SALON TALKS

"There is a concern if people can be focused": How the gig economy destroyed workers' 9-to-5 attention spans

In our Salon Talks roundtable, host Carrie Sheffield sat down with Courtney Spritzer and author Michael Woodward

Published August 15, 2016 3:35PM (EDT)

Salon Talks' Carrie Sheffield on Friday sat down with Courtney Spritzer, co-founder of Socialfly, and Michael Woodward, author of the new Psychology Today blog "Spotting Opportunity," to discuss the future of the so-called "gig economy."

Woodward cited an Intuit study that "projected by the year 2020 that 40% of the American economy or American jobs will be ... freelance contractor-type work."

"What they found is," he added, "those folks in college who start using freelance or gigging work to get through school come out and they're saying, 'I may have a better option just to keep doing this than go out to find a more conventional nine-to-five job.'"

Asked if she looks "askance" at résumés from applicants who've done gig-type work and are now looking for a full-time job, Spitzer said, "There is a concern if people can be focused."

"One of the questions that I always ask is ... 'Why are you looking for a full-time job now?'" she explained. "And then ... 'Are you gonna continue to have these jobs on the side if we were to hire you?'"


By Brendan Gauthier

Brendan Gauthier is a freelance writer.

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Carrie Sheffield Courtney Spritzer Freelance Gig Economy Michael Woodward Original Video Salon Talks