This gun for hire

Do you own your work or does your work own you? Knowledge, skills and creativity are the key to career freedom

Information and communications technologies and the internet are rapidly changing the way in which organisations operate, and as a result, the way in which many of us work is also undergoing a transformation. In the new and much hyped 'knowledge economy', the emphasis is on networking and the shift is away from manual to mind labour.

In the UK, the wage gap between rich and poor is wider than it has been for around two centuries, as greater value is put on skills, knowledge and creativity. The low-skilled have a tough time making ends meet while the most highly skilled don't just see their salaries rising, they also find that they are often able to choose how they work.

The explosion of information technology and the rise in the value that skilled workers add to an organisation, together with the job uncertainty caused by companies 'restructuring' and 'downsizing' in the 1980s and 1990s, has led to the emergence of a new kind of worker.

Quiet revolution

Highly qualified, with sought-after knowledge, skills and networks, these workers are wholly aware that they can no longer rely on the loyalty and protection of their employers, and they have realised that disloyalty can actually pay. "There are no jobs for life", the tired mantra of the company in downsize-mode, has become the triumphant anthem of this new breed. The toothpaste is now out of the tube and won't be put back in. The death of job security for them meant the birth of career freedom and they are secure in the knowledge that the companies they work for need them more than they need those companies.

Dubbed 'knowledge workers', they develop their networks and move between organisations from one short posting to the next. In a buoyant economy, those with the requisite skills are able to choose who they work for and when. High levels of pay are not necessarily what it is about for them: often, enhanced personal space and free time, finding that they can operate on their own terms, and having choices are as important if not more so. Independent rather than individualistic, they reject structures in favour of networks, using the new information communications technology, in particular the internet, to make and maintain contacts, share information, and keep the work flowing. These workers secure their own labour market security by keeping their skills and knowledge of ongoing opportunities current.

John Knell, Head of Research at the Industrial Society, describes this shift in the relationship between organisations and employees as a quiet revolution, "the effects of which will continue to be felt long after the hubbub around the new economy has died down."

A company able to target those workers with the specific set of skills needed at any given time, as and when they are needed, is often better able to meet a particular set of needs than a company with more static, permanent workforce. The dynamics of the labour market are changing and many companies are finding themselves increasingly reliant on having reliable access to these knowledge workers. The number of people who use their expert skills to take control of their own lives, careers and free time is set to rise and rise.

Companies respond

Job-hopping, once a complete no-no and tantamount to career suicide is, under different guises such as contract and freelance work, working its way to becoming standard practice in certain fields. This, in turn, has led many employers to reassess the way they view taking on and retaining permanent staff. Those with a history of moving from job to job are finding that generally, fewer explanations and excuses are necessary at the interview stage.

Organisations want to ensure that they will be able to recoup their expenses in employing and training employees and that each employee contributes towards profitability. They finally appear to be realising that to do so they must make working conditions more pleasant: in many companies, concessions have already been made in areas such as more relaxed dress codes and flexible hours.

Some companies go much further to attract and retain staff. The US software company SAS Institute, described by Fortune magazine as "the closest thing to a workers' utopia in America", provides childcare, subsidised private secondary education, and free healthcare and recreational facilities. Working long hours is discouraged. It is a formula that seems to work, with customer satisfaction high and staff turnover low.


Do you have any experiences to share or comments on our website? We welcome your feedback.