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How Technology Is Increasing the Number of Jobs We Have (theguardian.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the hope-you-like-contracting dept.

An anonymous reader writes: An article at The Guardian takes a look at the way in which we hold jobs as technology as changes. Its central thesis is this: "My father had one job in his life, I've had six in mine, my kids will have six at the same time." This may compress the generational changes a bit, but it's an interesting point; the average time people spend at one job has been trending downward for a long time. As technology enables the so-called "gig economy" (or "sharing economy," if you prefer), we're seeing many more people start to hold multiple jobs, working whichever one happens to give them something to do at a given time. Economist Jeremy Rifkin says, "This sharing economy is reestablishing the commons in a hi-tech landscape. Commons came about when people formed communities by taking the meager resources they had and sharing then to create more value. The method of regulation of these systems is also comparable. If people are trusted and vouched for they are accepted as part of the sharing economy group. If they behave badly they are excluded. Your social capital means everything in this new economy."

6 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. At what point do we reevaluate the position by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And at what point can we reevaluate this and say "six jobs at one time is not a job, it's being taken advantage of". If everyone is complicit in it then it's nothing but being taken advantage of by mob mentality.

    I hardly find that reassuring.

    1. Re: At what point do we reevaluate the position by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Informative

      You ended up in the gulag right along with the rightists you helped to put there.

      Last June, I was in Sweden and Finland. I looked for gulags and couldn't find any. Maybe they hide them under all the hospitals and universities that are free for everyone.

      In the good old USA, on the other hand...

      http://www.activistpost.com/20...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re: At what point do we reevaluate the position by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 5, Informative

      Which land is it that's completely inhabited by whites only? It's not the one that Stockholm's in.

      Fun facts about Sweden: Nationally, about 10% of the population are immigrants or at least one of their parents was. In the greater Stockholm metro, it's more like 25%. Here in my suburb, it's about 60%. And to the best of my knowledge, Sweden's never had anything like the White Australia programme.

      Sweden is not perfect, and racism does exist here, but they generally don't let people starve or freeze or die from lack of medical attention, either, regardless of colour or national origin.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  2. Translation: People are Getting Desperate by mbone · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People who are working six jobs at once are unlikely to feel secure about their financial and social position. The people I actually know in the "gig economy" are doing it out of some combination of insecurity and desperation. If this is really the future, look for extreme political instability in our country.

  3. Change is inevitable by sjbe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And at what point can we reevaluate this and say "six jobs at one time is not a job, it's being taken advantage of".

    It's not being taken advantage of. It's called being a freelancer. There is lots of work in the world that does not require being in a single place for 40+ hours each week. Just because it is different doesn't mean it is worse or that you are being taken advantage of. I've held as many as 3-4 "jobs" at a given time. It's normal if you are a freelancer.

    I don't pretend to know what the future will look like but the one thing I'm certain of is that it won't look like today. The job market your parents had isn't the one you will have and the one your kids will have will be different still. Get used to it.

  4. Technology has nothing to do with it by Vermonter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The reason your dad (or grandfather) likely held the same job his entire life is because 50 years ago, employers were invested in, and took care of, their employees. My grandfather worked for GE his entire life (outside his time in WWII), and it wasn't because there weren't other jobs he could have gone to. They offered him a pension, which you just cannot find anymore. Today you get crappy health care, and if you're lucky a 3% pay raise every year, and if you are high enough on the ladder, a Christmas bonus that actually means anything. Employers just don't invest in employees like they used to.