Fractional is the future of work

IF YOU are a Gen X-er, you were probably raised on a particular script. Work hard. Climb. Put in the hours – 10, 12 a day if that is what it takes. Provide for your family. Show up at the office and, whenever possible, at home.

Do not complain about the tension between these demands, because that tension is simply the price of a serious career. And then, somewhere around age 55 or 60, you get to stop. You will have earned the stop. That is retirement. That is the plan.

In 2026, that script has a problem. Humans are living longer. Singapore is a designated “Blue Zone 2.0”. Medical advances mean many of us will live well into our 80s and beyond. The idea of ceasing active intellectual contribution at 55 – with 30 or 40 good years still ahead – is not just personally deflating. It is a colossal waste.