We’re looking at the future of work, employment and unemployment in all the wrong ways. Even though we hypothesize about what might be, our conversation is based on an historical industrial revolution model of work that operated well for the last 150 years, but isn’t going to suit us moving forward.

In last weeks Intergenerational Report released by the Federal Government we saw clear empirical evidence that by 2055 it will be common for many Australians to live, play and work to at least 100 years of age.

This insight, although not new, sparked some strange responses from community, employer and union leaders decrying the fact that this was not a good thing because many people may be incapable of physically working beyond today’s retirement age.

This physical work barrier, although accurate of today’s world and today’s jobs, seems to miss the bigger opportunity here that instead of lamenting that we have achieved our fountain of youth ambitions we should be debating how we can best use these extra years, explore how we may want to live and work in the future, what will the purpose of work be in 2055 and how we might move our sense of self worth beyond our current definition of our past work achievements.

In this mix we also need to factor in a new work landscape, lost industries, new industries, lost jobs, new jobs and an extra two (2) billion people globally that will need to be employed in the next 50 years in a job pool that seems to be ever-diminishing, it’s a tough question with no single or right answer.

This “big issue” was the end point of this weeks regular chat with David Dowsett of ABC Wide Bay, but to get there we took a look at what living to 150 years of age and working beyond 90 might actually mean; the notion that we are already increasingly not working 9 -5; that in the near future we will operate as solopreneurs; have a work portfolio spanning multiple careers and containing numerous simultaneous work and lifestyle activities; that we will work where and when is appropriate flexing between digital, remote, local, regional and international interactions as required and even mixing in with it some new ways to earn a living on-line using sites like airtasker, fiverr, airbnb, uber, ebay and etsy.

Take a listen now (7 minutes 30 seconds) and then help spread the debate on the future of work.