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Annemieke Windt's Reviews > Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself
Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself
by
by
Daniel Pink - Free Agent Nation
Sometimes a book is overtaken by history. Daniel Pink's Free Agent Nation is an optimistic look at the future, where more people will work for themselves and an entire economy will be reorganized to accomodate this growing army of Free Agents. But it's a book from 2001, written before 9/11 and before the Credit Crunch. So with hindsight it's an overly optimistic book.
Does that mean that it was a waiste of time to read it. No, certainly not. Pink is an engaging writer with the ability to make me consider things from a new perspective. So if you'll leave out that the book might be outdated in parts, it also offers ideas about how people perceive work and how new technologies offer us new ways of working. Some of the trends he describes in his book did come true. We tend to blend work and private time (for instance, is writing this blog work of do I do it, because I enjoy it?) with the use of our smart phones and we give meaning to the work that we do. The cleaners in The Netherlands who went on strike wanted something else apart from more pay: they wanted respect for the work they do. And one of the main causes of stress is not having too much to do, but not feeling in control of what we do. So in the light, Pink is right. But after more than ten years, I think the book needs an update to describe the current urgency. How do Free Agents fare in times of troubles, when everything could be on the line?
Sometimes a book is overtaken by history. Daniel Pink's Free Agent Nation is an optimistic look at the future, where more people will work for themselves and an entire economy will be reorganized to accomodate this growing army of Free Agents. But it's a book from 2001, written before 9/11 and before the Credit Crunch. So with hindsight it's an overly optimistic book.
Does that mean that it was a waiste of time to read it. No, certainly not. Pink is an engaging writer with the ability to make me consider things from a new perspective. So if you'll leave out that the book might be outdated in parts, it also offers ideas about how people perceive work and how new technologies offer us new ways of working. Some of the trends he describes in his book did come true. We tend to blend work and private time (for instance, is writing this blog work of do I do it, because I enjoy it?) with the use of our smart phones and we give meaning to the work that we do. The cleaners in The Netherlands who went on strike wanted something else apart from more pay: they wanted respect for the work they do. And one of the main causes of stress is not having too much to do, but not feeling in control of what we do. So in the light, Pink is right. But after more than ten years, I think the book needs an update to describe the current urgency. How do Free Agents fare in times of troubles, when everything could be on the line?
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Reading Progress
February 7, 2012
–
Started Reading
February 7, 2012
– Shelved
February 12, 2012
–
Finished Reading
