The concept of independent portfolio working was Professor Charles Handy’s big idea back in the 1980s in his book "The Age of Unreason". According to Handy, this new approach to working meant that an individual, rather than having a linear career, has a collection of careers or occupations, linked by a “golden thread of transferable competence”.
There are various advantages in portfolio working. For example, employers are able to reduce their overhead costs for full-time employees and still retain a flexible resource pool of talent, whilst individuals are able to seek employment from more than one source, develop a wide range of transferable skills, and gain greater responsibility for managing their work-life balance.
Unfortunately, Handy’s predictions have not turned out as he had expected but he still believes that they will appeal to large numbers of 21st century workers, with jobs continually becoming “shorter in years and smaller in hours”.
As a result, more people will be self-employed or will be offered bits of jobs rather than full-time, lifetime jobs. Indeed, he suggests that, rather than think of life as work and leisure, we should think of it as a portfolio of activities - some of which we do for money, some for interest, some for pleasure, and some for a cause, such as a charity. In that way, we do not have to look for the occupation that “combines job satisfaction, financial reward and pleasant friends all in one package”.
I can empathise with Professor Handy’s own move into this lifestyle because he resigned his full-time, tenured professorship to create 'a portfolio life', setting aside 100 days a year for making money, 100 days for writing, 50 days for what he considered good works, and 100 days for spending time with his wife.
For example, I have moved from being a full-time tenured professor to something that probably better reflects my range of different interests in the worlds of academia and entrepreneurship.
I currently have a permanent adjunct professorship at the Turku School of Economic and Business Administration in Finland, which enables me to participate in international research projects, teach on courses dealing with technology entrepreneurship and knowledge-intensive business, and be a member of the International Advisory Board of Turku Science Park.
In parallel with this, I also have an academic contract with the School of City and Regional Planning for part of my time, during which I work exclusively on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for Wales at the Centre for Advanced Studies. The days I then have ‘free’ every week release me to pursue other projects with Professor Phil Cooke, as well as undertaking a more active role as chairman of Outlook Expeditions Ltd, doing various pieces of consultancy work with the public and private sector and, of course, enjoying writing.
It can be hard to manage but, in the end, it is exceptionally rewarding due to the diversity of the work and contacts. I may be very lucky in being able to choose such a portfolio approach to my working life, after ten years of tenured academic positions, but I believe that Handy’s vision of the future of work in this country will become the norm over the next decade as organisations and individuals realise the benefits of flexible working in achieving the balance between a professional and personal life.
There are various advantages in portfolio working. For example, employers are able to reduce their overhead costs for full-time employees and still retain a flexible resource pool of talent, whilst individuals are able to seek employment from more than one source, develop a wide range of transferable skills, and gain greater responsibility for managing their work-life balance.
Unfortunately, Handy’s predictions have not turned out as he had expected but he still believes that they will appeal to large numbers of 21st century workers, with jobs continually becoming “shorter in years and smaller in hours”.
As a result, more people will be self-employed or will be offered bits of jobs rather than full-time, lifetime jobs. Indeed, he suggests that, rather than think of life as work and leisure, we should think of it as a portfolio of activities - some of which we do for money, some for interest, some for pleasure, and some for a cause, such as a charity. In that way, we do not have to look for the occupation that “combines job satisfaction, financial reward and pleasant friends all in one package”.
I can empathise with Professor Handy’s own move into this lifestyle because he resigned his full-time, tenured professorship to create 'a portfolio life', setting aside 100 days a year for making money, 100 days for writing, 50 days for what he considered good works, and 100 days for spending time with his wife.
For example, I have moved from being a full-time tenured professor to something that probably better reflects my range of different interests in the worlds of academia and entrepreneurship.
I currently have a permanent adjunct professorship at the Turku School of Economic and Business Administration in Finland, which enables me to participate in international research projects, teach on courses dealing with technology entrepreneurship and knowledge-intensive business, and be a member of the International Advisory Board of Turku Science Park.
In parallel with this, I also have an academic contract with the School of City and Regional Planning for part of my time, during which I work exclusively on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for Wales at the Centre for Advanced Studies. The days I then have ‘free’ every week release me to pursue other projects with Professor Phil Cooke, as well as undertaking a more active role as chairman of Outlook Expeditions Ltd, doing various pieces of consultancy work with the public and private sector and, of course, enjoying writing.
It can be hard to manage but, in the end, it is exceptionally rewarding due to the diversity of the work and contacts. I may be very lucky in being able to choose such a portfolio approach to my working life, after ten years of tenured academic positions, but I believe that Handy’s vision of the future of work in this country will become the norm over the next decade as organisations and individuals realise the benefits of flexible working in achieving the balance between a professional and personal life.
Comments