A while back I wrote about how the "work anywhere" culture is taking hold, and that working remotely can't be the exception anymore. People have learned what remote work can look like, and even if it doesn't mean working from home, the concept of working from anywhere is extremely powerful, allowing people to work from an office, a coffee shop, the beach, home, and so on, based on their daily requirements. It brings a lot of fundamental shifts to the way business is done, from no longer needing to commute to a large city every day, to being able to choose your living arrangements that aren't directly tied to your 9-5 job.
Another shift we're seeing when it comes to the future of work however is that we're moving away from the traditional employment model to a much more fluid, dynamic setting. A few decades ago, it was expected that someone would become employed by a corporation, work 9-5 every day, and stay there for years if not their whole life. Now everything is different, and it's being ushered by both the workers and businesses.
On the business side, owners have realized that having employees is very expensive. You need to provide them with benefits, training, and there's a lot more paperwork to do. So the hiring process also has to be longer and more in-depth, and even if there's only work for 30 or 35 hours in a week, they feel obligated to provide a full 40 hours week pay. So instead, more and more companies are trying to replace full time employees with contractors that are quicker to onboard, cost less, and can be brought in for the time period needed.
Similarly, a lot more people are now embracing entrepreneurship. While there's certainly a lot of benefits to being a full time employee, a lot of people are willing to work part time for a corporation if it means they have more time to themselves, to care of their family or work on a side hustle. Technological advancements like mobile banking, online tax filing, and the much greater access to knowledge powers this phenomenon, and made it a lot less costly to start a business.
This is the model we've adopted at Dendory Capital, and I think this is what we'll see more and more in the future. A team of professionals in a specific domain, creating a business that focuses on a specific offering and work in a virtual workplace. 2020 is only speeding up and amplifying what was already well under way.