The idea of being successful has been redefined over the past few years. While it used to refer to our economic stability, it is now being measured by our autonomy, mastery and passion for what we do.
There are many ways to view work. When we are working for money without personal reward, work becomes commoditized, but when we love what we do, we become more satisfied.
The concept of work can be viewed in three ways: job work, which refers to doing work routinely for money; marginal work, which is supplemental work or gigs performed at random; and gift work, which is work we do for free like volunteering.
All of these types of working can fulfill certain needs for people. For instance, money is an obvious need, but gift work provides a sense of self-worth when contributing to something larger than yourself.
Humans naturally crave more satisfying tasks and our society has made it so that some are born into wealth on the backs of those who have little to no opportunity. People have the need to express themselves through work, but the lack of job supply hinders large portions of the population.
So how can the future of work be a place that provides equal opportunity for marginalized communities? For starters, flexibility in terms of location could open new doors for those living outside of major cities and may not have the ability or finances to move to expensive areas. This can allow companies to not only have a wider talent pool, but a much more diverse workforce as well.
