Recently, a friend wanted to offer career advice to her nephew. The nephew will be entering his final year of college this fall and is worried about the job market. My friend wondered what she could possibly say to him that would be helpful and also realistic.
Without hesitation, I said, “Tell him that his job won’t love him back. He has to look out for himself.”
How drastically different that is from the advice I believed when I was 22. I was told, “Work hard, and you’ll always have a job.” Today, most employers have broken the social contract to reward people for their dedication and loyalty.
A friend of mine was laid off last week. Told he was doing great work, but let go for “budget reasons.” Another friend in academia was let go for a crappy situation far outside of her control — she took the fall for her boss. Big enterprise companies like Google and Microsoft have laid off tens of thousands of employees, even though these companies have hundreds of billions of dollars in cash on hand.
And industries are impacted differently. Corporate greed from some. Failure to adapt to a changing world from others. Things can feel secure one day, and tumultuous the next.
Why some companies are failing
Setting aside the Googles and Microsofts of the world (who have no excuse — none — when they have that much cash lying around), I want to talk about the insecurity of a company that simply can’t keep up with the world.
I was listening to a podcast that talked about the “mediapocalypse.” Journalism has also been hit hard by layoffs in 2024, including the L.A. Times, Sports Illustrated, and Vice.
Journalism has always been a brutal field, but I wondered, “Why now? What’s happening?”
The podcast pointed to a few things. Pitchfork, for example, was founded 28 years ago as a music review site. As one of the podcast hosts pointed out, Pitchfork was launched during a time when an album cost $18 to buy a CD. Readers relied on Pitchfork for recommendations. But now, a Spotify membership for $10 per month will suggest new artists — tailored to a user’s listening history.
The podcast further dove into changes in the way publications make money from advertising, everything from on-page ads to subscription models. What if AI makes it less necessary to visit individual news sites, because a reader can ask ChatGPT for a summary of the day’s top stories? Those types of issues are currently playing out.
The underlying reality is that companies have to adapt. Quickly. They have to be innovative and change their pricing models or revenue streams. Some won’t shift fast enough, either because they think, “this too shall pass” (ask Blockbuster how that mentality can play out) or because they can’t pivot fast enough.
The prediction from the journalists in the podcast was that large media companies with solid reader bases, like The New York Times, will survive. Small, independent publications are also on the rise. And the middle will be squeezed the most.
I think this could play out across many industries. The largest companies have all the resources in the world to throw money at a problem and aren’t likely to feel the pain immediately. Small companies are often more nimble. The middle is often caught up in its own red tape.
But the largest and smallest companies don’t offer safety either. The largest are often the most callous, as Google and Microsoft have shown. People are widgets. And the smallest may need to make cuts in order to ensure their survival.
What this means for working people
Almost everyone I talk to is stressed about work these days. We’ve been collectively battered, if not directly, then indirectly. People we care about are impacted or we see the news reports. Day after day after day.
Have we entered a world where the only safety net is multiple income streams?
It feels that way sometimes. The only way to protect yourself is not to put all your eggs in one basket. But that means working more hours. Less time for yourself and time for your family.
It feels like self-employment is less risky than a full-time job. I talked about this recently on The Anonymous Marketer podcast. If I lose a client, I lose a fraction of my income rather than my whole income. But: solopreneurship isn’t for everyone.
It feels like companies may hire fewer full-time employees and turn to contractors instead. Less commitment from the company, fewer benefits to pay out, can sever an agreement whenever they want. I’ve benefitted from this, as a freelance writer, and I know it. Companies use me instead of hiring an in-house writer. It’s also played out in other sectors. National Geographic, for example, fired all of its staff writers and will use freelancers instead.
All of these feelings add up: the vibes aren’t good.
The reality is that multiple income streams aren’t the answer. Self-employement isn’t the answer. A better social safety net is the answer.
Unemployment benefits aren’t enough for many people. Access to healthcare is tied to one’s job in the U.S. We let companies lay people off, and now the onus is on the individual to survive — not the company that caused the pain. Losing your job due to the actions of the employer shouldn’t mean losing your livelihood.
Back when I first stared this Substack in 2021, I was hopeful. I wrote that we’re seeing a movement — people were fed up, tired of their employers’ crap, and this led to The Great Resignation.
I’m less starry-eyed now. Companies have clapped back hard against worker power. But I think the movement still exists. People are tired and angry.
But I continue to believe that we are headed for change. Maybe it is no longer accelerated. Maybe it has taken a step backward. But… Companies can’t continue to treat people like crap and expect to continue business as usual.
Change will be incremental. But companies cannot exist without people.
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