Why now?
Web 3.0 allows people to diversify their income streams by doing what they love and be in control. That is especially important for a generation that saw their parents lose their jobs during the financial crisis. 10 years later, during the pandemic, the same thing happened to them. They have learned that working for a company and getting a salary offers no guarantee. When things go bad, despite your stellar contribution and appraisals, you get fired.
And so, the pandemic offered them an alternative: suddenly location became a lot less important. The state of technology allows anyone to cheaply set up shop online and sell their skills to billions of people around the world. At the same time, we are slowly moving away from an ad-driven payment model based on clicks, and it’s getting more normal to pay people for the services they provide online.
As it turns out, you don’t need millions of followers to make a living. You only need dozens of real fans who are willing to pay for your content. And while the vast majority of creators will not be able to live off of that income, a large portion of them are able to earn a
partial income from their creations, that covers the extras. But that’s enough. Because in doing so, they don’t depend on their salary alone. And that means they don’t need or want to work full-time for one company. They just need a job that provides an income that covers living expenses.
Your future workforce will have multiple income streams and we are already seeing the effects. It’s one of the reasons why it’s hard to find qualified people: some realized they have marketable skills and became self-employed. Many more people will work part-time.
This means a fundamental rethink of hiring, payroll and benefits is needed: can you restructure full-time jobs into part-time ones? In the Netherlands, the concept of a “duo-job” has existed for a long time: two people doing one job while dividing the responsibilities - and the rewards - between them.
And what will you offer people who don’t work for you full-time? To what extent are they part of your workforce? What if they market their skills independently, when they’ve earned them through your training? Should you tokenize that training so your company benefits from it and has a stake in educating people?
On the other hand, this opens up opportunities for your company: instead of hiring a full-time worker, your company could participate in a community and source work there. How can you hire and reward creators to help you and would you be okay by paying them in their tokens? Or could they charge you with an NFT that stipulates that every time you use their creation, they get an additional 10%?
Lots of questions to think through and answer. And fortunately, we’re in the early stages of Web 3.0, so we have time. But in order to understand this transition, you have to immerse yourself in it now. And I hope this Web 3.0 intro got you one step closer.
See you next time. I’ll share what Web 3.0 organizations could look like, And then I’ll explain how we will earn money and get paid.
Have a great day, Anita
PS: I am creating a “Metaverse for HR Professionals” training.
Let me know if you are interested in giving me feedback. Those who do, attend for free.