare for sponsoring this
video now let's get back into
it okay now that we have talked about
how to be adaptable let's talk about
some ways to be unique uniqueness at
least in the professional sense is
really just about building a
professional brand that makes you
Irreplaceable and there's two primary
ways you can do this one is by being the
best in the world at what you do if you
choose to just do one thing and that is
a very large popular thing then this is
going to be very hard if you want to be
the best chest best player in the world
best violinist um best front-end
software developer you're probably going
to have a lot of competition and it's
not going to be possible for you to
stand out just in that area alone so
what you can do is either Niche down and
become very specific so instead of being
a wedding planner who takes care of all
of the northeast of the US you could
specifically be a wedding planner that
specializes in month before coordination
and takes care of the Sacramento area
for Budget Brides looking for rustic
weddings that way your competition and
the people who are able to offer exactly
what you offer becomes a lot smaller
it's also a little easier to be the Best
in Class when you are early so people
who got onto YouTube for example back in
2010 had a way easier chance of being
known and getting views because there
were so few people on the platform at
that time or the people who are going to
AI now for example if you're an AI
engineer everyone wants you whether
you're mediocre great you don't even
have to be the best at it everyone's
going to want you because there are so
few who are able to do that job at this
moment but a picking a very specific
Niche sounds kind of limiting to you or
you're not really sure that you could
commit to just one thing forever the
other way to make yourself Irreplaceable
is to create a very specific and
tailored personal brand so for example
get ready with me really popular trend
on Tik Tok right now lots of girls are
doing it they're a dime of dozen but
Alex Earl she can charge any amount she
wants to any brand for doing the exact
same thing simply because she is Alex
Earl she is not replaceable if you take
any other person and do the same exact
format as her same with Emma Chamberlin
she did very downto Earth lowii style
Vlogs and a lot of people do that now
too but no brand is going to go up to a
random person who's making just a very
simple Vlog and say Here's $100,000 to
promote my product they're only going to
do that to Emma Chamberlain because they
want the Emma Chamberlain name so either
you are going to be the best at what you
do regardless of who is doing it or you
are going to make sure that you as a
person are what is bringing value to
your career because at the end of the
day if your job can be done by any other
person for the same price or cheaper you
are at the risk of being replaced now
while adaptability and uniqueness might
make you more appealing to prospective
employers there's still one critical
issue that we haven't addressed yet and
that is wage stagnation the problem is
even if you are the best of what you do
even if you are desirable and you never
get laid off you always have job offers
coming in you're still trading your time
for money and at the end of the day we
all only have 24 hours so there's only
so much you can raise your hourly rate
before someone chooses not to pay you
that much so if you want to earn more
money or you want to be able to save
again going back to that flexibility
aspect and making sure that you have for
Savings in casee something happens or if
you just want to be able to create more
income for yourself because you're
worried about inflation and your hourly
rate isn't keeping up with that then
you're going to have to
diversify and all diversification means
is just finding other ways to create
money for yourself instead of only
relying on the company that is paying
you a full-time salary and I know we're
all tired of hearing about the gig
economy and we don't want to have to
work multiple jobs just to survive it
sucks yeah
but it is the unfortunate reality we are
handed with and there are some ways that
you can make it a little bit easier so
number one is passive income you know
passive doesn't mean that you're not
putting any work but it does mean that
you are leveraging the amount of initial
hours you put into a project and getting
gains from that over time so a very
classic example of this is investing or
real estate you spend a lot of money up
front and that effort compounds over
time and gives you more money even
though you're not putting any additional
effort also AdSense from YouTube or
Creator funds that's another way to get
passive income you create videos up
front and then those videos continue to
earn over and over again as time goes on
and this is essentially a way of
increasing your hourly wage without
actually having to put in more work per
hour or having to work more hours
because again we're limited to that
24-hour time period every day and this
is actually a really big reason why I
keep saying that having your own
business or having your own streams of
income that you control is actually
more stable nowadays than a full-time
job because while a full-time job might
give you the same consistent paycheck
every month that money can stop and go
to absolutely zero overnight and you
will have no heads up so you go from
making however much a year to $0 a year
whereas if you are running your own
business or you have your own income
streams they are still victim to market
trends but ask any business owner it's
very uncommon that your business is
going to go belly up over overnight
there's always signs months ahead of
time sometimes even years ahead of time
that things are not going well for you
and so you have time to create an
alternative plan and pivot before it's
too late and I'm not saying that
everyone has to quit their jobs and
start their own business but if you can
create some sort of part-time passive
income stream or even something like a
freelancing business that you do
occasionally that means that if you are
laid off or suddenly let go you do have
some income coming in to sustain you
while you're looking for your next gig
and this really is the key to surviving
economic downturns at least the way that
we're going to experience them in the
next few years and probably Beyond
because at the end of the day no one is
immune from Market fluctuations we're
all going to suffer when the economy
goes down but if you're in a full-time
job you're one stepper moved from how
the economy is doing so if the economy
is doing well the economy is doing bad
it actually doesn't affect you it's your
boss and your boss's boss that decide
how it's going to affect you whereas
when you have your own income streams
you are actually connected directly to
how the market is responding if the
Market's not responding well you're
allowed to fix it if the market is
responding well then you get to reap
those benefits and if there's one thing
that you take away from this video let
it be that from 2024 and Beyond the only
way to survive whatever change is coming
is to start taking care of yourself and
to stop leaving your economic Vitality
in the hands of companies that could
care less about you oh my gosh I so
sorry I've been talking for so long I
haven't let you get a single word in
here I'll stop tell me what you think
about
this actually crap I forgot I have an
appointment I think I'm late for it um
why don't you just leave your thoughts
in the comments below and we'll discuss
it there instead uh yeah you can just
see yourself out and don't forget to
sign up for skillshare before you leave
and I will see you in the next
one
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