The United States has always marketed itself to the world as the land of opportunity. A place where, with a little bit of hard work and sweat on your brow, you can achieve anything. This "American Dream" as it is often referred to, is the epitome of meritocracy. If you work hard you succeed, period. If you are successful, this must mean you are good at what you do. But is that always the case? A quick Google search unveils article, after article, after article, after article proclaiming the 'American Dream' dead. Or if not dead, at least on life support. There are many reasons that this prognosis may not be far from the truth. Growing wealth inequality and the increased prevalence of the mentality, "it's not what you know, but who you know," amongst many other economic factors that seem to be putting the nails in the coffin of the 'American Dream.' But this dream hasn't taken its last breath yet and maybe getting its second wind thanks to the changing nature of work. We have written many previous articles related to this, but in a nutshell, freelancing is on the rise and this is drastically changing the nature of work. If freelancing continues growing at the current rate, it'll do much more than transform what we think of as "work," but it could even revive the 'American Dream' and reinvigorate the meritocracy that the United States prides itself on.
"It's not what you know, but what you do"
Freelancing often seems like a lonely world. And in some ways it is, you and you alone are in charge of finding yourself business and ensuring your financial stability. Sounds pretty intimidating right? But if you're good at what you do, then you will have little to worry about. That's because success in the gig economy depends directly on the quality of your work. It's not like a traditional 9-5 where, yes your performance matters somewhat, but merely being physically present in the workspace is a much larger factor. In the freelancing context, you could very likely be on the other side of the world as your client and never meet face-to-face. You may have a call or two to define the scope of work, but really the only "contact" you have with your client will be in the form of whatever you deliver to them. Freelancing filters out all the "workplace politics" and focuses on one thing and one thing alone, results. Whether or not the client continues to work with you, or recommends your services will not depend on optics, politics, HR guidelines, or really anything else besides the quality of your results. And is this not the very definition of meritocracy?
The work environment is a complicated place and often those who are the best at what they do don't rise to the top. Working in a regular 9-5 with the same group of people day in and day out gives rise to a messy network of connections and favors that can either help or hinder you as you try to climb the ladder at your organization. You may be passed over for a promotion because you ate the boss' leftover pizza that one time from the company fridge or you may get a promotion because you brought in donuts every day for your team (can you tell I'm writing this close to lunchtime?). While one obviously hopes that these are not the sole factors deciding who gets promoted or not, it would be naive to claim that they don't play any role. There are simply too many complicating factors in your standard workplace to make a truly "objective" decision possible. Often those who are successful have more than just the best skillset. There is always something else that helps them get a leg up.
That's what makes freelancing the shock to the system that the U.S workplace needs. It filters out all the noise and the only thing that matters are the results delivered. In a freelancing environment, those who are the best will naturally rise to the top. When deciding which freelancer to hire, clients will almost only look at the completed work of said freelancer. They may not even want an interview and will hire just off of the portfolio of work and reviews. Again, this makes success in a freelance based economy purely based on what you do (or have done). Not what you know or who you know.
Rejuvenating the 'American Dream'
There's no denying that the 'American Dream' has been on its last legs for quite some time now. It seems more and more that the well-connected and well-resourced are soaking up all the opportunities and that simply working hard is not enough to get ahead and rise up the ranks of society these days. Freelancing though, may be the shot in the arm that the 'American Dream' needs. The defining aspect of the gig economy is that success is purely dependent on the quality of your results. It ignores so many of the outside factors that are currently determining who wins and who loses and ensures that the best are those who rise to the top. For this reason, we should be embracing and trying to grow the gig economy. It may allow the U.S. to once again become the land of opportunity for all. Where all you need is hard work and perseverance to rise up and build a better life for yourself and your loved ones.