Job Nomads

What if you were offered a job where you could work whenever, wherever, and in whichever way you wanted? No tight schedules or pecking orders? We’d be there in a flash.

German-born “world futurologist” Gundula Englische says this is what our future will look like. There will be no borders, no territories, and our workplace will be mobile. The author presents a blueprint of the future labor market and coins a new term, “job nomad” for those who will lead this trend.

Job nomads will receive paychecks but refuse to be chained to the lifetime employment model. To them, being free from subjugation is more important that being successful. This is because they want to broaden their skills in as many fields as possible, thus promoting their creative value.

The society of job nomads is a knowledge economy-oriented one, emphasizing speed, mobility, and spontaneity. Remarkably, the writer points out how ridiculous “regular jobs” are from the viewpoint of this emerging society, and predicts that in the year 2010, nine-to-five jobs will be almost nonexistent.

The question of whether temporary jobs will ever be seen in a positive light raises doubts, however, as jobs are becoming scarce and the young and unemployed and temporarily employed are left chewing their fingernails, with 2010 not far off.

The answer to this question is hinted at on the very last, and interesting, page of the book. To his disbelieving readers, he actually plows ahead to the year 2020, and reflects back on the previous chain of events. He even states through a nomad’s words that only those with positive, confident outlooks on the future will succeed in it.

It is certain, the author writes, that, “Those who do not try anything will not gain anything.” In this madly spinning world, will you be pushed around or will you lead the progression? To own this future, you cannot afford to be afraid, you must let your imagination fuel your creative attempts.