A portfolio career comprises a variety of roles rather than one

job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

at a single organisation. It can be a

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...

that combines multiple paid and/or voluntary roles. The philosopher and organisational behaviourist

Charles Handy Charles Brian Handy CBE (born 25 July 1932) is an Irish author/philosopher specialising in organisational behaviour and management. Among the ideas he has advanced are the " portfolio career" and the " Shamrock Organization" (in which professi ...

popularised the "portfolio" concept in works like his 1994 book ''The Empty Raincoat''. Handy's recognition of the portfolio career-path came about when he realised that individuals would be required to develop portable skillsets to meet the needs of a fast-moving future workplace. His prediction foresaw what is now known as the

gig economy Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers, and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients. In m ...

. Portfolio careers are often found in the creative industries where

freelancing ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

is the norm. Economic conditions mean many are now actively choosing to pursue portfolio careers to make the most of their earning potential.

Advantages

Advantages of a portfolio career include

work–life balance Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal tr ...

, job security, flexibility, variety, multiple income streams and the ability to pursue individual interest areas. Ben Legg, CEO of UK-based social enterprise The Portfolio Collective, said: "A portfolio career is much more resilient than having one permanent role. In addition to having multiple income sources, your work is always evolving, as old clients roll off and you win new ones."

Disadvantages

Disadvantages are the lack of stability, traditional career progression, fluctuation of earnings and a lack of identity.

Herminia Ibarra Herminia Ibarra is the Charles Handy Chair in Organisational Behaviour, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Chair, Organisational Behaviour Faculty at London Business School. Early life Ibarra was born in Cuba and obtained her M.A. and P ...

, the Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...

, argues that the portfolio careerist is faced with the problem of identity. "There is no easy label, no shorthand. Inevitably, one resorts to explaining oneself with a laundry list, when the culturally appropriate answer is what the psychologist Kenneth Gergen called the progressive narrative: a story of hard work and linear ascent culminating in a recognisably top role."

Scale

The Centre for Research on Self Employment, a London-based think tank, estimates that 250,000 UK workers who define their work as a portfolio career. A study by the

Henley Business School Henley Business School is a business school which now forms part of the University of Reading. It was formed by merging the previously independent Henley Management College (formerly the Administrative Staff College) with the existing business ...

determined that in the United Kingdom 25 per cent of workers had a

side job A side job, also informally called a side hustle or side gig, is an additional job that a person takes in addition to their primary job in order to supplement their income. Side jobs may be done out of necessity, when one's income from their main ...

. Ben Legg, CEO of UK-based social enterprise The Portfolio Collective, believes this number is likely to be in the millions by 2030. Some 45 per cent of working Americans report having a

, making them portfolio careerists. In the United Kingdom 60 per cent of students and graduates said they had a side job and 43 per cent needed the extra income to pay their rent. Portfolio careers may become more common as the world economy and job market work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Issues

Sean Smith, a retired vice-principal, argues that "a new economy that requires aspirational young people to effectively become captains of their own cottage industries will require schools to think very differently". He believes that schools will need to redefine how they view work readiness and change the expectations of young people as they prepare for work. Tara Fenwick, Emeritus Professor of Professional Education in the School of Education at the University of Stirling, thinks "workers may need to educate clients about the nature of portfolio work; and employers who contract to portfolio workers must take more responsibility for negotiating fair contracts that are sensitive to overwork and unfair time pressures".

Nomenclature

Young portfolio careerists are sometimes known as slashies or solopreneurs.

References