As the business world becomes ever more globalized and dynamic, freela

As the business world becomes ever more globalized and dynamic, freelance knowledge workers have come into their own. Technology drives rapid change in products and markets, and to keep up, companies find value in an on-demand workforce, one that they can adjust at will as new skills are needed. At the same time, the Internet means that a worker across the country or on the other side of the world can be as connected to a project’s workflow as someone seated in the company’s headquarters. Reflecting this reality, the U.S. Census Bureau’s count of “nonemployer businesses” rose 29 percent from 2002 to 2012, and according to one study, 53 million Americans—more than one-third of the workforce—engage in freelance work. The growth of so-called contingent labor is forecast to continue unabated. Clearly, not all labor is equally empowered in the new paradigm. The barista placing the artistically styled froth on a customer’s latte must be in the coffee shop. However, the systems analyst upgrading the shop’s financial system that tracks the sales of lattes can be anywhere. Thus, workers with intellectual capital are in prime position to choose where they work and for whom.

The transition to a labor market of independent professionals has social and cultural implications. In much of the world, work is a major source of identity, so when work changes, identity changes. Instead of identifying as Widgets Incorporated employees who, whether they are an executive or a janitor, will someday earn a gold watch with the Widgets logo engraved on the back, workers identify as designers or social media gurus or software engineers. Rather than forging a common bond with coworkers in a mix of jobs around the proverbial water cooler, freelancers build geographically dispersed networks with other self-employed professionals with similar skill sets. Furthermore, in the twentyfirst century the workplace has become a primary site of social connections and thus an important thread in the fabric of social cohesion, but instead of going to an office for a large portion of the day where they assume their workday persona, the new entrepreneurs work at home—even in bed, where they tap out messages to clients on their smartphone while wearing pajamas. And instead of relying on company benefits packages when working or government administered unemployment payments when not working, these workers attempt to provide for themselves in defiance of the vicissitudes of life. Not partaking in any communal safety net, they argue that in an era when layoffs are commonplace, being self employed is little more precarious than working for an employer. The cumulative result of these changes may be, on the one hand, an integration of personal and work life not seen since the Industrial Revolution moved people from farms into factories and, on the other hand, the atomization of society as individual contributors of labor rent themselves out impermanently to companies around the globe without meeting their coworkers face-to-face. Contributing further to social disruption is the bifurcation of the labor market into the independent self-employed and those still dependent on traditional jobs. It remains to be seen whether this new generation of professionals will appreciate the degree of vulnerability that accompanies their freedom and reach out to find common cause with employees who still draw a steady paycheck, working together to address issues of security and dignity in the workplace.

1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. how working conditions differ for freelancers and traditionally employed individuals.
B. the growth of freelance employment and its ramifications for workers and society.
C. the economic implications of a shift in the labor market toward freelance workers.
D. why some professional knowledge workers choose to freelance.
E. recent and forecast statistical trends in freelance employment.


2. Based on the passage, one can infer that the author would likely agree with all of the following statements about self-employed freelancers EXCEPT

I. Unlike traditional employees, who are dependent on the local economy, freelancers can contract with companies anywhere in the world and so do not experience sudden changes in workload and income.
II. Freelancers who can use the globalized, technology-enhanced business environment to their advantage generally perform mental rather than physical labor.
III. Compared to workers in the traditional workforce, freelancers are likely to use the Internet to build relationships with people of different socioeconomic status from themselves.

A. I Only
B. III Only
C. I and III Only
D. II and III Only
E. I, II, and III


3. The author mentions “government-administered unemployment payments” in paragraph 2 in order to

A. support the conclusion that freelance knowledge workers are financially insecure.
B. argue that the increase in the percentage of freelancers in the workforce is of benefit to society.
C. illustrate a way in which self-employed individuals impose a burden on the social safety net.
D. reject the notion that freelance professionals should be required to pay unemployment taxes.
E. provide evidence for the idea that freelancers are less integrated with society at large than are traditional employees.