when they're ripped from the sole domain of companies, governments and other institutions and handed over to regular folks.' Marx would have looked on with a smile. The strange thing, in fact, is that it's taken so long. Working for someone else clashes with our fundamental need for freedom. Jobs where we are told what to do and how to do it run counter to human nature. Modern slavery. Some people protest. They claim a salary is compensation for damages. There's a reason factory owners in the early years of the Industrial Revolution had a devil of a time disciplining their workers, who showed up late, drunk or not at all. From the beginning, the capitalist work ethic has generated fierce resistance. Those times are back, if in a more civilised way. Instead of playing hooky in the pub, employees conduct meetings over caffè macchiatos in a nearby coffee shop. That's what we call 'the new workplace'. More and more offices are meeting employees' desires for greater autonomy. And more and more companies understand why it's better to measure results than time-in-cubicle. The Journal of Applied Psychology once published the findings of researchers at Pennsylvania State University on telecommuting: it increases job satisfaction and productivity, lowers stress and improves both the employee-manager relationship and the work-family balance. Daniel Pink, the author of five popular books about trends in our workplace culture, is not surprised by the positive impact of greater autonomy. In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, he criticises the management culture in which everyone is managed and monitored from above. 'When we enter the world,' he wrote, 'are we wired to be passive and inert? Or are we wired to be active and engaged?' Pink is convinced it's the latter. The passive and inert have lost their true, inquisitive nature. The default setting has been corrupted, Pink says, quite possibly by the ways we are treated at work. Flexibility doesn't go far enough, according to Pink; he calls for radical self-management. The rise of the maker culture, the renaissance of the artist: whatever you call it, we're firmly in the next phase
of the evolution of working humanity. No punch clock. No boss. No traffic jams. No lugging pointless copies around. Work flows seamlessly into life. Work is what fulfills us, because it is our own work in a life that is satisfying and fulfilling, because it belongs to us. We always thought we had to choose security: a solid education, a solid job, a place to hide so we wouldn't attract too much attention and could maybe manage, bit by bit, to climb a little higher in the hierarchy. We thought we had to be obedient. Compliant. Obliging. Proficient. So we did all that and were rewarded in return. But now that the world has finally evolved to the point that art is a pillar of culture and it's possible to share it with more people now than ever before, it's time to make art. Godin says it's 'unforgivable' for us to wait any longer. Of course, it's frightening to take that kind of leap. An uncertain future stares us in the eye, and we need to pay the mortgage and send the kids to soccer practice. Our fear of losing what we have is greater than our faith that something new will make us happier. Besides, there's no clear step-by-step plan for success in this brave new world. Who among us dares to take the plunge? But turn things around. Those who stay in their comfort zones while the world changes around them will be hopelessly left behind. They may be able to lull themselves to sleep and convince themselves they don't have to experience the pain and uncertainty of the maker, but that produces its own kind of damage: the pain of someone who realises one awful day that his talents have been wasted and his dreams will never come true. Isn't it frightening not to take the plunge? You are the only one who can make your dreams come true. Discover your passion. Make it your work. Inspire others. Put it online. Film it. Send it to friends. Meet kindred spirits. Collaborate. Start something. Create an industry. Found a movement. Good work will be recognised. Good ideas will be rewarded. It's your turn. You are an artist. In the pithy prose of Seth Godin: 'Go.' O
First published in The Intelligent Optimist March/April 2013.