I have been a self-employed insurance agent for most of my adult life. One of the first things I learned about the nature of my work was that I was a contractor. My first General Agency Manager told me that in the years to come, people in his position would want to treat me like an employee. He warned me not to let them get away with it. I never did. That was a little more than twenty-two years ago. In recent years, it has come to my attention that an entire generation of recruiters and others who should know better, will use the words “ employment “ and “ contract “ interchangeably. Language is important. Far too important to let this go unchallenged. An employer is not just free to ' time manage “ an employee; he/she is obligated to make an accurate accounting of hours or days worked. A contractor , by contrast, can be told where to work and how to work but not when to work. The prevailing wind in the workplace today seems to be coming from the companies that offer an occupation making use of your equipment, your home, your car and most of all, your dollars. The “ freedom “ and the promise to “ earn what you're worth “ is enticing. Yes, we were all taught that hard work and creativity would be rewarded. The concept is embedded deep in the American rat brain. The truth is that you may have to be satisfied, at the finish, with the knowledge that you did what was right and you did it often.