"When is everything gonna
get back to normal?" 

In the brilliant TV show "Mad Men" Roger Sterling said the line above in reaction to all the changes he was seeing in his co-workers circa 1967. As a viewer it's fun to be sitting in 2015 knowing the answer to his question is, "It's not going to happen and in fact, you ain't seen nothing yet!" At the same time, it's chilling to think that I've had the same thought Roger expressed. As we all know, things don't go back. We end up with a new reality.   

  

Expert marketer Seth Godin talks about how the nature of work used to be a structured system where for the most part you were told what to do. While some of that still exists, the modern worker is expected to navigate the job and the outputs.  Like any big change, it has its positives and negatives.  But make no mistake, the landscape has been permanently altered. There's no going "back to normal."

In case you've had your nose firmly fixed on the grindstone, here's a scorecard on the what's changed for the employee.  

As free agents, our product is our labor, talent, problem solving, etc. that we hope to sell until we decide it's time to leave the workplace. What happens when you you don't get to set the terms but you still have to "provide value" and stay in the workforce longer than you had planned?  Spoiler alert: it's happening already to millions.  

3 top issues for workers delaying retirement

The No. 1 retirement strategy today is — don’t retire.

Today retirement, for many, looks like work. Whether your plan is full-time or part-time work or even consulting, can you make the business case to stay in the workplace?

Despite the unending barrage of retirement images depicting combinations of sun, sea and sand designed to engage people in savings and investment the majority of the next wave of retirees don't see beaches and golf courses in their near future. AnAARP survey revealed that nearly 30% of older baby boomers plan to retire at 70 and older, another 40% say they plan "to work until they drop."

Read the full article here.

Part of being an alert free agent in today's world is understanding the meaning behind terms used in business-speak.  Pay attention the job you save could be your own!

HR Speak Decoded: The Real Meaning Behind 7 Common Phrases That Can Fool You

Sometimes, navigating office politics—and speak—can feel a bit like trying to decipher the meaning behind smoke rings.

Rather, you could just be one in a sea of overqualified people vying for the position.

Case in point: While in the interview seat, you’re told that you are a “competitive candidate”—but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve got the job.

Or maybe earning a “title promotion” may sound like you’ve scored a career coup … or have you?

Read the full article here.

This post from Jared Bernstein's blog from back in 2012 accurately notes the notable shift.  

You’re on Your Own vs. We’re In This Together

September 6th, 2012 at 11:17 am

In a speech that was as compelling as it was persuasive, President Clinton (“the hoarse whisperer to the middle class”—this AM’s WaPo) made a number of references to the difference between the two starkly different political philosophies: “you’re on your own,” and “we’re in this together.”

These two different political philosophies came into stark focus for me in the early 2000s—the GW Bush years—and I wrote about them at length in the book All Together Now: Common Sense for a Fair Economy.  The “common sense” part is a reference to Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet which seemed relevant then and more so now (you’ll see references below).

Read the full article here.