The New Normal
Entrepreneurial Employee
Entrepreneurial Employee
The term “entrepreneurial
employee” sounds like some sort of paradox, but it need not be. During a training
forum for employees on how to cope with the New Normal, it became clear that the
dependent employee of the past would not fit into the New Normal environment. The
old paradigm on the employee’s complete reliance, dependence and “allegiance”
to an employer was put to question. The fact that the nature of employment has
changed means that employees also need to change with the times. Depending on
your employer to pay your rent, insurance, health care, mortgage payment and
secure your bank loan has been put in serious jeopardy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has
provided two signals that the New Normal employee needs to consider seriously.
The first is that you can lose your job. In fact, the job is not yours and was
not yours in the first place! Second, your terms of engagement can change. Indeed,
many employees are either on a reduced pay structure just to allow them to keep
a job. Two things emerge from this scenario. First the employee has more time
on their hands and two, employees need to manage and supervise themselves. In
other words, employee dependence on the employers has shifted to managing their
own time and productive activity. If you haven’t got it yet, all I am saying is
that employees have been forced into the realm of personal enterprise.
In the realm of
enterprise, you must think for yourself, plan for yourself and work for
yourself. A major shift from the old days of employment. In the world of
enterprise, the employee thinks like an entrepreneur and plans his day,
organizes his time and engages income generating activities. If you have a
contractual obligation to work half-day, you can use the other half of the day
to engage in other productive activity. You can plant a kitchen garden or “balcony
garden” in couple of pots around the house to get some food on the table and
help you spend less on groceries. You can engage in teaching and home schooling
your children to read. You can also coach the neighbor's kids to play the violin
at a fee. You can negotiate with your employer as an independent contractor to
assign you other jobs apart from your previous position. You may, for example,
take over the office cleaning contract or take up a commission sales assignment
to drive your personal enterprise. This will require both humility and flexibility
on your part. If you believe you are an accountant by birth, by design and by death
you may never be able to humble yourself to a salesman position.
As an entrepreneur
you must think about investment and multiply your sources of income. You must
build your own house and look after your own enterprise to survive the long
term. You must look after your own interests as much as you receive a wage for the
services you provide to your former full-time employer. Many employees struggle
with this form of “disloyalty”, but the reality is unless you look out for
yourself no one else will. You simply must become an entrepreneurial employee.
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