Safety vs. Freedom: The Cage Match Inside the American Worker’s Mind

By John Arms, Advocate for Fractional Freedom

Two forces are at war in the American worker’s head right now. They’ve always been there, but they’ve never been this loud, this ugly, or this obviously in conflict.

One is the need for comfort and safety — what psychologists call Maslow’s Safety Needs. Think steady paycheck, predictable future, no surprises.

The other is the need for freedom and opportunity — psychologists put this under autonomy in Self-Determination Theory. That deep itch to run your own show, call your own shots, and live without someone else holding your paycheck hostage.

These two fight like cats in a sack. And in the “today times” — which I’ll define as loyalty-free, dog-eat-dog, get-laid-off-at-the-whiff-of-shareholder-malaise — safety is losing. Badly.

Safety Has Left the Building

Before this era, comfort and safety were part of the deal. Not a handshake deal — an actual social and economic contract. You worked hard, kept your head down, climbed the ladder, and in exchange, your company looked after you. The big payoff came at the end: stability, pension, retirement with dignity.

But the data says that deal’s been torched.

Layoffs: Then vs. Now

• In the early 1980s, mass layoffs were mostly a recession tool — about 36% of unemployment spikes were “temporary” layoffs.
• Today, layoffs hit like a grenade. In 2020, nearly 98% of layoffs were sudden and permanent.
• Annual U.S. layoffs have jumped from ~22 million in the early 2000s to a pandemic peak of 41.7 million in 2020.

Back in the day, layoffs were the warning shot. Now, they’re a flash grenade — designed to empty the building. And just when comfort and safety were supposed to pay off — for millions at retirement age — the umbrella has folded.

The Descent Into “Optimization”

We should’ve seen it coming. Decades of “career mechanization” were a giant red flag. The focus shifted to optimization: strip out emotion, put more work on fewer people, add tech to smooth things out, and make everything leaner, faster, more “efficient.”

Guess what got optimized out? The very people who built all that shareholder value.

And in a shareholder-first world, the spoils don’t trickle down. They stay in the upper floors — executives and top investors — while the bulk of people are way back in line, clutching 401(k) statements like they’re winning lottery tickets.

Stakeholder capitalism says, “We all do well when we all do well.” Shareholder capitalism says, “A few do well, and that’s just fine.” Also called greed.

We’ve confused the two — to our own social demise.

Freedom: The Great Flip Side

Here’s the flip side: freedom. The yin to safety’s yang.

The safety contract is dead. So the only move left is to secure freedom and opportunity for yourself. Nobody’s going to hand it to you. That contract is in the office wastebasket, smoldering.

Or as Mel Robbins puts it: “No one is coming to save you.” Let that sink in.

Yes, I complain about the brutality of shareholder capitalism — a lot. A lot of people do. But there is no utility in thinking victim thoughts. In truth, the fight isn’t between you and "the overlords." It never has been. The real fight is between comfort and freedom.

Now more than ever, you have to run headfirst into the discomfort of pursuing freedom.

We’re meant to spend more time in the discomfort of making our own way. We’re meant to be self-sovereign. We threw tea in Boston Harbor over this exact principle.

The idea that overlords will take care of their people? That was written by… you guessed it… overlords.

The victory here isn’t overthrowing the system. It’s winning on your own terms, in your own skin, on your own shoulders.

The Freedom Window Has Been Thrust Wide Open

Whether you choose to remain in safety or step into freedom is up to you. But watch the signs — the path toward freedom keeps laying itself out in front of you.

Not only are the old doors of safety not reopening — ask anyone over 45 looking for a new full-time job — but the path toward making your own way keeps laying bricks ahead. At Voyageur U, every brick we lay is there to help you make your own way in Fractional.

In the bigger picture, the economy is moving this way and normalizing it. By 2027, 50% — nearly 87 million people — are expected to be independent. And not just people choosing it, but companies preferring it.

For workers, it means autonomy, flexibility, and control. For businesses, it means tapping into top-tier talent without carrying full-time overhead.

The Parable of the Two Wolves

There’s a story, often attributed to Cherokee tradition.

A young boy comes to his grandfather, angry about a friend who has wronged him.

The grandfather says:

“A terrible fight is going on inside you. It is between two wolves. One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”

The boy thinks for a moment and asks:

“Which wolf will win?”

The grandfather replies:

“The one you feed.”

My Version: The Wolf You Feed

Two wolves live inside you. One is safety and comfort. The other is freedom and opportunity.

They fight for control every day. The one that survives is the one you feed.

Go Fractional, John

PS — Feed the freedom wolf here: https://voyageur-university.com

#FutureOfWork #FractionalWork #CareerFreedom #WorkforceShift #IndependentWork #SelfSovereignty #AutonomyAtWork #WorkRevolution #FreedomOverComfort #GoFractional

Jennifer Dixson Hoff Carrie Cook, MBA Fractional CFO Claire Driscoll