Originally posted on Marketing Brew by Phoebe Bain, June 25, 2021.
“People still worked. In fact, they worked harder. Innovation, creativity, and collaboration still happened. Actually it happened more. And we did it all through trauma.”
So says the latest report from We Are Rosie, a company that connects freelance marketing talent with brands and agencies on an as-needed basis. It’s the second annual “Rosie Report,” an analysis of its 7,000+ freelancers, a survey of 423 anonymous marketers, and more.
The survey in question found that, after the world’s largest WFH experiment, marketers aren’t ready to go back to the Before Times™.
- 63% are planning a big job or career change this year.
- 100% want the option to work remotely.
- And 40% said they now require flexible hours.
So, uh: What does that mean for our jobs going forward? Does what workers want really matter to enormous organizations?
WFH 4EVR
We Are Rosie founder and CEO Stephanie Nadi Olson and Head of Product and Strategy Jessie Kernan say yes.
“Now we finally have some data to show just how prevalent this refusal to go back to the old way is, and how the balance of power between employer and employee is certainly shifting as we emerge into the new workforce,” Olson told Marketing Brew.
- The pair said agencies in particular will be forced to adapt. We Are Rosie works with about 40 ad agencies, and Olson told Marketing Brew those agencies have more open headcount than they’ve ever had before as a result of these issues.
- “We have two agencies with over 400 open roles right now,” Olson said.
Bottom line: “The employee servant era is coming to an end,” Kernan told us.
—PB