In years gone by, the employment contract was a corporate lure designed to lock up key executives for a specified time. Today, by contrast, workers in many fields sign contracts to serve a company for three months, six months, a year—whatever they desire. This cyclical work allows an individual to alternate bursts of work with stretches of leisure.
Nowhere is the future more visible than in the nursing profession. A remarkable 55 percent of nurses surveyed say they intend to retire between 2011 and 2020. Yet with boomers aging, the demand for health services will only rise. What’s more, nurses are getting older. In March 2004, the average age of the RN population was estimated to be 46.8—more than a year older than the average age of 45.2 estimated in 2000, and more than four years older than in 1996, when the average was just 42.3. As if all this isn’t adequate cause for concern, some states, such as California, have imposed nurse-to-patient staffing-ratio requirements.
It doesn’t take a highly paid analyst to figure out that anyone with a nursing degree is going to be among the most popular girls (or boys) at the recruiting dance. Healthcare providers are responding with offers for higher pay, better pensions, and more clout. A few have gone so far as to offer free tuition and new cars. Meanwhile, many hospitals are willing to hire RNs on a contract basis, typically for three- to six-month stints. At some facilities, 60 percent or more of the nursing staff enjoys the flexibility of such contracts.
Yet contract work offers opportunities far beyond the world of medicine. Today, skilled professionals from a range of fields—engineering, software development, IT systems integration, finance—find themselves able to call the shots. In the years ahead, as the knowledge economy expands and older workers become the focus of recruiting and retention efforts, cyclical work is likely to go mainstream.
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