Emergence of Individuals in the Digital Age

Published by Jane McConnell

4 years of research leading to the Gig Mindset: 2018 – 2021

The term “gig mindset” refers to the attitudes and behaviors of people who, even though they are salaried employees in an organization, approach their work as if they were independent freelancers. Their attitudes and behaviors contrast with those of salaried people who work with what we might call the “traditional mindset”, with an approach to work influenced by defined roles, hierarchy and established procedures.

For the last few years I have seen many people, salaried, inside organizations, showing signs of behavior much like freelancers. Read about how it emerged in my research here:

The Emergence of the Gig Mindset

Research Wave 1 in 2018-2019 followed by Wave 2 in 2021

You can download my report from the 2021 research, deliberately done after the worst of the pandemic had passed. The goal? How had this difficult time impacted the gig mindset, or vice versa, how did the gig mindset impact work cultures and organizations, 3 years after the initial research in 2018-2019?

My book, The Gig Mindset Advantage, published in 2021, was the fruit of this work in the context of my previous research into the organization in the digital age more generally.

Check out my article in the Harvard Business Review in January of 2022: How Workers with a “Gig Mindset” Can Help Your Company Thrive

You will also enjoy Aidan McCullen’s interview on the well-known Innovation Show.

Earlier: 10-year focus on the organization in the digital age 2006 – 2017

Read articles about the Organization in the Digital Age.

The Publication of the 10th Annual Report

I have conducted annual surveys since 2006 about the internal digital work environment in organizations. Approximately 300 organizations around the world participate. The links below will take you to more detailed information. See the Advisory Board for the 10th edition.

There are two reports available in 2017, one a short version and the other a full version.

Click here to see the table of contents, the pricing.

Contact me to request a free copy of the Executive Summary

Scope of the Research

See the topic areas.

The Foundational Framework

The Foundational Framework was defined in 2013 . There were three purposes:

Enable management and practitioners to understand how people and organizational characteristics are critical, even important than technology, as we move deeper into the digital age.
Facilitate self-assessment of digital maturity from the internal perspective by underlining the fact that digital inside impacts digital outside. A digitally-savvy workforce is a pre-requisite for success in the business world today.
Provide a framework and food for thought when people are defining priorities and action areas within their organization.

Why a Decade of Research and What People Say

The overriding purpose of my 10-year long research has been to provide annual checkpoints for people involved in digital transformation of organizations. Read more, and see testimonials about the reports.