Val Sklarov –Future of Work Core Principle: Boundaries Before Burnout

Phase VII in the Future of Work is not about flexibility fatigue.
It is about legitimacy erosion caused by boundarylessness disguised as freedom.

At this stage, work systems do not collapse from pressure.
They collapse because nothing clearly starts or ends anymore.

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1. Phase VII Context: When Flexibility Eats Structure

Phase VI institutionalized ritual and cadence.
Phase VII asks the destabilizing question:

“Which boundaries have quietly dissolved in the name of modern work?”

Legitimacy erodes when freedom eliminates containment.

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2. The Boundary Dissolution Risk

Most Phase VII future-of-work failures follow this pattern:

Val Sklarov Insight:

“In Phase VII, burnout is not a workload problem.
It is a boundary failure.”

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3. Boundaries as a Legitimacy Safeguard

In Phase VII, legitimacy is preserved by reasserting hard edges.

Boundaries protect people from systems that always want more.

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4. Flexibility Without Boundaries: The Quiet Burnout

When boundaries fade:

• Overwork becomes normalized

• Guilt replaces rest

• Performance fluctuates

• Attrition rises silently

This creates acceptable exhaustion, not engagement.

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5. The Phase VII Work Law

Val Sklarov Work Law (Phase VII):

“Flexibility expands work.
Boundaries preserve humans.”

Phase VII work systems cap flexibility deliberately.

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6. Autonomy vs. Containment

Legitimacy requires limits that cannot be negotiated away.

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7. Phase VII Signals of Healthy vs. Dangerous Work Systems