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TAMPA BAY • FEBRUARY 23-24 2026

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Domination of the ‘Open Economy’ – Are you ready?

No longer do most businesses have to settle for local applicants, permanent long-term employee expenses, expensive office space or moving costs to employ top talent.

No longer do talented Millennials need to settle for average organizations, incompetent leadership, dramatic co-workers or the political work environment.

All of these are things of the past – at least they should be. According to Samsung’s White Paper, Born Disruptive, 2019, organizations that don’t harness the power of technology are doomed to fail.  The technology-driven workforce of the future requires that businesses constantly adapt to the latest technological advances. This includes providing options for the use of personal equipment.

Luckily for employers, information about workforce technology, remote employment, and gig assignment abounds. Of course, the differences need to be carefully examined by employers, employees and independent workers. Obviously, there will be limitations to the remote and gig economy because not all careers can exist in the virtual world. The reason will vary. Sometimes it’s the nature of the job while other times it’s an organization’s unwillingness to adapt their views on employment.

Let’s take a look at each potential work situation.

Working Remotely

A few days ago, I had a conversation with a USAA call center employee that reminded me how tightly many companies cling to their control over employees. These control issues still exist in many organizations for fear of quarterly profit and loss statements – which usually determine bonuses for upper management positions. The conversation was enjoyable, but when I asked if she was working at home or at a call center, I was shocked to hear that she still works in a cubicle. The cubicle situation always has been and always will be miserable. If I had it my way, cubicles wouldn’t exist. With today’s technology, there’s no reason why USAA and organizations like it shouldn’t allow call center employees to work remotely.

The Remote Office

Depending on the job, employees may need to work in a home office, while others may be able to roam local coffee shops or explore the world. One of the trends that is now developing rapidly is the concept of “coworking” spaces. These provide a more traditional employment setting while also allowing for the freedom of remote work. One of the fastest-growing of these is WeWork, but many are joining the scene, like Regus, Impact Hub, Knotel, REth!nk, Convene, heHive44 and Alkaloid Networks, Union Cowork, and Workafella.

Organizations, entrepreneurs, and individuals are using this concept to save on expenses while also allowing employees to enjoy their work environment. Companies that are already using this open economy concept include Amazon, AT&T, Coca Cola, IBM, Google, and Toshiba.

Gig Economy

There’s an app for that!

Employment is changing rapidly, but many business environments aren’t keeping up. However, there are a wide variety of Apps that have been created to improve organizational performance and offer job seekers stability and growth opportunities while also fine-tuning their current abilities.

A few of my favorites include:

Figure Eight

Vangst

Veryable

Wonolo

WAG

2025 & Beyond

Millennials will dominate the global work environment by 2025. That means a new generation will be making the decisions. Organizational success will be defined and created differently than in previous generations. The number of millennials entering the workforce will expand the gig economy and remote work; it’s a trend that will not likely be stopped. Then, when Generation Z and Generation Alpha takes over, the work environment may even transition into a virtual global workforce with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). No one knows where things will go from there. As technology continues to advance, the only sure thing is that if you want to succeed, you better keep up.

Dr. Jacqueline B. Lang
Dr. Jacqueline B. Lang
Dr. Jacqueline Lang MBA, MPA, MSED is a beacon of inspiration, embodying the rare blend of academics, professional excellence, and personal warmth. A devoted mother, trusted friend, and mentor, she navigates with grace and poise. Her experiences include being an International Syndicated Columnist, Researcher of Women's Issues, and Author. Along with 25+ years of leadership experience in various industries within Fortune 50, 500, 1000, and private organizations across the U.S., Her other experiences include being a Business Professor, U.S. Congressional Campaign Manager, and U.S. Army Reservist. She is also the President/Founder, EVOLVEzone.org, a non-profit to empower women.

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2 CONVERSATIONS

  1. A company I know has cameras on their remote workers to see/know that they are being watched; to ensure the work is being completed. The reasons are…still…remote workers are not trusted to do the work. This is happening in many organizations that apparently do not trust their employees. More on this topic later and thank you for this post; very engaging!

  2. Indeed, we better keep up! I agree Jacqueline. Your space point I think is so useful. I live in an area where coworking space has become very popular with a municipal office sharing space, with progressive non-profit agencies, and cutting edge technology companies. I see information sharing, cross-marketing, and partnerships that are formed from this socially-conscious style of co-haviting. I am actually excited to these changes and am trying to embrace what progression has done for the workplace. Your article is spot-on, thank you!

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