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‘Bring your own worker’ and other trends for 2014

December 16, 2013

"Bring your own worker" with managers finding their own workers, employers as partners, and workers taking more responsibility for their career development are the top three workforce trends for 2014 as predicted by MBO Partners, a provider of business services to independent contractors as well as independent contractor payrolling and compliance services.

“As the ball drops on 2013, American workers will move in larger droves to self-employment, with over 1 million more Americans joining the self-employed ranks in 2014,” said Gene Zaino, CEO and president of MBO Partners. “American professionals are adjusting to a sea change in how work gets done.”

Here are MBO’s predictions of top three trends for 2014:

  1. From “bring your own device” to “bring your own worker:” MBO predicts the coming consumerization of talent as managers are empowered to bring their own worker. In 2014, more professionals will be sourced for larger project needs from the cloud. “Bring your own worker” will impact how organizations view both talent sourcing and management. Enterprise managers, leveraging managed contractor clouds, will be able to build their own teams and procure the help they need on a project-by-project basis.
  2. Company as partner — not parent: The employer-employee relationship will continue to evolve as companies shift out of their role as provider to become enablers. The traditional perks and benefits that were commonplace 20 years ago have evolved into companies focusing on enhancing the workplace experience with in-demand benefits such as flexible work spaces and paid time off to volunteer. In the past, benefits such as retirement and healthcare could only be obtained through traditional employment, creating a job tether that was not easily broken. In 2014 benefit levels will shrink and companies will provide more self-source systems to employees for items traditionally associated with the employment contract — health, insurance and retirement benefits.
  3. Workers take greater responsibility for their career development: Workers will take a “build your own career” approach establishing greater responsibility and control over their work life. These burdens will challenge those seeking to transition to a self-employed professional mindset. From finding and buying benefits that are no longer offered by employers to defining their expertise and planning the trajectory of their career, self-help support for workers will rise alongside self-employment. We will see the emergence of new service industries to support these new burdens on the American worker — with professionals outsourcing back office and non-critical work functions so as to focus on their marketable expertise at accelerated rates.