Freelancers Took Power by 2028
The year is 2028. Freelancers are now at the forefront of the working population. With new rights, they have contributed to disrupting the daily life of companies, labour law and training. Welcome to the future…
The political class has taken up the subject
The impetus given by the self-employed and the collective conscience have overcome political immobility and measures in favour of freelancers are multiplying in the most developed countries. Society and institutions now value this new class of the working population as much as any other status, and freelancers have access to the same social benefits as employees (notably unemployment insurance) thanks to a successful merger of social protection schemes.
New rights
The Labour Code created for our grandparents’ professional world was finally reformed, and a new one was born. It now covers all categories of self-employed workers. Because until the early 2020s, in French labour law, the self-employed did not exist as such…
This new labour code also implies more rights attached to the person and no longer to the status. Already in 2014, the Nobel Prize in Economics Jean Tirole warned us about the obsolescence of labour law and its incompatibility with today’s world.
A New Ecosystem
The ecosystems of the self-employed are becoming considerably stronger at city and regional level, making life for freelancer as comfortable and advantageous as within the company. However, the attractiveness gaps between these different ecosystems are widening between cities and countries, giving rise to freelancing nations, linked together by connected platforms that promote exchanges, mutual aid and opportunities. The development of these local ecosystems facilitates global nomadism by encouraging workers to move from one region to another.
Rethinking Workspaces
The office of yesteryear is dead and the small coworking areas have given way to large real estate complexes entirely designed for the living environment of the self-employed. These spaces house a multitude of work spaces with different atmospheres to satisfy the personality and mood of workers. But also many places dedicated to creativity, relaxation, exchanges. These spaces have become living spaces open 24 hours a day, where freelancers can practice a sporting activity as well as welcome their clients, or be accompanied in their legal or commercial procedures via a dedicated desk, like Apple’s Genius Bar.
These huge structures halfway between coliving and coworking are born in the four corners of the globe and allow workers to switch from one ecosystem to another, and to meet new communities.
Living in connected communities and much more social than before, freelancers come together through professional affinities and naturally form teams that emerge as quickly as they break down, depending on the projects. The technology and flexibility of the new work statutes allow them to easily create ephemeral agencies to assemble their skills and collaborate on large-scale projects. Team organization seems to have become the most comfortable and optimal way to combine economic viability and quality of life. The microagency, the ultimate stage of the freelance consultant? Independent yes, alone no.
Working methods shaken up in ten years
The millennials generation now represents 75% of the working population. We crossed and surpassed the peak of the wage system, which no longer corresponded to our productive system. Freelancing and teleworking have become the norm, just as it is normal to have gone through 15 different jobs in less than 10 years. Most citizens combine several jobs, and organize their week according to their passions. The professional and personal aspirations of individuals have become a central concern of organizations and society as a whole.
What happens to the company?
Within the most advanced companies, the frontier of human resources has now opened up to the ecosystems of the self-employed, and freelancers on assignment are as valued as the rest of the company. More mature and structured, the ecosystem of the self-employed is fully connected to that of the large organizations and bilateral exchanges no longer suffer from insecurity or instability but on the contrary enjoy mutual benefits. Interconnections between these two connected ecosystems have become indispensable.
A readjusted training
The training of individuals within society then became a priority for the State, with a budget for vocational training that has exploded since the reform of vocational training in 2018, and with significant initiatives such as the creation of schools open 24 hours a day for all professionals, in all fields. Accustomed to constant learning and often precursors on the latest expertise, freelancers then become experts on cutting-edge skills and play a key role in spreading innovation.
And you, how do you see 2028?
Rethinking the organization of work
More than a billion jobs have been lost in 10 years. The pace of innovation has become so rapid that the workforce is forced to constantly learn new skills for almost immediate use. The ability to acquire new knowledge then seems more valuable than knowledge itself, at a time when artificial intelligence is spreading across all sectors and continuing to replace more and more jobs.
