Self-employment Gains Respect

"We are seeing a bigger shift in values now than what came out of the turmoil of the 60s," says Ed Emde, CEO of Blessing/White, a Princeton, N.J., consulting firm. A case in point: Research by Daniel Yankelovichs DYG Inc. recently found that 68% of all Americans between 19 and 31 now believe it is safer for them to work for themselves, and that status in the U.S. is now associated with being self-employed. Thats reflected in the fact that fewer than half of all employed people in Southern California work at full-time jobs. "Status about work is no longer tied to the traditional career path; it is now associated with being able to break out on your own," says Madelyn Hochstein, DYG president. "As we look at the workforce in the year 2000, the issue we are all facing is how do we change the traditional business environment so it is a place" that baby boomers and generation Xers want to be.