In anticipation, Pink thought that we should get up to speed on the new language of free agency. He also CC'd Fast Company on a memo about the seven dirty words of the free-agent workforce , warning America's corporate managers to avoid crimes against language when talking to talented workers. Every day, we read headlines about people being laid off. Look, these are tougher times for everybody. But there's a danger in getting so obsessed with a particular moment that we lose sight of the trends.
Many people find that a former employer is their first client.
It's true that a falling tide lowers all boats. But free agents are in a better place to weather the storm, because they haven't lashed all their fortunes to one company. Lots of people who haven't been laid off think that they're better off buckling down and doing twice the work, but that's a fool's bargain. If you're a free agent and one of your five clients disappears, you can weather it. Think of the workforce as Charlie Brown and corporate America as Lucy.