Summer is ending and the mounds of work or tasks that you avoided over the past three months is piling up, which could only mean…it’s time for a distraction!
You’re in luck – in this latest Polywork Reads, we’ve compiled the best articles from the past month on side hustles, personal branding, and the future of work that will keep you entertained while you move countless emails (except those from your friends at Polywork) to your spam folder.
Can the promise of flexible work actually translate to a corporate reality?
Author Ludmila N. Praslova proposes a radical idea: by embracing the concept of comprehensive flexibility, organizations can “support stronger engagement and performance, not just on a case-by-case basis but at scale.”
The comprehensive flexibility approach isn’t new, per se, but is long overdue in an uncertain hybrid/remote work landscape. It starts “with the understanding that true, sustainable flexibility is about more than just work location and hours. It encompasses which tasks people do and how they get them done. It’s about making work ‘fit’ people, not the other way around.”
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And, with a nod to the tenets of design thinking, when organizations center the design of work on humans, values, and long-term success in this way, they become productive, resilient, inclusive, and equitable, the author suggests.
Read (or listen) in Harvard Business Review.
Rate my side hustle: An influencer on the side gigs worth our time
For this article a serial side hustler, who simply goes by Ryan, talks about the part-time gigs that people can take or leave on TikTok under the handle @sidehustlereview, to surprising results.
So, what’s high up on the list? User-generated content (surprise!) and affiliate marketing on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube were among his picks, although this assumes that follower counts are high enough to get the attention of brands. However, the other answers may be slightly more surprising, as he touts virtual assistants and junk haulers as quick paths to side income.
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"If you're a super-organized person or something like that, then a virtual assistant is certainly something you could be good at and that could be a good side hustle as well," Ryan said of the side hustle.
Read more on Business Insider.
The keys to building a personal brand, according to a PR expert (video)
Aliza Licht, a former corporate publicist for DKNY turned brand consultancy founder, shares her insights on building a personal brand for the team at Bloomberg.
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During the live conversation she shares her experiences in building her own brand, while waving red flags for those who aren’t making the most of their own. For instance, she cites the tendency to put companies in your social media handles as a slight to your own unique talents that got you that role in the first place. Further, she emphasizes the importance of building narratives over time rather than trying to repeatedly hit audiences over the head with brand messaging.
Her one key piece of advice: “Don’t sell anything — tell a great story.”
Honorable mentions
The way you collaborate is changing, and it’s going to look very different in the office of the future | Fast Company (login required)
What Is The Future Of Remote Work? | Consider This from NPR
