Is the free agent the new American workforce?
5/29/2001
Daniel Pink presents a study of the enormous changes occurring in the American workforce, focusing on the shift from the "organization man" to the "free agent worker." Pink defines free agents as "free from the bonds of a large institution, and agents of their own futures…the new archetypes of work in America." Pink describes his own transformation that resulted in his impetus to write Free Agent Nation. When the US Bureau of the Census declined Pink's offer to be the deputy census taker for this critical segment of the labor force, Pink and family hit the road for a year to interview "free agents of all varieties about their work, their lives, their dreams, their troubles and their future." The results are enlightening and insightful.