Ken Coleman: The Future of Work

During this Fox Business segment, Ken discussed entrepreneurship, the importance of dignity in work, and how adding value should be the primary goal of the next generation in the workplace. Although the anti-work movement is a hot topic among young people, there are questions everyone can ask themselves to determine whether they’ve found their calling.

“We need a revival of dignity in the workplace.”

Despite growing fear of a changing professional landscape, one truth remains: When your goal is to bring value with the work you do, you will be rewarded. And if you're considering entrepreneurship, you need to be deeply moved by a problem you want to solve in order to have the maximum impact.

01:48 | Can you find dignity in work?

03:40 | Does President Biden’s new budget punish success?

06:30 | What will the workplace look like for the next generation?

08:53 | I’m self-employed as a tarot card reader. Where do you see the future of self-employment going?

11:38 | How should employers hire in today’s competitive environment?

Below are responses that career expert Ken Coleman gave during an interview with Fox Business host Charles Payne and behavioral scientist Jon Levy discussing the future of work.

Question #1: Is the notion of dignity of work a relic of the past? Or was it a myth that never existed?

What that really means is personal dignity. “Do I admire myself?” And where that comes from is a desire that every human has to do something that actually matters. In other words, “Am I making my mark in this world? Am I making a contribution through my work that I can see I served someone today? I helped someone today. I created something today. I created some type of inspiration or enjoyment.” And that notion has not changed.

Now, what’s threatening that is socialistic movements and thought patterns around the anti-work movement in this young generation. But the reason that that’s billowing up is because they haven’t tasted hard work and seen something good come from it.

So, when you put hard work in front of somebody that allows them to produce something they’re proud of, dignity takes place.

It’s not a myth, and it’s not a relic. I think it needs a revival!

Question #2: President Biden recently unveiled his budget, and it’s really heavy handed with respect to a 25% tax on billionaires, a higher tax on businesses, and many would say it feels like success is being punished. If that’s the case, why take that risk?

The government should not touch what you make. Let me encourage you that I believe the entrepreneurial spirit in America is as alive and as well as it ever has been, because we’re seeing Gen Z—this is the generation that is new to the work force and graduating—and they want to start businesses right out of high school!

Question #3: What’s the workplace going to look like for the next generation when they get into the workforce.

I want to encourage you that while the way we work and the way our generation is adapting to the technology and the way things are delivered, here’s what has not changed and will not change: When you provide value and your kids provide value to a customer, they will get certificates of appreciation—otherwise known as dollars.

If we teach our young people that you are upskilling, you are adapting to the times, what is not going to change is creating value.

Question #4: I’m self-employed as a tarot card reader. Where do you see the future of self-employment going.

Seventy percent of Americans want to be self-employed, but only 7% are. So anytime I get a self-employment question, I want people to make sure they see a very clear problem that they are deeply moved to solve. Because the key to winning in entrepreneurship is wading through that first year—which we know is very, very difficult—because you care so deeply about the solution that you believe you can provide to the problem.

I think self-employment in the future is going to boom. In fact, one of the things I’ve read recently on my show was that we’re seeing the gig economy expand into freelancing. So right now, freelancing is booming, and that’s essentially self-employment. Again, it’s about, “Where can I add value and do I care enough about it to stick through the thin part to where I get over the hump and now I’m winning?”

Question #5: How should employers hire in today's competitive environment?

It’s a different pitch now. It used to be, “I want a better job,” but now they’re looking at their life. So you’ve got to offer a better life. What that looks like is autonomy. At the heart of self-employment is the heart of every human, and that’s, “I desire to be free. I want to make decisions on how I work, where I work, but the rub is, I’m remote, and now you’re making me come back in.” And so to recruit those people back in, you’ve got to speak to autonomy and a better life. And if you show them the latter at your place of business, you’ll have a better shot of getting them back.

Watch the full interview on Fox Business.

See Ken live at the new Career Breakthrough event and get the confidence to do what you were born to do.