I can’t imagine doing an hour-long dramatic series because it’s so much work. A sitcom is a wonderful gig. You work from 10 to 4 every day, it’s fun, and you get to live at home.
John Lithgow – Actor
The rules of work are not fully understood as work is done throughout the world on an on-demand basis. On-demand is an emerging economic model based on short-term labor. On-demand work is more prevalent as VUCANs find new ways to make a living based on personal principles and best practices.
There are a lot of benefits to gig-work. The creative can decide what type of work he or she will do. The creative has the option to decide how much she will make working for companies with shared worked beliefs. The hourly rate is usually higher than full-time employment.
In a booming economy, gig-work and side-hustles are a great alternative. Why? Gig-work allows a knowledge worker or a creative to be empowered and in control. VUCAN creatives have in-demand skills. These VUCANs have options. They own and control their work future. The challenge of a new project. Increased income. Risk satisfaction of new work. They develop new skills and become adaptable. Most important, they evolve into ‘hybrid workers’.
Work Lesson Earned: The following story from the U.S. Navy illustrates the power of ‘hybrid work’:
“The LCS was the first class of Navy ship that, because of technological change and the high cost of personnel, turned away from specialists in favor of ‘hybrid sailors’ who have the ability to acquire skills rapidly. It was designed to operate with a mere 40 souls on board—one-fifth the number aboard comparably sized ‘legacy’ ships and a far cry from the 350 aboard a World War II destroyer. The small size of the crew means that each sailor must be like the ship itself: a jack of many trades and not, as 240 years of tradition have prescribed, a master of just one.”[i]
[i] ‘At Work, Expertise Is Falling Out of Favor’, The Atlantic, July, 2019.