Choices in the New World of Work

Not everyone wants to step up and lead. Some people prefer to operate in the background. They prefer the path of least resistance. They prefer to not stand up and stand out. They simply want to contribute, do a good job, and go home at the end of each day. And they want some level of security that the jobs they do very capably today will be there for them tomorrow. This isn’t an unreasonable thing to want. Besides that, the world needs people who want to work and work hard. There is a labor need to be addressed, and these are the people who will fulfill it.

The problem for some people, though, is that the labor they perform can be performed elsewhere in the world, often for cheaper. The security that people crave is more tenuous today than it was 10 years ago. This isn’t a new development; we’ve been seeing this trend for years. It’s here to stay. Don’t expect it to change any time soon. The business world is fueled by profit. To say it’s fueled by money is really a mistake. It’s not the money that’s sought. It’s the profit that’s the key. Profit means power much more so than money does. We all know people who make a lot of money, but they spend just as much. There’s no leverage in that lifestyle, at least no leverage that is sustainable. And there is no profit. No profit, no leverage, no power. Nothing. It’s bound to result in an empty lifestyle that will fail to satisfy. With the target of increased revenue always moving upward, the incentive to move labor to cheaper, distant shores will also move upward. This does not bode well for the person who wants only to continue doing what they’ve always done until their time to retire arrives. Don’t expect too much from that retirement, either, under this situation.

The good news is that there is a world of work out there to be done. There are places in the world where there are skills gaps that aren’t being fulfilled by the local population. The world of work is growing. It is evolving into a borderless, multi-national, virtual world of work in which anyone, anywhere has the opportunity to play a role. People just need to be willing to think differently about the work that they do, the labor they perform. If you choose to not think differently and instead seek out the same work you’ve always sought, then expect the same results you’ve always gotten. Or, better said, expect the new results that are arising for the old world laborer. The new world laborer with a new world view has a much greater opportunity for fulfillment and for generating income. Whether that income is profitable or not remains another topic altogether.

What matters most is whether or not you find yourself with the desire to do something different in the new world of work. There is no right or wrong answer. There are only choices.

There are only ever choices.