CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM

SAFE HARBOUR IN A GIG ECONOMY

Christopher E Richardson

HELLENIC AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

THESIS (CP6300)

Professor Christopher Patch

March 30, 2022

Correspondence concerning this assignment should be addressed to

109 Jacob Ct. Forsyth Georgia 31029

acuc1049ea@gmail.com
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Abstract:

This paper looks to introduce and examine a new approach to how corporations and workers

view and interact with each other in the marketplace in the current economic reality of the gig

economy and shorter tenure of employment periods. By redefining this relationship and

strengthening bonds that allow the worker to experience growth and actualization in the

workplace while delivering the employer with a competitive advantage through a different more

strategic approach to human capital management in a framework that embodies aspects of

sustainable transition of resources but applied to the backbone of every organization, it’s people.

A “Safe Harbour” provides the environment and culture where the worker can thrive and be

nurtured and the organization can more readily access the resources and skills needed to be

innovative and create a competitive advantage in people. A safe harbour workplace ironically

enough will provide the organization with the ability to navigate in the elusive “Blue Ocean” but

in the field of human capital that has been neglected.

Introduction:

This paper is proposing to examine the concept of a “Safe Harbour in the Gig Economy”.

Often in business, when the term “safe harbour” is used it refers to a law or regulation that

provides protection in some manner (Merriam-Webster 2022), however in the broader definitions

as found in the Collins Dictionary it also is defined as a place that offers protection such as from
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a storm, a refuge or break from suffering, and something that protects and allows something to

flourish in addition to the legal definition (Collins, 2022). This paper is discussing the “safe

harbour” in the framework of the definitions found in Collins.

A study by the Mckinsey Global Institute (Manyika et al., 2019) indicated that workers may turn

to the gig economy out of necessity, with “reluctant” and “financially strapped” workers

comprising 30% of surveyed gig economy workers while70% of workers have chosen to

participate in the gig economy as a preference over or to supplement traditional employment.

Figure 1 (Charlton, 2021)

The other side of the equation, employers, have also generally looked to either mitigate the

impact on their business and/or leverage it for cost savings to the detriment of workers (Livni,

2019). While finding untold volumes of research, thought, and discussion of the pros and cons

for each party, there is little that approaches it more holistically with the view of how this

economic landscape can be refined and leveraged to the benefit of both workers and employers

concurrently and potentially drive production of value for stakeholders and shareholders alike in

increased productivity and also social stability versus what often presents chaotically for workers

(Palmer, 2018).
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So, asking the question “What if we embraced the Gig Economy as a generational opportunity

to redefine the employee/employer relationship to benefit both while strengthening society?”

while also attempting to answer the question “What would it look like and how it would

happen?” Will it provide the “Safe Harbour” that is protective and nurturing (allowing to

flourish) for the worker and business interests? How or does it contribute to the “bottom line” in

the framework of the “triple bottom line” of social, environmental and financial value as defined

by John Elkington in 1994 (Elkington, 2013) and now widely accepted (HEC Paris, 2022) or be

more aspirational and go even further into the concept of the “Fourth Bottom Line” that Ayman

Sawaf proposed which addresses humanistic value in such areas as purpose and culture

(ImpactInvestor, 2022) and actualize in the manner Christensen expands upon for Forbes in

arguing as applicable towards how corporations measure human capital accountability writing

“The objective would be for companies around the world to become more transparent and

accountable for how they develop employees and enable them to gain the requisite knowledge,

skills and character for the technology-enhanced workplace of today — and

tomorrow. “(Christensen, 2019).

These questions are I believe important and timely as our economy transforms from the advances

in technology during a period of shifting worker, employer, and societal values that have been

advanced and even amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic (Henderson, 2021). Looking for a

means to transform and redefine how the workplace will operate as well as culture and attitudes

towards the gig economy is something that can position progressive and strategic corporations

with advantage in the marketplace.

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Chapter 1

What is the gig economy and why does it matter?

In 2009, journalist Tina Brown first used the term “Gig Economy” to define the trend of workers

that were doing a variety of work for a variety of employers or clients as “a bunch of free-

floating projects, consultancies and part-time bits and pieces while they transacted in a digital

marketplace.” (Gupta, 2020). This definition has framed the gig economy and discourse almost

exclusively to technology and digital transformation that can be equated to what has been termed

the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” by author Klaus Schwab (Schwab, 2017) that encompasses

how technology is blurring and changing everything with intersection of physical, digital and

even biological by the use of what he described as “ advances in artificial intelligence (AI),

robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and

other technologies. It’s the collective force behind many products and services that are fast

becoming indispensable to modern life.” (Lee et al., 2021).

I would like to bring some attention to an aspect of the gig economy that is most frequently

asserted, namely that the gig economy is mostly confined to “tech” employers and workers

(Fang, 2020). Because technology has facilitated the gig economy, and tech companies and

workers were among the first impacted (by design or by necessity), the gig economy as a concept

is often siloed in the thought and perception space to be comprised of white collar educated

technical workers. During the industrial revolution, there was little confusion regarding the strata

of engineers and management of a factory owned or founded by industrialists that was using
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machine manufacturing. They were white collar as opposed to the iron worker, machinist, tool

maker and so forth that were blue collar working class. There is no question that the workers

were using new technology of the time in their employment but the function was of a worker.

The working and labour conditions of the new industrial workplace and the pursuit of efficiency

with little regard for the workers led to well documented changes in not just the way things were

made, but also in where production was located with increased migration to the urban centers

and factory floors and of course the labour movement to protect the safety and rights of workers,

and exclude some such as children from the work place (National Geographic Society, 2019). I

see many parallels between the industrial revolutions impact on the labour landscape and what

we are seeing today with the gig economy. I am not alone in that train of thought and others have

been examining such as this work titled “Fourth Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on

Occupational Health and Safety, Worker’s Compensation and Labor Conditions” (Min et al.,

2019) where the authors assert “In FIR, nonstandard employment will be common. As a result, it

is difficult to receive OHS services and compensation. Excessive trust in new technologies can

lead to large-scale or new forms of accidents.”. While the scope of this paper is not to examine

occupational health and safety per say it is a consideration and will be integral to the creation of

the “safe harbour” concept. Workers today that belong to what is termed the working blue collar

class are also participants in the gig economy. While some may identify any employee and or

contractor of a technical company such as Amazon or Uber as a “tech sector worker”, I would

argue that an Amazon warehouse employee or Uber driver may have their working environment

heavily technology dependent but that does not make it a “tech” job, and certainly not with the

connotations such a classification brings. Nor does the use of technology to facilitate work define

what is a tech job. The adjunct professor working remotely teaching classes using a e-learning
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platform can absolutely (frequently is) be a participant in the gig economy, but their task is as

adjunct, not a technology worker. It is entirely possible that the adjunct professor teaching

computer science is also employed in other gigs say as a coder, product manager, consultant or

engineer as a technology (tech) sector worker. In other words, job titles and classifications of

workers in the gig economy are not easily defined and could be termed transactional and fluid to

the task the worker is engaged in. I would argue that the traditional definition and demarcation

lines between blue collar and white collar can be, often are, and will increasing be blurred as

different gigs employ different skill sets and attributes of the worker with often a wide scale of

renumeration if looked at in the metric of XX monetary units (use of monetary units as a nod to

both international scope and also the emergence of alternate payment such as crypto) per hour of

labour. Indeed, because of the commonly made connection between the tech sector and the gig

economy I contend that many workers and employers in the gig economy may not even self-

identify as participants.

Even before the term “Gig Economy” became popularized as a concept and employment

landscape change and discussed, the workforce had changed with workers more frequently

changing jobs during their working life (Doyle, 2020). The more traditional employee loyalty to

the employer in exchange for security of employment had been waning. The purpose of this

paper is not to examine that in detail; however, I do contend that the rise of the gig economy was

a natural extension of that trend. With reduced fidelity to a long and stable career with one

employer, increased ability to “climb the corporate ladder” externally by changing jobs (Bortz,

2022) than internal promotions and often at higher pay (Bidwell, 2011), technology provided the

worker and the employer greater access to both employment opportunities and the labour force in
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conjunction with facilitating a more distributed workforce. The step from “more frequent career

changes” to “more frequent changes and also more gigs” was a natural progression in my view.

Even relatively recent regulatory actions have been an influential nudge towards both the gig

economy and reduced loyalty between the worker and employers in the United States. The

Affordable Care Act of 2010 (HHS.Gov, 2022), often called “Obamacare” required employers

with over 50 employees to offer health insurance. Between 2012 to 2016, the number of

businesses with less than 50 employees increased by 8% from 37% to 45%, with some estimates

of as many as 250,000 jobs lost (Passy, 2017). It’s important to note that due to the political

nature of the Affordable Care Act, it is possible to find studies that support almost any

conclusion, so I take that study with a grain of salt. That said, reports of part time employees

having hours reduced to stay under the threshold of 30 hours a week which then triggered

employee subsidized health care benefits was well reported and common when it was

implemented (Diamond, 2015). In fact, this has even led to lawsuits and while not every lawsuit

has been successful for the workers, some like Dave & Busters were with large monetary

settlements in the millions (Hawkins & Hwang, 2018).

This trend has been accelerating for some time, but become more acute during the Covid-19

pandemic where increasingly employees are leaving their jobs in what has come to be called

“The Great Resignation” (Caprelo, 2022). Not only has the pandemic and great resignation

occurred with workers taking stock of their work, life balance and satisfaction, the pandemic has

also rapidly expanded what work can be done remotely by necessity that is quickly turning into

to worker expectations, desire and demand to work remotely (Sahadi, 2022). Studies are showing

that workers are giving more thought to their mental health and employment, and in how that
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employment impacts their mental health and wellness. Flexjobs and Mental Health America

conducted a survey in which 56% of those surveyed listed workday flexibility as the most

desired attribute in employment they wished to have (Weiler-Reynolds, 2021). In fact, during

the writing of this paper the new expectations of potential employees and the employer (in this

case poorly understood or somewhat disingenuously promised by the employer) using these

expectations to attract talent became news. A new hire that had sought and been promised a

“hybrid” work model was in their third day of training when informed that the ability to work

remote was only outside normal office hours, hours they were expected to be in the office. The

employee immediately resigned, posted the experience and it went viral (Tymulis, 2022).

All of this points to an intrinsic change in how labour is viewed from those employing it and

those providing it. While it is still uncertain if some of the trends discussed so far are truly

indicative of lasting and substantial change as it pertains to some of the pandemic driven factors

the established trend has been to decreased loyalty, longevity, and security in the workplace.

This rate of employment instability, for the worker and the employers, is challenging. The

employee has to be concerned with scheduling gigs, maintaining adequate income to support

payment of necessities such as housing, food, and health insurance as well as navigate a different

contextual and power relationship with their employers than has been traditional. The employer

has to struggle with the high cost of employee recruitment, training, retention and the less

traditional power relationship as well in maintaining productivity and profitability for the

business.
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Chapter 2

Let’s Survey out the Safe Harbour

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A safe harbour in the most traditional nautical context is one that is known, protects the ship

from risk be it weather, or in the case of warships, the enemy, has a ready and reliable source of

supplies of all manners and is ideal for carrying out any maintenance the ship requires, the

Captain is able to consult with their command structure to debrief, brief, review strategic goals

make necessary adjustments, is a good location to conduct training for the crew and as

importantly as all of the above is somewhere the crew will be able to recharge in a comfortable

and enjoyable manner so when they set sail again they are well positioned to face whatever

challenges may occur on their next “mission” at sea. The safest of safe harbours that meets all

these needs is of course the ships “home port”, where all of the above will be available, but also

family and friends. Without safe harbours, eventually every ship will break down, morale and

health of the crew will as well. The ability of the ship to do its mission will be reduced or

eventually cease at which point getting her and her crew able to go back to sea and be effective,

if possible, will take longer and be much more expensive as “deferred maintenance” always is

(Demland, 2017). Sailors do not enjoy sailing in ships that are breaking down and dangerous and

will only choose to so out of absolute necessity. Thus, a ship that has been experiencing deferred

maintenance which contributes to poor working conditions aboard is a major contributing factor

to crew retention issues (Caesar et al., 2015). Thankfully the days of the “press gang” (figure 2)

where people could be forcibly inducted or tricked into service such as by dropping the “King’s

Shilling” in a beer stein so that the drinker had “accepted it” and therefore pressed into service

(from whence the term came from) service are gone. Instead, the expensive hiring and training

process must occur, which for a ship that also has the habit and extra expense of deferred
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maintenance is considerable in currency and time.

Figure 2 Press Gang at Work

What would a safe harbour be in the context of the gig economy? To get to the answer to that

question, first we have to take a quick glimpse of some of the charted and uncharted hazards that

lurk below the waters while also enjoying the view of a sandy beach and swaying trees on the

shoreline.
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A business is at its core creating value through the process of production. That is well accepted

economic theory (Amadeo, 2020) where you have either 3 (labour, capital and natural resources)

or 4 factors of production with the addition of Entrepreneurship. A safe harbor ideally will offer

the business (which exists because of the fourth factor of entrepreneurship) reliable access to the

first 3 factors. Strategically, the business that can secure those factors more efficiently, less

expensively, or have special access in some manner to some or all factors is better positioned to

enjoy success in the marketplace. In economic terms, doing so will give them an absolute

advantage (Investopedia, 2022). Every factor of production is critical to business, and while there

can be academic arguments made as to which is the “most” important factor in a general sense

for a business the most important factor tends to be the one that is most elusive in the moment

and holding the business back. In other words, it can be transactional in nature. Regardless of

which factor is the “most” important of the moment, any business will tell you that labour, aka

human capital, is it or closely behind. Human capital is the mind, eyes and hands that facilitates

the inputs of production. The gig economy and the trends in the workplace towards more

frequent employee transience undermines the secure provision of labour as a factor of production

and accordingly in basic law of supply and demand increases the cost of acquisition, training,

and retention. Hand in glove with increased worker turnover and the trend towards workers

looking for upward mobility by changing jobs even employers that value their employees and

provide a good working climate can find themselves hard pressed to retain high performers in

normal times. We are far from in normal times however experiencing a labor shortage (Tappe,

2022). Hiring from outside as opposed to promoting from within is more expensive, in fact the

average outside hire is paid 18-20% more than an internally promoted worker, score worse on

performance reviews and 61% more likely to get fired within 2 years (Bidwell, 2011). That is
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horrifically expensive enough on its own merits, but companies that do engage in outside hiring

are more likely to have not just decreased productivity compared to internal promotions at a

higher cost but it also contributes to overall dissatisfaction in the workplace. Joblist.Com

conducted a survey that showed 65.8% of employees prefer to be managed by an internal hire

and feel that it is better for the business itself (Joblist.Com, 2022). The survey also showed that

35% of employees have considered leaving a job after an external hire was brought in and that

perceptions of satisfaction with employment and their management was much higher by every

metric compared to outside hires. A safe harbour has calm waters, worker and management

churn is choppy indeed.

For the worker, regardless of motivation in in job churn and or participation in the gig economy

it's a simple reality that there are additional challenges involved. While the increased flexibility

and autonomy may provide real and tangible benefits in many areas such as child care,

intellectual stimulation, and freedom to pursue new opportunities for personal and professional

growth there still remains less certainty in income stream, gaps in ability to obtain benefits such

as health insurance, retirement plans, employer reimbursed training, paid vacation and sick days,

and even unemployment insurance. Gig economy workers can expect their income to be reported

in various manners, from standard employee reporting with tax withholdings, as a contracted

worker without withholdings, in cash, crypto or even trade/barter. This puts the onus on the

worker to comply with all the applicable tax codes, business licenses, business insurance and so

forth. This complexity can be overwhelming, expensive and without a question is the

unchartered hazard that many workers in the gig economy sail into and spring a leak. Another

hazard just below the waters surface that is often not considered is something as simple as your
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credit rating. Non-traditional inconsistent and multi-source income is looked upon by banks and

lenders in a less than favorable light (Rembe, 2021). This can make the process of securing a

loan for purchasing big ticket items like a home or car difficult or more expensive because of the

risk profile and corresponding higher interest. Home and car insurance also is higher with less

stable credit, as is interest on credit cards. In short, the gig economy can be an expensive

undertaking that traditional workers have not been exposed to before. That additional expense is

daunting enough, but it gets worse. Studies have shown that approximately half of gig economy

workers have experienced barriers to financial service. This impacts negatively mental health,

family security and mobility (Morris, 2022). Just as business faces different challenges in the gig

economy, so do workers. Both have choppy waters and hidden shoals in their harbour and

generally each have been left to their own means to chart them out (Fig 3).

Figure 3 Danger

Chapter 3

Survey Complete, let’s Chart our Harbour

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With employers and workers busy trying to navigate the harbour with their own needs and

identified risks in mind they may not be mindful of the navigation the other party is doing. There

is an ever-present risk of collision, friction over who gets the best anchorage and

misunderstanding of the motives, needs and direction of the other party in being in the same

harbour. Each has done a survey but neither has been completely free with their survey results

because of an underlying distrust and questioning of motivations. The move away from long

term employment to shorter periods had weakened the loyalty that business and workers could

expect from each other. The gig economy while embraced by many and forced on others on both

sides of the employment marketplace is by its very nature transactional. Work taskings and

expectations are normally clearly defined (and the metrics of performance are analyzed

algorithmically by the very technology that has facilitated the gig economy) but not often to the

point that the worker is being included in sharing the mission and strategic goals of the company.

Gig workers as independent contractors will be held to the contract by not just in the context of

keeping their word and hope of further contracts, but in no small measure by the legal

ramifications of not meeting their obligations when the business has more resources to enforce

the contract. Corporations can be enticed by the cost savings and find themselves managing gig

workers in much the same manner they would contract out for services such as trash removal.

Performance metrics to contract is in effect no different than having unsatisfied traditional

employees engaging in labour protest by employing “work to rule” tactics that stymie production

for the employer but can’t be easily disciplined because the employees are carefully only

performing the tasks they are hired for and required to do (Tatum, 2022). The worker has no

particular incentive beyond meeting metrics if the contract is unlikely to be renewed or other

contacts offered unless metrics are scaled to renumeration (very transactional and impersonal). In
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short it tends towards wash, rinse and repeat cycle of interpersonal interaction with a deficit of

relationship building or meaningful interactions. A study by Ryerson University showed that gig

workers are 55% more likely to suffer from depression (Becker & Rajwani, 2016). The human

cost of depression is significant, but the economic cost in productivity can not be ignored. One

study conducted in Australia estimated that worker depression cost employers $AUD8 Billion

annually (McTernan et al., 2013). It is hard to escape that possibly for all the pros of the gig

economy, there may be a substantial hidden cost for employers that is really a false economy.

There has also been contention between employers, workers and the government(s) around the

framework of what constitutes contract labour. Not surprisingly often based in tax code but also

extending to entitlement to benefits based on how the tax code and other regulatory organs of the

state define what is or is not an employee. Many larger corporations have run afoul of this in

different jurisdictions or at the very least been forced into the position of defending their

classification and renumeration methodology at great expense in legal fees and when they lose in

judgements (Jackson, 2019).

I have used the word loyalty frequently so far and would like to delve into it a bit more. Worker

loyalty is known to lead to tangible benefits for an employer. Increased productivity, profits,

brand image, attracting high quality talent, positivity in corporate culture and more (J.Shay ,

2020). Investment in human capital have been shown to be one of the wisest and most profitable

in terms of return on investment for corporations and yet the gig economy has been initially at

least structurally weak at human capital investments. Workers are aware of this lack of

investment and as a result are less likely to invest back to the business, that investment vehicle is

one that is loyalty powered. A loyal worker will be confident in their position of value within the
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corporation, develop social identity with their coworkers and individually and socially there is

“buy in” to forwarding the company mission. Social Identity Theory as advanced by Henri Tajfel

argues “that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.) which people belonged to

were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity: a

sense of belonging to the social world. We divided the world into “them” and “us” based

through a process of social categorization (i.e. we put people into social groups).” (Mcleod,

1970). It seems self-explanatory that workers that feel pride, belonging and self-esteem as part

of the corporate “us” are of great value. How does a company in a period of decreased longevity

of employment duration, increased use of gig employees, increased flexibility in schedules,

increased use of technology, and hybrid or remote working supposed to foster this? It does seem

a daunting proposition.

It is also the generational opportunity of a lifetime for those companies that dare to challenge

those assumptions and change the narrative. I believe that charting the safe harbour involves not

just striving to go beyond extracting value from workers but in nurturing and creating greater

value. Just like planting the for the best crop quality and yield requires careful selection of the

best seeds, fertile soil and careful watering, weeding and the right amount of nutrition to get the

best crops, so does human capital require the same attention to detail and deliberation in

approach. Any corporation that is willing to pursue an absolute advantage in this area first needs

to look internally and critically at their own culture, process, and biases. I have been talking

about human capital investment. Most corporations have a Human Resource Management

(HRM) department. There is no question that human capital is a resource that needs

management. However, words matter when we wish to frame and contextualize intentions. By

having a Human Capital Investment (HCI) Department, that has HRM functions, it redefines and
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focuses a new direction, attitude and cultural aspiration where workers are an investment.

Investments are important, they are valued. They are managed for growth in value over the long

term. The workforce climate has generated expectations and biases in hiring that are detrimental

to investment. When the data, experience and broader work force trends are to hire for a position

(gig or not) and immediate need of workers that will not stay long the scrutiny and selection of

the workers will be limited to those short-term needs. That isn’t an investment, it is basically

buying something with an expiration date. The demonstrated or believed ability of a potential

worker to be successful in the task and position that needs to be filled should not be the end point

of the hiring process that leads to an offer or contract but the beginning hurdle for consideration.

However, this is not to be confused for what is commonly described as “hiring for potential

versus experience” with the expectation the person will be capable of learning the job and the

cost of that training is offset by the ability to hire these “potentials” at a lower acquisition cost. I

propose that once the hurdle of ability to do the job is established, the next step is a multipronged

assessment of the individual conducted for potential of growth beyond the opening but not

constrained by assessing growth solely against the projected requirements of the employer. Take

a more holistic approach of the individuals’ qualifications, education, motivation, attitudes and

their aspirations. What would success and actualization look like for them in their professional

and personal life. What ambitions do they have? What do they want to learn, see, and do? What

do they value in an employer, what values do they expect an employer to have? Have your HRM

professionals turned HCI professionals expected to pivot from “can they do the job?” which

when answered with an unqualified “yes” to “would I want to bet on their success in life and can

we help them get there?”. While this may seem like an unusual degree of vetting in a world

where 40% of companies outsource recruitment, when contrasted with this description in the
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article “Your Approach to Hiring is all Wrong” by Peter Cappelli in the Harvard Business

Review of the hiring process post World War 2 it should give pause to the consideration of how

dramatic the sea change in attitudes towards vetting; “For most of the post–World War II era,

large corporations went about hiring this way: Human resources experts prepared a detailed job

analysis to determine what tasks the job required and what attributes a good candidate should

have. Next they did a job evaluation to determine how the job fit into the organizational

chart and how much it should pay, especially compared with other jobs. Ads were posted, and

applicants applied. Then came the task of sorting through the applicants. That included skills

tests, reference checks, maybe personality and IQ tests, and extensive interviews to learn more

about them as people. William H. Whyte, in The Organization Man, described this process as

going on for as long as a week before the winning candidate was offered the job. The vast

majority of non-entry-level openings were filled from within.” (Cappelli, 2021). While I disagree

with some of the particulars of the described process, I am in agreement with the seriousness of

intent regarding rigor in the hiring process.

Once past that vetting process, the new worker is comprehensively onboarded and evaluation for

not just job performance but cultural fit and capacity for upward trajectory in the broad sense as

opposed to simply within the company organizational chart and projected future needs. If so

determined the worker is offered to accept “Safe Harbour” with the company.

Chapter 4

What is this “Safe Harbour Status” Anyhow?

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Safe Harbour Status represents faith and commitment between the employer and the worker. It’s

voluntary and “at will” by both parties. It is not a promise of tenure nor of career progression

within the company at any given time. The company is expressing confidence in the potential of

the worker and a desire to contribute to their success. It is important to note that that success is

not predicated on being within the company, or if it does happen to be in the company not linear

in nature. It is a commitment to contribute to the professional and personal development of the

worker to reach their goals, aspirations and capacity. Potential avenues in how that would

manifest is exposing the worker to a wide variety of different roles within the company at the

equivalent level they have proven successful at. Giving them the opportunity to start to see the

bigger picture of the scope of operations and how everything ties together while also being

exposed to different disciplines or fields. The would be expected to continue to contribute to

productivity. They would be paired with a mentor of a member of the executive management and

also expected to network and collaborate with other workers who have been granted “Safe

Harbour Status”. This status is initially for a given set period of a few years of full-time

employment with the company, during which the employee is immersed in the corporate culture,

gains significant broadly based knowledge of operations and how various departments and

interrelated business units conduct business. It is expected that the employee would gravitate to

becoming more conversant and specialized in an area of interest near the end of the set period

that would be required to fully “unlock” the “Safe Harbour”. Once fully unlocked, at the end of

the set period and upon recommendation of a “Safe Harbour Review Board” the employee would

be encouraged to pursue further growth opportunities, even if outside the company. Be it

educational, employment elsewhere, entrepreneurial pursuit, NGO volunteering, or even a

sabbatical where the “Safe Harbour Status” worker is fully engaged in raising their children or
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simply just pursues the best black diamond ski run in the world. They could choose to reduce to

part time hours or contract type employment for specific projects within the company while also

pursuing other “gigs” or interests. This allows the worker to gain experience and perspective and

also have better contrast and hopefully appreciation for the company. Of course, the worker and

the employer both would have to be bound by non-disclosures on matters of proprietary

company operations, vendor and customer lists and clear identification of what is covered by the

non-disclosures. Even the employer must be vigilant to not place the company nor the “safe

harbour status” worker in a position where there could be even the slightest hint of any anti-trust

or industrial espionage. The worker when not full time at the company would be afforded the

opportunity to continue to contribute to employer retirement plans with or without match as

determined, employer education contributions for approved educational pursuits, access to health

insurance at reduced rates or not depending on circumstances as well as the promise of return to

full time employment if desired, however not a promise of at what level or position. These

provisions would be a safety net that the worker has in place while they “spread their wings”.

This is designed so that the worker can be less risk adverse during this period of discovery and

growth. It is granting them the “freedom to fail” and to no small degree encouraging them to do

so. Because these failures will occur outside the company, the cost to the company is minute

while the value of the lessons by failure learned by the worker, who will be potentially bringing

those lessons back to the company is massive. During time away from the company, the worker

is expected to maintain their mentee relationship with their mentor and their network with peer

“safe harbour status” workers both in the company and also outside.
CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM
23
Whatever eventual path the safe harbour worker takes, by design it is rigorous and structured at

the front end, building a solid foundation in the operations and culture of the employer. As time

and experience progresses the worker is granted an increasing degree of freedom in flexibility to

choose the career path that they find most rewarding. The investment by the company may be

considered a foolish leap of faith but it’s a calculated one. All of the factors, expectations,

advantages and disadvantages of the current state of the labor force can’t be ignored or

discounted if a business is to prosper in the long term. Worker satisfaction and loyalty drives

production and profit. Workers with enthusiasm, knowledge, and security that are happy also

have higher retention rates, drive positive culture inside the company and in engagement with

stakeholders such as vendors and customers, as well as remain more engaged, creative and

innovative.

Safe harbour workers that are no longer full time with the company also will become a “ready

reserve” of a known quality talent pool. Earlier I have already discussed the multiple benefits of

promotion from within, and any safe harbor worker even if returning after a period of being

away will have all the advantages of “from within”, bringing with them outside experience and

knowledge that can be very beneficial. Depending on the needs of the company, “away” safe

harbour workers can be considered for short term fill in positions, long term employment again,

contract or part time work to help during periods of surge or to tackle specific business problems

or projects. They become active advocates and supporters for the company, and will look to

direct promising potential hires to it or when appropriate identify and connect the company with

business opportunity that the company otherwise would not be aware of. By maintaining safe

harbour status (mutual agreement and requirements met) and connected they become a
CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM
24
knowledgeable low-cost panel of advisors, idea generators for specific issues or problems that

don’t warrant a full or part time employee, contractor or “outside expert” consultant. Eventually

they could be considered for board positions or involvement in any philanthropic CSR activities

of the company.

Chapter 5

Drafting the new chart and using it to navigate

Now that we have talked about what the concept is and why it could be transformational in how

the employment landscape could change for the employer and worker in the “new normal” gig

economy it’s time to look at what steps a company would have to follow towards

implementation.

The very beginning of the process is for consideration of the safe harbour approach at the board,

CEO, and executive level. It must be considered in the context of what the strategic goals and

mission are of the company, and how the safe harbour construct would help the corporation

attain and realize them. It would be critical at this stage to recognize that the C-Level needs to

include a Chief Human Capital Investment Officer (CHCIR). Even in the current Human

Resource field many corporations may consider HRM as a department that needs experts that can

lead the department while following the strategic direction of the C-suite but is basically just

another resource to manage by process transactionally without contributing to the strategic

direction of the company. Having a CHCIR allows for inclusion of HCI in every strategic
CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM
25
planning session at the front end when strategic intent is formulated and will meaningfully

contribute input on what human capital is available, what will be needed, what needs to be

developed allowing the C-suite to more accurately analysis and frame their goals. Any SWOT

that does not include human capital is a weak one indeed, this is not just internal to your

organization but must also include your partners, suppliers, vendors and to also judge the human

capital and thus capability of their competitors.

Once this is the strategic intent and direction with the CHICR in place it is time to go from

corporate and business strategy formulation to functional planning and strategy (Vancil &

Lorange, 2014). This stage is when the CHCIR with their team develops the policy framework,

process and criteria required to implement the shift. It will also require the development of

specialized a Human Capital Management System (HCMS)solution that will require the CHCIR

and Chief Information Officer (CIO) to allocate resources to a cross functional team

(Indeed.Com, 2021) to implement possibly in conjunction with outside firms in the field of

software for HRM. The safe harbour needs to be clearly defined in scope and also execution.

Process for selection, costing, what is required and expected to retain safe harbour status and also

what training will be needed for existing workers and management to work within the new

framework.

The safe harbour is not just a new approach or process-based construct. It is a cultural shift in

how the workplace views workers and how business in done within the company. It demands

culture change. Few things in business are more desired and feared than culture change. Volumes
CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM
26
have been written on how to affect culture change in organizations, degrees at the doctorate level

developed and heavily subscribed to but even more rare is culture change that is successful. In a

study by Dr. Martin Smith, he found that only 33% of efforts at organizational change in

organizations have median success rates and more alarming is only 19% of efforts at cultural

change (Smith, 2002). Moving to the safe harbour model involves both. It is safe to assert that

culture change requires strong leadership that believes in the necessity for change, can articulate

the need and a vision of why it is important and how it will look like. They can’t do it alone

however, not only does it require “buy in” at the executive and management levels but also at the

bottom. In fact, until your top-down efforts at culture change are embraced at the bottom to

induce “bottom up” movement in culture change it is not effective (Wayland, 2019).

Once the structural framework is underway concurrently with the top-down efforts at

communicating and getting buy in from the bottom to stimulate bottom-up movement it is time

to start dipping a toe into the water with a limited size test of the construct simultaneously with

strong education for employees on how it works while being very open and responsive to

feedback. The very idea of the safe harbour is to be a construct that actualizes the individual for

growth in a supportive and safe environment that ultimately provides the corporation with higher

productivity by making human capital management not just resource management but a

sustainability transition that is more often only considered in the environmental context (Markard

et al., 2012).

Upon completion of the limited scale test, it is time to re-visit what was learned, what was

tweaked and adjusted along the way and why. Then once again deliberated with the strategic

intent of the corporation and a determination made at the executive, C-suite and board level to
CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM
27
continue, continue with changes to execution or even strategic intent/vision and roll out as the

new company way or decide to discontinue. In public companies in particular there is a great risk

that being a new construct with a significant investment in what is a mid to long term return that

shareholders with more concern for short term returns or conservative in nature will be opposed

and exert great pressure to not continue, or worse move to replace the board and/or CEO. This is

part of why this must be taken strategically and involves clarity in communication and indeed

even marketing. The same considerations for shareholders apply to workplaces that are organized

in unions. The union can be great allies or staunch detractors in the effort. The ally is the best

outcome of course, but even if a barrier the leadership can still seek worker buy in that once

attained will shift the position of the union over time.

Conclusion

This may appear to be radical, and possibly it is. However, the cost of employee churn is high.

Also high is the cost of a company not staying motivated and hungry for success, safe harbour

workers will be hungry to return the loyalty they have been shown and better positioned than

either the more traditional “one job for life” path or the “jump jobs to get ahead and burn many

bridges along the way “path that is more common the last few decades. The have the option to

exercise all the pros of the gig economy once fully vested as “safe harbour” while having the risk

greatly mitigated.

I truly believe that this framework could provide a progressive company the absolute advantage

in the labor marketplace that would allow them to dominate in their specific industry and field. It
CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM
28
would be an unprecedented investment in human capital that is driven by the employer instead of

reactionary to the labour movements that have forced regulatory change for workplace safety and

CSR becoming instantly an employer of choice with the level of publicity that no amount of a

marketing and advertising budget could accomplish.

I wish to leave you with a small example from real life that occurred during the pandemic that

incorporated and proved some of the concepts discussed here. It’s a glimpse of what could be,

but like a glimpse of an iceberg (fig 4), so much more is there to be discovered, just under the

water, in your safe harbour, all it takes is the courage to dive in!

Figure 4 Iceberg in Newfoundland, Canada, where my Mom Lives

CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM
29

McKinsey and Company shared on their blog an article titled “An On-Demand Revolution in

Customer-Experience Operations?” the following story from earlier during the Covid-19

pandemic:

“WHEN BUSINESSES ACROSS THE GLOBE were forced to shutter in 2020, the leaders at

one regional North American bank shifted to virtual mode. Anticipating that customer-call

volumes would remain elevated through the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, bank

leaders created a streamlined training module to cross-train sidelined branch workers. The

extra support from branch colleagues helped the bank to manage the high volume of calls.

Better still, because the supporting workers were branch personnel, their knowledge of the

bank’s processes, products, and culture helped maintain the high level of customer

satisfaction that the bank had worked so hard to achieve. Leaders learned that this internal

“gig worker” approach could be a solution for managing future spikes in demand, whether

from unforeseen events or seasonally based capacity increases. And, during a time of great

uncertainty, it gave employees new opportunities—to work flexibly, learn new skills, and even

find new career paths. That flexibility may give companies an edge now that many are

fighting a “Great Attrition.”” (Gupta et al., 2021)

CP6300 CAPSTONE/THESIS HAU MBA PROGRAM
30

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