The Weekly Independent: December 7, 2015

There are just 24 days left until 2016. Are you making new plans yet? Over the next few weeks, we’ll be adding some retrospectives and looks ahead as part of our coverage to help you get ready for the New Year.

• As we look forward, one thing’s for sure – the workplace of 2025 won’t resemble the workplace of yesterday.
• Worker protection in the gig economy remains a critical issue as we move forward into 2016. As we move forward, proposals like those for portable benefits and individual safety accounts will remain key issues to watch in 2016.
• The dynamic of the freelance worker is changing. As more skilled workers enter the marketplace, they do so on their own hours and schedule. This piece by Spend Matters’ Andrew Karpie theorizes about how companies will need to change to accommodate this new breed of freelancer.
• A new court case in Florida has just ruled that Uber drivers are independent contractors, not employees. Key quote:  “Uber is no more an employer to drivers than is an art gallery to artists,” said Jesse Panuccio, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
• Not sure how to brand yourself? An interesting op ed in Fast Company describes why one independent stopped calling themselves a “freelancer” and started describing themselves by their market affiliation.
• It’s holiday season, and that means it’s time for card and gifts. This HBR piece explores 7 great ways to thank people in your network.
• Ride app Lyft’s retirement program could be a model for shaping benefits in the sharing economy. They’ve started a partnership with Honest Dollar to help give drivers the opportunity to put away earnings – a limited type of the new “portable benefits” type programs that are gaining steam in the media.

Should you have any questions, we’re always here for you.

Of course, we’d love to talk virtually as well. Share your thoughts with us at MBO Partners on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and we’ll see you again next week!