Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
- We’re witnessing a third phase in the evolution of labor that’s not only a shift in working hours, but a shift in power.
- Micro-shifts are compact work periods ranging from four to six hours, which are taking hold in many frontline settings.
- To thrive in this new reality, employers must embrace modular employment models that prioritize participation over permanence.
The nature of work is changing — again. What used to be a traditional job has morphed into a shift, a task, or a freelance gig. Increasingly, people are contributing to businesses without becoming permanent parts of them.
The classic employer-employee relationship is fading, replaced by a model that’s decentralized, agile, and worker-centric.
Back in 2014, The Economist’s influential article “Workers on Tap” forecasted this evolution. It highlighted how platforms like Uber, Handy, and TaskRabbit disrupted conventional labor by turning everyday individuals into on-demand service providers.
These platforms didn’t just introduce new kinds of work — they challenged the very concept of job ownership. Employment began to unbundle, breaking away from the traditional, full-time model.
This transformation started with short-term, often low-wage jobs — perfect for those needing side income or who lacked access to full-time roles. At the same time, another independent workforce began to flourish. Highly skilled professionals — engineers, creatives, consultants — chose to forgo the 9-to-5 in favor of autonomy and flexibility.
Initially, these two groups, those driven by necessity and those driven by choice, seemed worlds apart. But that divide is closing. Today, the key distinction isn’t whether you’re a contractor or employee, but whether you depend solely on one employer. Increasingly, the answer is no.
We’re witnessing a third phase in the evolution of labor. The first wave fragmented full-time roles into gigs. The second gave knowledge workers flexibility. Now, the shift economy — those in hourly and frontline jobs — is undergoing a similar transformation.
From Clocking In to Custom Schedules
Holding multiple jobs isn’t a new concept. It once went by the name “moonlighting.” Then came the digital gig economy of low-barrier, flexible jobs in delivery, ride-sharing, and more. For professionals, the trend showed up as portfolio careers — a designer/writer/strategist kind of model — built intentionally to reflect a wider professional identity.
Whether you’re skeptical or supportive, there’s no denying that these shifts give workers more say; not just in where they work, but when, how, and sometimes even what they do.
Now, shift and hourly workers are demanding similar autonomy.
“In fact, Gen Z are now the predominant generation that works these shift jobs. And this generation has a very different relationship to work,” says Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy, in a recent episode of The Future of Less Work podcast.
She points out that while return-to-office dominates the headlines, most of the global workforce is still working physically — in retail, healthcare, and food service. They, too, want greater flexibility. This demand is manifesting in new formats like micro-shifts and poly-employment.
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Micro-shifts are compact work periods ranging from four to six hours, which are taking hold in many frontline settings.
“That Gen Z mom starts working and maybe works nine to 12 and then takes care of her kids, picks up her kids or does other things that she needs. And then she works another shift in the afternoon, three to six, for example.” says Martincevic.
This kind of flexibility isn’t about working less, it’s about aligning work with life. Once workers can segment their day this way, many begin picking up shifts from different employers.
The Era of Poly-Employment
Poly-employment marks a deeper shift in labor dynamics. Workers are no longer tied to a single paycheck. They’re stitching together incomes by blending multiple micro-shifts across several employers.
Deputy’s 2025 Big Shift report reveals that 5.4% of hourly employees are working more than one job at the same time, with young women in hospitality leading the trend. These workers aren’t picking between traditional employment and gig life—they’re carving out an in-between path.
Martincevic explains: “We saw this massive increase in poly-employment where you’re doing small shifts, but also you’re doing it across multiple employers. So they use it to stitch together your own flexibility.”
This points to a broader truth: employment is shifting from ownership to access. Companies no longer possess exclusive rights to talent—they share it and compete for it. Workers, in turn, decide how and where they contribute, balancing roles to suit their goals.
To thrive in this new reality, employers must embrace modular employment models that prioritize participation over permanence.
Work, Redefined
For a long time, flexibility was synonymous with remote work for desk jobs. That’s no longer the case. The most groundbreaking labor innovations are now unfolding in frontline industries like restaurants, retail, hospitals, where remote work isn’t an option.
Flexibility today isn’t a benefit; it’s a baseline. It means the ability to shape work around life, set hours, and often, create a patchwork of income streams.
A Pew Research study found that just 43% of blue-collar workers are satisfied with their jobs, compared to 53% across other sectors. Many young people and women view work as a necessity rather than a passion. For them, poly-employment and schedule autonomy offer something more: control.
That’s the real revolution — not just a shift in working hours, but a shift in power. Increasingly, it’s workers, not employers, who are shaping the future of work.
